Hello Mrs....well I am a novice. This is my first hatching but I've been very pleased so far.
I did tons of research as well as reading here and asking many ?s.
I ended up buying a Hov-A-Bator w/ warm air and an egg turner. I LOVE it.
2 windows for viewing. A good thermometer too, keep it near a window and use a mag flashlite to peek inside.
I took a while to calibrate the thing to get to the 99.5-100 degrees but got there. Be sure you take a week or so to get yours.
The water, I put a few drops of food coloring in the water so I could SEE the level and NOT open it alot to check.
Then I read here! that an aquarium tube thru one of the vents works a trick to add water! It did! I used a 5cc syringe w/o needle.
Available at any
TSC or vet. Remember always add hot water not cold.
Then at day 17-18 I removed the egg turner, put a wet paper towel between the rez and the wire.
I filedl the second rez at about day 17-18 and then leave it alone!!! I did. My flashlite got overworked tho.
I did candle at 1 week and at 15 days to remove any duds.
Now at day 23 I have 10 happy chicks with 10 more eggs which I will give more time.
Once these lil darlins are done, I'll be doing a dozen easter eggers. This batch were bantams so it will be interesting to see how the small egg vs the large ones do.
Good luck,,,btw put the incubator on a low table where it is warm, no air conditioning. If you can't put a sweater on it.
I moved mine to my spare bedroom and it is 82 in there so if I pop it open to grab a chick and egg I don't lose much.
The brooder, a pack n play is close by and set up for the damp peeps with a good light for heat.
I use wee wee pads initially for footing, SO easy to clean with no bacteria.
Looking forward to another newbie's stories. So please share.
Sage
