FROM Experience who ALL thinks that this might actually work?

[SLAP STICK487]

was in a rush and wanted to get some baby chicks on the ground , with little space in hen house to acomidaite the rooster and a seperate area for my broody hen---- i gathered whatever i could find my very small list included: a old styraphoam cooler and a heating lamp that i had from a few years back- that has a white light in it instead of the red one and a lid.....i suppose the light may be 6 inchesabove the eggs or less......i am really puzzled cant get to my other material due to the flood in my area

 

[GodofPecking]

not a huge amount of information here, can you be clearer?


styrofoam is great in the short term, until they start to eat it, and then they never stop !!

 

[SLAP STICK487]

1ST TIME HATCHING EGGS MYSELF..i usually let my girls do the job. today i went out and gathered all of the eggs. 1ST i cleaned them, then i put all of the pointed ones in the fridge to be sold then i took the more rounded ones and put them down in a styrofoam cooler then i took the lid and cut a whole in it to secure my heating lamp., next i marked the eggs then placed them in then placed the lid over it...
IM wondering if it is going to work, i dont have a thermometer yet but i plan to get one when i can get to town. and do i have to turn them every hour or is it every 8

 

[GodofPecking]

you can buy automatic thermostat modules from china for $3 each, a handyman can hook them up.

I would suggest that unless you have at least an automatic thermostat, you'd be better off just putting the eggs you wanted hatched under the broody chooks, substituting ones you want for eggs you don't, then watching close when they hatch to see if the hen is accepting them, or if you need to take them away and raise them in a brooder.

 

[lazy gardener]

Before you commit to attempting to assist with the creation of life, you owe it to those little lives to be able to incubate eggs at the correct temperature, and at the right humidity. Any thing less than that risks getting them started only to kill them before they have achieved a state of viability. Please go to the learning center and read all of "hatching eggs 101". Only after reading that, would I recommend the undertaking of hatching some eggs with an incubator. You can make an incubator that will hold the correct humidity and temperature for about $20. You will need a heat source that is sized correctly for the box you're using, and you will need a thermostat. You will need a calibrated thermometer, and hygrometer to do the job successfully.