Incubating brooding... the works I NEED HELP!!!

[circlecfarms]

Hello
I am getting ready to starting hatching eggs here in a few weeks. I have been doing my research and have a whole notebook full of stuff... I would like personal experiences though... tell me what you think
1. Little Giant or Hovabator
2.What the best flooring is for the brooder
3. Should i have an incubator and a hatcher
4. Whats the best animal to start with... chicken quail turkeys or ducks?
Any other info or tips or ANYTHING is welcome and a BIG Thank You in advance!!! I hope I can get everything rolling within the next week or two!
thanks!

 

[kmsek]

Chickens are easiest I have owned them for about 3-4 yrs I have incubated and purchased iIsuggest before you buy check out your local 4 H office they loan incubators for free .The first time i incubated I used theirs and hatched several batches . this year i went cheap I priced multiple set ups for them and decided I would try to build my own ,so far !st try I have 9 out of 12 fertile .THE biGGEST SUGGESTION I HAVE FOR YOU IS TO NOT PANIC !!!it doesn't have to be perfect just consistent !!!

 

[jvls1942]

If you have a choice, then start with button quail.. the hatch time is much shorter than any other kind of egg.. the wait is not so long .. you can load up a lot of eggs, in case some don't hatch, you still get a lot that do.. that is what we use in the grade school here.. it keeps the kids' attention..

second choice would be guinea or chicken.. guineas seem to hatch very easily.. I hatch over 300 guineas each year.. they take longer than chickens by about a week..

I find that the most difficult would be goose..

hova with fan and turner..

 

[ChooksChick]

I made a cheat sheet for folks to use to take the guessing out of the majority of the incubation process.

I have a few articles about brooding chicks on my column . You can find lots of hints on my BYC page.

It's not as complicated as we think in the beginning, and the folks around here are very helpful, with most questions having been answered well previously if you look for posts using the search. I recommend using a second incubator for a hatcher if you can.

Good luck!

 

[ChooksChick]

And I say LG, as the Hovabator windows aren't able to be opened, and so you MUST open the big lid if you have to get in there, whereas with the Little Giant, you can open a window quick and get in and out.

 

[circlecfarms]

Thanks!!! you guys are great! I cant wait to start!!!