Incubating in my bra: An experiment.

[Farmer Viola]

I've done "dry" hatching in a forced air incubator. Although it can be misleading when people read dry hatch. It doesn't necessarily mean not adding any water at all. It is just a hatching method running lower humidity throughout the initial stages of incubation and only raising it pretty high for "lockdown". For people in more humid climates this may mean they don't need to add any water during the first stages. But people in dryer climates will still likely need to add water. I ran mine between 25%-35%, and being in Texas I had to keep a dish of water in there to maintain that level. In most cases you want to be sure the humidity doesn't dip below 20%, even in a "dry" hatch.

x2
I also dry hatch in a forced air incubator, as well as a still-air.

 

[Tammy N]

I just did the dry hatch first time awesome everything went better then adding the water for humitity .
i think i like it better i am also on the coast

 

[enola]

I live in SC and I also dry hatch. Usually the humidity in the environment is high enough to allow me to do this.

 

[Renee08]

Hello, I know that this post is a bit old but I am currently in possession of two fertile eggs described as a breed called "Gold"??? Anyway, the Miss told me to place the eggs in an incubator. Only problem is that I do not have one. She took the eggs out of a carton and handed them to me (these are not store bought eggs) . I placed the eggs in my bra (because, honestly, the fact that they were only being kept warm by the hot weather worried me,) and that is where I am keeping them. I have them tucked in the under part of my sport bra and also have a heating blanket along with a shirt and hoodie. The Miss told me that they were 3 days old. Can you possibly give me any advice that you could offer?? Love the thread and so sorry it did not work out the first time. Thank you!

 

[gimmie birdies]

Three days long does not mean it was 3 days incubated, I would consider it day one when it has incubated one full day.

look up how to make your own incubator, it is easy and cheap.

If you insist on bra incubating, your body heat is not enough, it is enough to get the egg started, but you need more heat. try hand warming packet on the outside part of the bra.

I think all the walking aroung will dislodge the memembrane though.

good luck.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Hello, I know that this post is a bit old but I am currently in possession of two fertile eggs described as a breed called "Gold"??? Anyway, the Miss told me to place the eggs in an incubator. Only problem is that I do not have one. She took the eggs out of a carton and handed them to me (these are not store bought eggs) . I placed the eggs in my bra (because, honestly, the fact that they were only being kept warm by the hot weather worried me,) and that is where I am keeping them. I have them tucked in the under part of my sport bra and also have a heating blanket along with a shirt and hoodie. The Miss told me that they were 3 days old. Can you possibly give me any advice that you could offer?? Love the thread and so sorry it did not work out the first time. Thank you!

If you can keep the heating blanket in a room and wrap the eggs in the Blanket you wouldn't have to keep them in your bra you would just have to turn them

 

[renk777]

Apparently, I'm as weird as the original poster; though not nearly as endowed We are new to having chickens...adopted 11 Golden Comets from my inlaws after a hawk targeted their flock repeatedly. They were going away on a 3 momth trip and while the neighbors would most likely have been willing to feed them and check up on them, they wouldn't have been able to free range. So we took them....along with 11 more girls and a roo I adopted when our neighbors decided they wanted chickens as well. Just not in their yard LOL So we're 23 birds deep in chicken now. Some of the girls still shun our roo (Elliott's) advances so it seems our eggs are about 50% fertile with that percentage climbing by the week. He's a good roo...soo gentle...and he respects when they aren't having it. Anyway, I was scrambling eggs this past Saturday and noticed about half were fertile...those from our older girls...the Golden Comets. So I grabbed another egg I'd just collected that day and threw it in my shirt...not really thinking. But then I started to wonder if it was possible to incubate an egg so I googled it...and found this thread, among others. I was content carrying my little egg (affectionately named 'Tuck') around until I had another revelation. You can't introduce just 1 bird to a flock! I needed another at the very least. So 2 days later, in went another egg that grabbed my attention when I was on egg collecting duty for the day. The following day, I was apparently broody and added another. Clearly, this is before I was completely informed of the term 'Lockdown'...but I'll deal with that when the time comes. For now, I'm 6 days in with Tuck, 3 days in with Tooke, and 4 days in with my Tucca egg...which turns out to be a double yolker! So far, all three are fertilzed and Tuck is growing right on schedule; though his air sac remains small despite the humidity and I'm looking for advice as to what I can do in that respect. I read that if the sac is too large, there's too much humidity....to small and there's probablynot enough humidity. But it's been quite humid here and I throw a damp cottonball in with the eggs a couple times a day as well as drip a couple drops of water every now and again as I read that hens have been observed doing the same. As of yesterday, both Tooke and the Tucca yolks were dark and sort of move around but stay in one place as I turn the egg. It reminds me of a compass. I believe that's a good sign but I haven't seen any vessels yet. Hoping to confirm at least one of those eggs has a growing inhabitant(s) tonight. I know the odds are stacked against me but now that I started this little adventure, I can hardly stop knowing that Tuck is already a little life growing inside my shirt. I created a page on FB for my little eggs so if anyone wants to follow or if anyone has tried this before and would like to compare experiences and notes, I'd love any and all advice to increase my chances of this endeavor being successful. Thanks, all! https://www.facebook.com/TuckandTucca/

 

[Erka97]

You have the air cell bit backwards; too small means too much humidity, too big is too low humidity.Good luck with your bra eggs.

A friend of mine tried this with an egg I gave her, however she's an extremely bubbly person and jumps around a lot.. She scrambled the poor egg at maybe a day old.

 

[renk777]

Oh, wow! That would make sense then! It's been so humid! And I was adding water! So far, I've found a few bits of info online that have proved false. Just goes to show how unreliable the Internet can be! Guess I'll stop adding moisture until lockdown unless the relative humidity around me drops considerably. Thank you!

 

[Zonezgirl26]

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only person to try this. I have some chickens that keep laying eggs and not sitting on them. After candling a few I myself have decided to try and hatch one in my bra. I have always wondered since a child if it could be done. Well I'm on day 10 of my experiment and all seems to be going well. I have never tried to incubate eggs before so I'm a noob with it all. As far as night time I was so scared of squishing the egg since I sleep on my side and sometimes stomach. I'm also a restless sleeper. So to give me piece of mind at night. I've taken a plastic Easter Egg added a few holes for air and covered the inside with cotton. I place the egg inside and put it inside my bra at night. I have taken pictures throughout this journey and will most likely post my own thread with the entire experience. I'm looking for others that have tried and completed the same with hopes to get a better understanding so that I will have a better chance of a successful hatch.
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