Hatching without an incubator or a broody...??

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
This is not a stupid question.. People have been incubating eggs since egyptian times.. If you are using chicken eggs, they need to be incubated for 21 days... If the environment is not ideal, it can be as little as 18 days or as long as 26 days in some cases.. For the first 18 days, the humidity needs to be between 30%-40% and then the last 3 days (lockdown) it needs to be bumped up to between 60%-65%.. If you are going to do this without an incubator, you most definitely need to spend a few bucks on a hygrometer/thermometer (about $7 from walmart) to make sure you keep it up.. You don't have to create a whole room to suit this environment.. You can very easily just use a cardboard box with a dish of water and a sponge in it with a lamp over it.. Make sure the lamp don't get too hot so you may have to try a few different bulbs to get the correct wattage.. Another thing you want to do is use either a desk lamp or clamp light so the light isn't actually touching the cardboard.. This could start a fire... But, the design can be very simplistic.. As for turning, you need to turn them 3-7 times a day (always an odd number) so they don't stick to the shells.. For the last 3 days, stop turning and bump the humidity up and hope for the best... If you want to try to build your own incubator as many of us have, there are a lot of designs on this site... I made mine out of 3 drawers I found in the shed.. The whole thing cost me a few hours of time but no $ at all since I had everything for it just laying around anyway.. I just had to look...

Goddess

 

[GaryDean26]

This is probably a stupid question, but has anybody ever hatched eggs without an incubator, either the electric kind or the feathered kind? I mean, for instance, using a heated room/box that isn't sealed or temp. regulated. I think the temp needs to be at around 100 F. with 60% (or so) humidity, but if you were able to do that over the required incubating time, could you hatch an egg? Just curious, 'cause I'm thinking of giving it a shot. What have I got to lose except a few eggs

Yep...I had an incubator give out at about 10-12 days into a hatch. I woke up one morning and the temperature was room temperature and the unit would heat. I didn't have a back up incubator so I lined a heating tray desined for keeping food warm in a serving line and put the eggs in. The heat and humidity were all over the place. I saw temperatures as high as 111 degs and all the way down to room temperature. Humidity was between 25-85%, but we still have a 22% overall hatch rate.

 

[chickenhawk1982]

@ Flowerchicks not trying to be mean or anything but please do yourself a favor and buy an Incubator I promise it will pay for its self in a month of what your power bill will be for a heating pad and space heater combined. just an FYI tractor supply has there little giants on sale right now during chick days for $39.99 and the auto turner is $39.99 aswell. I know its not the best incubator in the world but for the price you can't beat it. Also if your not wanting little giant which I personnaly didnt you can go to a local southern states if you have one? I went on there website printed out a $10off coupon and ended up getting the Hova-Bator 1602N w/turner for $90.13 with tax. Anyways sorry to join in just thought I would add a little info for you. Also I do handyman work building etc and like someone said earlier it wouldnt be a good idea to put that much humidity in your bathroom for that long of a period. I guess the box thing would be ok but at the same time a light buld in a cardboard box is a fire hazzard in it's self. I would just invest the $80-90 and buy one. Take it from me my last power bill was $409 from heat lamps and heaters for chicks and it is usually $150 max.

 

[ReikiStar]

That would be what is known as an incubator. Not a very effective one, but one none the less. Please remember that you are taking responsibility for the lives of animals by doing this, please think it through carefuly.

Seriously. What's more important...being clever and hatching chicks in a damp sock (or whatever weird-never been done contraption) or providing these future lives with a safe and adequate environment where their DNA can reach it's potential and incubate healthy chickens?

I think it's sickening that people treat fertile eggs like they are science projects when no real scientific knowledge is to be gained from experimenting with them.

 

[chickenhawk1982]