Hi! Back about 10 years ago, my daughter wanted to hatch eggs for a science project. So the next winter, (2nd grade) we built an incubator out of an insulated shipping box, an old thermostat my dad had in his basement, a heating pad, and a light socket/light. We had to do an experiment, so we put a put a barrier in between the 2 sets of eggs, one set being closer to the light, one further away. (There was only about 1-2 degrees difference between the two sides) (Yes this one was more of a project for mom than an 8 year old)
We turned the eggs 3 times per day by hand. I also cut a rectangle in one side of the box and put a plexiglass viewing window in it.
The heating pad was set to "low" continuously and the light was hooked to the thremostat. It took a little trial and error getting the temperature and humidity just right. The humidifier was just a container of water.
The eggs kept at the warmer side hatched on average 1 day earlier than the ones kept at the cooler temperature. We had some of the resulting hens until just the past couple of months. One of them at started to crow like a rooster last summer... really freaky... then she went broody and I put a few eggs under her... she was always such a good mom.
Now we are pretty much starting over with new chicks. I have to find a solution though to our BIG problem. I have a 4 foot fence surrounding my coop, but the hens fly over that and then fall victim to whatever. (Including my dog. who doesn't eat them, but "plays" with them like a cat plays with a mouse.) My husband says this is my problem since they are my chickens. He refuses to keep an eye on the dog when he is home and I am at work.
I need to put something over the fenced in area to keep them in... I just haven't figured a way to do this yet.
Another solution might be to keep thie wings clipped, so they can't fly.
We turned the eggs 3 times per day by hand. I also cut a rectangle in one side of the box and put a plexiglass viewing window in it.
The heating pad was set to "low" continuously and the light was hooked to the thremostat. It took a little trial and error getting the temperature and humidity just right. The humidifier was just a container of water.
The eggs kept at the warmer side hatched on average 1 day earlier than the ones kept at the cooler temperature. We had some of the resulting hens until just the past couple of months. One of them at started to crow like a rooster last summer... really freaky... then she went broody and I put a few eggs under her... she was always such a good mom.
Now we are pretty much starting over with new chicks. I have to find a solution though to our BIG problem. I have a 4 foot fence surrounding my coop, but the hens fly over that and then fall victim to whatever. (Including my dog. who doesn't eat them, but "plays" with them like a cat plays with a mouse.) My husband says this is my problem since they are my chickens. He refuses to keep an eye on the dog when he is home and I am at work.
Another solution might be to keep thie wings clipped, so they can't fly.
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