Hatching eggs at school

[Cocky]

I am a teacher, and I am going to hatch some eggs at school. I plan on doing it in my classroom. I was looking for advice from some teachers (or other folks) who have done this before. I have a couple of questions:

Should I tak the eggs home on the weekend in case of a weekend hatcher, or is the timing accurate enough that I can know exactly what day they will start hatching? (For example if I start on a Tuesday can I be pretty sure that they will hatch 21 days later on a Tuesday and not 2 days before on a Sunday?)

If so will a 30 minute drive with the incubator unplugged be too much and cause the eggs not to hatch.

I have some mutts, but is their any particular breed I should try that would have better hatch rates?

Any other advice would be welcome. Thanks from one chicken owner to another.

 

[Stormhorse23]

leave them at the school. yes, a 30 min drive is a very bad idea

 

[speckledhen]

Depends on the temp fluctuation in the classroom over the weekend, if someone has access to the bator and can fool with the thermostat or open it to look at the eggs. I provided eggs to a member to hatch in his classroom and he had "helpers" who tanked his hatch. The second try, he locked the bator up and got some chicks, so there are different factors to consider in the classroom, for certain.

 

[Harley's girl]

I am not a teacher but, I have hatched lots of eggs. I would NOT unplug the bator! Which type of bator do you have? I have a LG (little giant) I have one heck of a time trying to regulate the temp. Once I get it there (regulated) I would never unplug it!! You may want to put the bator on a surge protector. That would help. If your school is not at risk of loosing power I strongly suggest to leave them at school. I have only had 1 chick hatch early and it was only a day! Now I have had very late hatches. But all in all your chicks should make their debut on the 12st day!! and as far as your mutt chickens, they will be fine! I have a couple of those myself. Another member on BYC called him an M.B.C. (mixed breed chicken) Sounds much better than mutts!

Good luck to you!

 

[speckledhen]

That was me that called the MBCs, LOL. I agree, do NOT unplug the bator and drive them home. That will kill the hatch for sure.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
Breeds don't vary much in terms of hatchrates, so think about what you want them for ultimately, and go from there.

If all incubation parameters are accurate, chickens hatch on day 21. However, it's not easy to be sure that they will, and day 21 is, in any event, a 24 hour period, not a 6 hour school day

Most incubators would survive this journey, esp if well wrapped. What I would do tho, is get a small inverter and so the incubator will run quite happily in the car too.

As the school day is relatively short, you should really think about investing in an auto turner to get the best hatch rates.

hth

 

[arlee453]

Been there and done that and had a great time!

Set them on a Tues or Wed so if they hatch a bit early or a bit late you are still bound to see SOMETHING during school hours. If they hatch out over the weekend or at night, they should be fine as they can go up to 3 days without food/water.

Invest in the auto turner. The less amount of opening the bator the better, generally and even more so when you have a group of very curious children who want to 'help'.

Use a surge protector, and don't take them home unless your school has no power over the weekend. Thankfully, them turning down the heat over the weekends isn't as big an issue in the spring.

Here's my thread on my school hatch - it was a GREAT success, even though the teacher basically was no help at all on watching the bator, etc. If it had been my classroom, I'd not have had to take the bator home to set them for the hatch, etc.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24445

 

[Cocky]

Thanks for all the advice so far it is really helping. As far as the turner is concerned I am getting the Hovabator 1588 with the 1611 turner.

It is supposed to be all preset and pretty dummy-proof.

Any experience or advice on this incubator would be appreciated too.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
A very good place to start

Newcomers to incubation are rather more inclined to *fiddle* with settings than they are when they have hatched a few batches. The 1588 helps there.

Pay attention to the ambient temperature guidelines from GQF, and provided your classroom meets them, temperature is one thing less to worry about (most classrooms will be ok).

 

[K&H Chicken Farm]

You can get a plug in for your car for the 1588. That way if you do have to transport they can be pluged in while you do it.