First Time Hatchers

[ChickenLuv726]

LATEST STUFF ON TOP, EARLIEST ON BOTTOM. May 13, 2013 UUGGHH!!! (That was me, tearing out my hair in frustration) The stupid light bulb! We decided to use a 40 Watt, and we attached to a water heater thermostat, and we set it to about 95 degrees, but it went up to 109!!!!! Then I turned it down to 90, but IT kept going UP!!! RRROOOOAAAARRRR!!!!!:/ Anyway, on the bright side: 1. I made the lid! We originally used plexiglass, but it wasn't clear enough, so we changed to cling film FROM the plexiglass. 2. The light bulb works at least, it fits, and it's all wired up. 3. I found a pan and some sponges to put in the bottom. 4. I found brown thick paper of some sort to line the chicken wire with. (We don't have the wire yet) 5. Our parents say we can DEFINITELY get them!! YAYAYAYAY! So can anyone PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help us with the light bulb! thanks! Pictures coming on May 14)
My little brother Johnny and I are currently building an incubator for chicken eggs. We do have a few questions though, as we want a high hatch rate! (*=URGENT!)

*1. We're wondering weather or not to put the eggs in a carton or on their side. (we will be turning them by hand)
*2. Can we use two 60 watt light bulbs in place of a heat lamp?
3. During lockdown, should we seal air holes or other small openings?
4. When a new chick hatches, is it ok if it crawls around on the other eggs?
*5. What should we line the bottom of the incubator with? Towels? Pillow cases? Paper?
6. Do baby chicks make much noise?
7. How can you make a homemade feeder/waterer
8. Is there a gender difference you can see as babies?
9. Can someone PLEASE explain candeling to me?
*10. We've wired up the fan with a battery pack, but we don't know how to wire up the light bulb! Or what to use? Outlet? Battery?
*11.Number of air holes?

Thanks again, and wish us luck!
-Rachel and Johnny (we'll update this page with photos often!)


PHOTOS!

5/6/13 (chickens not yet ordered!)
Wiring is the hardest part!

A working progress!

Johnny's homemade fan! (It actually works!)

 

[520farmer]

Ive never incubated before there is some good information here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubator-incubator

from what ive gleened a flat surface will work as that is the natural postition of the egg but an egg carton is what i personal think would be best.
2 bulbs should be perfect, do you have a thermostat? you can buy them here cheapest ive seen. thermostat is arguably one of the most important things to have when it comes to incubation
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251131972150&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:US:3160

oxygen is vary important expecially during lockdown, you should never seal air holes.

its ok if the chicken crawls around the other eggs, a chick can live 2-3 days in your incubator with no food or water after it has hatched because of the yolk sac, and you should leave them in there to give the rest of your eggs the best chance of hatching

the best thing to line the bottom with is hardware cloth, or by the name i know it chicken wire. you can put a mason jar with a sponge in it to raise humidity...

your baby chicks should not make to much noise.

you can absolutly make your own feeder and waterer, look here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=diy+feeder+and+waterer

there is only a gender differance if you have sex linked eggs.

to candle you basically wait till its dark and hold a flashlight to an egg. not so basically you want the flashlight to not heat up the egg even a little bit. a toilet paper tube works well for most sized eggs, you hand making a cup around the egg and keeping the flashlight a short ways away also works, just remember, DONT HEAT UP THE EGG.


you should be able to get away with 4 to 6 holes min. as long as you can maintain a consistant temp in the egg you can have as many holes as you like. and dont forget you can always plug up the holes if you can keep the temp consistant.
for the light i would use a 2 lights that plug into outlets, incase one bulb blows. if you routinely have power outages in your area then a battery pack might be the way to go.


Im vary new to this so take everything i saw with a grain of salt, but all the links ive provided are from sesoned byc members and will definatly point you in the right direction, oh ya and

everyone here has been vary friendly and helpful with any questions i have had, even if its the bazillionth time theyve heard it so dont be shy if you have a question

 

[SmokingPistol]

My little brother Johnny and I are currently building an incubator for chicken eggs. We do have a few questions though, as we want a high hatch rate! (*=URGENT!) *1. We're wondering weather or not to put the eggs in a carton or on their side. (we will be turning them by hand) *2. Can we use two 60 watt light bulbs in place of a heat lamp? 3. During lockdown, should we seal air holes or other small openings? 4. When a new chick hatches, is it ok if it crawls around on the other eggs? *5. What should we line the bottom of the incubator with? Towels? Pillow cases? Paper? 6. Do baby chicks make much noise? 7. How can you make a homemade feeder/waterer 8. Is there a gender difference you can see as babies? 9. Can someone PLEASE explain candeling to me? *10. We've wired up the fan with a battery pack, but we don't know how to wire up the light bulb! Or what to use? Outlet? Battery? *11.Number of air holes? Thanks again, and wish us luck! -Rachel and Johnny (we'll update this page with photos often!) PHOTOS! 5/6/13 (chickens not yet ordered!) Wiring is the hardest part! A working progress! g Johnny's homemade fan! (It actually works!)

Welcome to poultry we need more youth like you and me!! Haha anyway I'll tell you what I know I put my eggs on their side to hand turn Never never never seal your ventilation, they need oxygen Yes its fine to let chicks move around the eggs (I just asked that this morning) I would recamend very fine wire so smaller than chicken wire on the bottom with a water reservoir under it and below the eggs I put my incubator in my bedroom and that was a mistake, they are quite loud at 3am when zipping Try YouTube for diy feeders and waterers No gender difference unless sex linked Candling is useing a bright light to look inside the egg, I use a small LED flashlight so it doesnt heat up and its strong enough to look inside when its light out I dont know the other two sorry good luck!!!

 

[smoke919]

Need help I got the temp right for my incubated but don't know how much water to use for the Humidity I got a 48qt Cooler with two 40 What lightbulbs can someone help

 

[sumi]

I'd suggest you get a hygrometer and use that to measure the humidity in the incubator. Then adjust the water accordingly. Keep in mind the bigger the water surface, the higher your humidity will be. Aim for 45%-55% for the first 18 days and after that bump it up to 65-%-70%.