hatching without incubator?

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Your girls don't sound broody, just cranky about being disturbed while trying to lay an egg.
What breeds are your hens? Some breeds are more inclined to 'set' / 'be broody', and some are bred more for egg production.

...I feel like a dipsy doodle dum dum...

I AM the original dipsy doodle dum dum.

Lisa​

 

[andalusn]

Thought about this post for a few days

and I keep coming back around to the idea that this could be a perfect "project" for your son who wants to hatch the eggs. Two options that come to mind are:

1a. Researches how to incubate/hatch/ raise the chicks. Don't know the age of your son but at almost any age children grasp many details.
Do odd jobs and save money to purchase new/used incubator.

2. Research the same as above but also add the great section here on BYC where there was the bator contest. Many great home made units.
Spread the word amongst co-workers / friends the items your looking to scavenge to build the bator. I bet many would enjoy helping.. CPU computer fan etc..
once all parts are acquired have your son help where he can to build the bator and your off and setting or waiting as the case may be

Either way your son gets to be a larger part of something he wants and feel a real sense of accomplishment in a project well done.

 

[gootziecat]

I am without an incubator or a broody hen. Out of curiousity, I put a thermometer in my gas oven for several hours and the reading was about 101 or 102 degrees. Wonder if there is another fool out there that has contemplated using their oven. I saw where a lady used her bra. That's a hoot.

Years ago, when I had an incubator, we had a power outage for several hours. The incubator had a lot of eggs in it and the only heat source was a wood stove. So the incubator was shoved under the wood stove until the power was restored. It must have been good enough for the amount of time as it turned out to be a good hatch.

 

[panner123]

Quote:
The first incubator I used was heated by a coal heater. It was somewhat like a smoke house.
Talk about being touchy. But once you got it set right, it worked just fine. Maybe this is how I learned to use the LGs. This thing made the LG look like a state of the art cabinet bator. By the way, we even heated out house with coal at the time. Long before all these crazy rules on air control. Some here may remember those days, the worst part for me was the walk to the outhouse in the snow.

 

[destinyfarms]

Thanks everyone for all the good ideas... I have 3 rhode island reds and 1 leghorn that are laying. Which breeds are better brooders?

 

[andalusn]

Quote:
TheHenderson Chicken Chart does not note eiher one to be a good broody.

I bought my Cochin on looks and then found out later they are very broody along with my Maran and Orphington. Lucky me, I have one of each and I think the only reason the Orphingon is not broody is that she's too young

The other two are on batch #2 for the season. The chart was spot on for me.

 

[joe17]

Rhode island reds go broody often. I had some for many years.....

 

[DragonEggs]

Silkies are suppose to be great parents that will hatch any eggs if given the chance. ive even heard that the roos will help sometimes.

Hope my silkie goes broody soon. I want to hatch some eggs!