Help! I want to hatch some eggs.

[ChickenNewbie01]

So, Ive got a banty rooster and some hens. But not sure if the hens are broody, Ive got some nest boxes set up for them, with some eggs in them! Ive caught 2 of them laying in the boxes a couple times, but its pretty cold right now! Not to sure if they are going to hatch.

So we want to make an incubator. Im going to look into how much it costs to get one tomorrow, but Id much rather make my own. Ive seen a few plans on the internet for some made out of cardboard or a fish tank!

Ive got a 50 W heat lamp that Im going to use.

Any one have any suggestions for us??

Oh and what about temperatures? And what do I do with the chicks once they have hatched?

Thanks!!

 

[clayb226]

I have had a couple broodies, you will know, as they will be in the box 99% of the time, even at night, and may get a little snippy if you try to mess with them. As far as an incubator, you could make one, but if you are not familiar with incubation I would opt to get a cheep one with a turner and a fan to move the air, and use it to grasp an understanding of the incubation process. They say that an accepted temp for one with a fan is 99.5*F, or 101*F with no fan. But I have a tendency to over think things, and plan to start my incubator next year, after a year or so of planning, and expect it to take a year or two to build, but I have a few ideas to implement that will take a significant amount of research and planning, before I could properly implement.

 

[JanO]

There are quite a few plans for homemade incubators on here, and you can Google home made incubators and get hundreds more. I'm currently making one out of an ice chest. I can't wait to get it done and test it. I thought about buying one, but when I looked at the prices I decided that home made would be fine. I think I have a total of $20 dollars invested in mine so far.

As far as broody hens are concerned, you will know when they decide the time is right. They won't get out of the nest and will let you know that your presence is not welcome in their space. They may be laying eggs in the nest now, but unless they are sitting on them they are not going to hatch.

 

[ChickenNewbie01]

So ive read alot and asked alot of questions. And we are now in the testing phase.

We have a little fish tank set up with a heat lamp, the temp is going good at about 100F, but the humidity is only at 20%. We've added more water, added some wet paper towel to it. And its only come up a bit, any suggestions?