Got some books & an incubator from grandpa

[Azzeddin]

So.. my grandpa had a poultry/broiler farm which now is inactive unfortunately (hopefully i can continue his legacy in the future) and he gave me a broiler management book and another one that talks about usage of enzymes in chicken feed.. and i also got a brinsea incubator...

So i have an idea.. how about i buy some eggs and hatch em with this tiny incubator just so i try it out and when it succeeds i will just build a bigger one (probably have to search how) and use one of the barns in his farm to raise them and kinda experience it on my own...

*mind you theres a 100,000 egg incubator in that farm.. i saw it when i was little tho I don't remember its name.. it was the size of a whole room and its name ended with (NL) so i assume its dutch

so questions are:
1. Can i fit more than 28 eggs in this incubator
2. what do i do when eggs start hatching
3. where do i put the chicks after hatching?
4. what do i feed these chicks
5. what type of eggs should i start hatching
6. should i buy any bedding for them
7. should i seperate the males from females
8. what temp and humidity do i set for the eggs? (the incubator came preset but idk if thats the correct settings)
9. when they grow should i buy a specific feed with enzymes so they get more nutrients for more protein rich eggs?
10. as for when they grow up, theres one of these long rooms with cages that fit a load of chicks and theres rooms with just bedding and windows... where do i put them?
11. Also do i have to buy a specific genetically modified egg to produce better laying chicks with better quality egg?
12. Any other notes so i can guarantee a 100% hatch?

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

Congratulations on your new venture! Hatching is fun, exciting, and also very addicting, I'll add.

I would start in our Learning Center, under the Article tab, and you'll find many articles about hatching and raising chicks like here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/hatching-eggs-raising-chickens.22/

Brinsea makes several sized incubators. My incubators hold 56 regular chicken eggs, but hold 64 silkie eggs. It depends what size incubator you have, and what breed of chicken eggs you're putting in there.

 

[Susan Skylark]

There’s no such thing as a ‘genetically modified’ chicken available to the us public (FDA rule) but technically every individual is a genetic modification from the parents, as for breeding lines, decide what you are going to do and want then look into good breeds and strains. Please make sure you are ready for chicks before incubating! I’d also get a basic chicken care guide. As far as feed, again what are you going to do with your birds, feed with that end in mind, also what can you get locally? Fancy enzymes or additives are not a replacement for decent, quality, nutritionally balanced feed.