Personally, unless you just have the parts laying around the house, it is almost cheaper to just buy an incubator. I got my first one (a Hovabator 1602) for something like $45 at the local co-op. I know TSC carries the Little Giant brand and many people have good luck with those. If you and your parents are willing to spend a little more definitely go for the Hovabator Genesis 1588. It is much easier to use and more dependable than the others. I love mine and had great hatches in it all season this year. It runs around $150 or so without the egg turner. While an egg turner is easier, I have never used one in mine. They are pricey and I figure I can just as easily turn mine by hand. I never really set more than a couple of dozen at most.
With a hen that will go broody, theoretically she lays an egg a day for anywhere from 10-20+ days. She would leave them all in the nest. Whenever she decides she has enough, she will go broody, meaning that she will sit on those eggs to hatch them out. Not all hens are predisposed to broodiness (which is why leaving the eggs in the nest has little bearing on whether a hen will go broody or not). In truth, my hens that decide to be broody are just as happy sitting on a plastic easter egg as they are with a pile of eggs. I think something in them clicks to broodiness whether they have eggs under them or not. Certain breeds are more broody than others. Of my hens, I have some that have never gone broody in the two years I have had them and they have laid zillions of eggs. They lay them and ignore them. On the other hand, I also have silkies, a notoriously broody chicken. Some of them have laid exactly 10 eggs and then gone broody. It all depends on the chicken. You cannot make them be broody by leaving a pile of eggs. It just won't happen unless the hen is ready.
In the incubator, you are trying to mimic nature. Theoretically, you can take eggs up to 20ish days old and set them and they will do fine. Most people though try to set eggs that are less than a week old. You just get better odds that way. If you purchase eggs and have them mailed to you, most breeders send eggs that are no more than 3 days old if possible. That way they are still about a week old when you get them in the bator. Around here I pretty much hatch my own eggs. I collect for a week (labeling each egg with the date) and then set the cleanest looking or the best colors (as I often hatch out blue and green eggs). I let the incubator run for about 24 hours so it can stabilize and then I add the eggs. I also put an "X" on one side and an "O" on the other so I will know how to turn them. Once you put the eggs in you just keep an eye on temps and humidity. If you have a 1588 the temps stay really steady. I put a glass of hot water in mine and just keep an eye on water levels. I generally have to add more water twice during the three week period. I turn mine twice a day (every 12 hours). ON day 18 you up the humidity some and quit turning. At that point you leave the incubator alone until your hatch is done. It is very tempting to open that incubator once the chicks start coming out, but they mean it when they call it lockdown. Opening the bator early always kills the remaining chicks in my world. I learned the hard way to leave it alone. If everything has gone well you will have chickies on day 21. Once your hatch is done you move the fluffies to a brooder, shut down your incubator and clean it really well. Ta da!
While it is way easier to let a broody hen raise chicks, I have found that the incubator is a lot more convenient in my world. I can control when hatches happen. Plus, I kind of like having chicks in the house. I feel like they end up friendlier in the end (because of course I am over at the brooder all day long talking to them!).
Do some research before you jump right in. If you do a search on here there have been a gazillion threads about different types of incubators, hatching and all that. Study up and then talk it over with your parents and see what will work best for your family.
Good luck!
With a hen that will go broody, theoretically she lays an egg a day for anywhere from 10-20+ days. She would leave them all in the nest. Whenever she decides she has enough, she will go broody, meaning that she will sit on those eggs to hatch them out. Not all hens are predisposed to broodiness (which is why leaving the eggs in the nest has little bearing on whether a hen will go broody or not). In truth, my hens that decide to be broody are just as happy sitting on a plastic easter egg as they are with a pile of eggs. I think something in them clicks to broodiness whether they have eggs under them or not. Certain breeds are more broody than others. Of my hens, I have some that have never gone broody in the two years I have had them and they have laid zillions of eggs. They lay them and ignore them. On the other hand, I also have silkies, a notoriously broody chicken. Some of them have laid exactly 10 eggs and then gone broody. It all depends on the chicken. You cannot make them be broody by leaving a pile of eggs. It just won't happen unless the hen is ready.
In the incubator, you are trying to mimic nature. Theoretically, you can take eggs up to 20ish days old and set them and they will do fine. Most people though try to set eggs that are less than a week old. You just get better odds that way. If you purchase eggs and have them mailed to you, most breeders send eggs that are no more than 3 days old if possible. That way they are still about a week old when you get them in the bator. Around here I pretty much hatch my own eggs. I collect for a week (labeling each egg with the date) and then set the cleanest looking or the best colors (as I often hatch out blue and green eggs). I let the incubator run for about 24 hours so it can stabilize and then I add the eggs. I also put an "X" on one side and an "O" on the other so I will know how to turn them. Once you put the eggs in you just keep an eye on temps and humidity. If you have a 1588 the temps stay really steady. I put a glass of hot water in mine and just keep an eye on water levels. I generally have to add more water twice during the three week period. I turn mine twice a day (every 12 hours). ON day 18 you up the humidity some and quit turning. At that point you leave the incubator alone until your hatch is done. It is very tempting to open that incubator once the chicks start coming out, but they mean it when they call it lockdown. Opening the bator early always kills the remaining chicks in my world. I learned the hard way to leave it alone. If everything has gone well you will have chickies on day 21. Once your hatch is done you move the fluffies to a brooder, shut down your incubator and clean it really well. Ta da!
While it is way easier to let a broody hen raise chicks, I have found that the incubator is a lot more convenient in my world. I can control when hatches happen. Plus, I kind of like having chicks in the house. I feel like they end up friendlier in the end (because of course I am over at the brooder all day long talking to them!).
Do some research before you jump right in. If you do a search on here there have been a gazillion threads about different types of incubators, hatching and all that. Study up and then talk it over with your parents and see what will work best for your family.
Good luck!
