New to this!!

[Nicnac78]

Hi there I'm thinking of hatching some eggs but I've never done it before!! Could anyone give me advice on best incubator that's cheap, best place to get fertile eggs and a couple of General tips please!! I have 6 hens already and love my girls to bits and want my 9 year old to experience the whole process from beginning to end!! Many thanks.

 

[kirkinis]

You can use your eggs if you have a cock or take one 5 months old and use your eggs after one week
You can find cheap incubator on ebay or make your homemade .
This is my incubator

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi there I'm thinking of hatching some eggs but I've never done it before!! Could anyone give me advice on best incubator that's cheap, best place to get fertile eggs and a couple of General tips please!! I have 6 hens already and love my girls to bits and want my 9 year old to experience the whole process from beginning to end!! Many thanks.

Best and cheap really don't go hand in hand...lol They styrofoam bators are your cheaper models. They are also the models that need more monitoring. They are known to be more touchy temp wise, and prone to temp spikes/dips. They can have very successful hatches (I just hatched 33 out of 36 that went into lockdown in an older model little giant.) The thing is I spent a lot of time babysitting the bator and can because I am a stay at home mom. If you go with a styro bator I think I would say go with the hova bator. They even have one with a "picture window" in the top so that you can see more when they actually hatch. (You can get them on ebay for $100-$150) I would NOT recommend the little giant 9300 version as there are more people that are having problems with them than there are that aren't. You have some plastic midline bators such as the janoel, and then you have your high end, break the bank but idiot proof Brinseas which are your cadillac-set em and forget em bators. These are what the working/busy person really needs. They almost take care of themselves with limited monitoring.

Fertile eggs. I highly recommend that as a first hatch you DO NOT buy shipped eggs!! If I am reading right you only have your own hens, so unless you are going to add a roo to the mix, you want to find something local. I would look on your area craigslist in the farm/garden section for anyone selling eggs. Also many local area poultry groups will have facebook pages, you might want to see if you can find one for your area. I love barnyard mix chicks. You get such a variety and you never know what they are going to look like.

For incubation. Make sure that all of your thermometers/hygrometers are checked for accuracy, even if they are brand new. Consider "dry method" for humidity, especially if you buy a styrofoam bator. I can give you a link to my blog page on understanding/controlling humidity if you are interested. It's the method I use. AND everyone does things differently when incubating. No one is right or wrong as long as it's working for them and their chicks, but don't get discouraged when you ask a question and get 20 different answers that are sworn to be "the way" to do it. A lot of it is learn as you go because there are so many different variables different things work for different people, you just have to find what works for you. Welcome to the experience and I hope it turns out to be a good one for you and your child. We got started in all of this as a homeschool science project last year and now it's quite a "hobby" lol. Oh..warning: hatching is addictive once you've had your first successful hatch.

 

[scflock]

Fertile eggs. I highly recommend that as a first hatch you DO NOT buy shipped eggs!! If I am reading right you only have your own hens, so unless you are going to add a roo to the mix, you want to find something local. I would look on your area craigslist in the farm/garden section for anyone selling eggs.

CL is a good place to find cheap eggs, especially if you aren't too picky about the breed. Don't just look for fertile eggs in the search. Many people that advertise day old chicks, or roosters for sale, will also have fertile eggs. I don't even advertise my fertile eggs for sale, but if someone asks me I will sell them

 

[AmyLynn2374]

CL is a good place to find cheap eggs, especially if you aren't too picky about the breed. Don't just look for fertile eggs in the search. Many people that advertise day old chicks, or roosters for sale, will also have fertile eggs. I don't even advertise my fertile eggs for sale, but if someone asks me I will sell them

I'd look for anything chickenish and ask them....lol

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi there I'm thinking of hatching some eggs but I've never done it before!! Could anyone give me advice on best incubator that's cheap, best place to get fertile eggs and a couple of General tips please!! I have 6 hens already and love my girls to bits and want my 9 year old to experience the whole process from beginning to end!! Many thanks.

Would you or anyone in your family feel comfortable re-wiring a lamp if you had good instructions? If so, You and your son can build your own incubator for far less than the cost of buying one. Do a google search: "Rush Lane Poultry". This gentleman has lots of step by step videos on how to wire an incubator. He goes into detail regarding lots of different thermostat options. If you do build your own incubator, I recommend that you not put the time into it unless you include a thermostat and a fan. I'm on my third hatch with mine, and have about $20 invested in it. I'm ready to move up to a better home made bator, but will not do the build until after this hatching season.

As far as hatching eggs goes: Look for local. Any signs up in your area for people who are selling eggs? Stop and ask if they have a rooster. You want to get eggs from a farm that has a ratio close to 1 : 10 - 12.
That being said, my boy can easily handle his 15 girls, and I'd lay odds that he'd easily cover up to 30 hens! Or, if you're feeling like challenging the status quo: If there's a Trader Joe's or any other natural food store near you, see if they have "fertile eggs".

Finally, before you even plug in any incubator, I strongly urge you to read Hatching 101" in the Learning center. It seems like a lot of reading, but will be well worth the effort. You'll answer questions that you didn't even know you had. Then, when you start the process, you can think back, and have lots of "AH! HA!" moments! And revel in the experience, instead of spending the entire time wondering if things are proceeding the way they should be.

 

[irishsilkie]

can someone help my incubator has ran out of water on day 8 i filled it back up woth water but i think it was dry for a day will the chicks still be ok

 

[scflock]

can someone help my incubator has ran out of water on day 8 i filled it back up woth water but i think it was dry for a day will the chicks still be ok

They will be fine. It's the average humidity you are going for during the first 18 days. One day dry won't hurt them. Some people intentionally run dry for the first 18 days

 

[AmyLynn2374]

can someone help my incubator has ran out of water on day 8 i filled it back up woth water but i think it was dry for a day will the chicks still be ok

I'm one of those people who run "dry" or near dry during the first 17 days. Chances are if you are keeping your incubator's water wells full and are not monitoring the humidity or the air cells you are going to end up with chicks drowning at hatch time because the eggs are not going to loose enough moisture. When you get a minute, look at this: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity It might help you understand the humidity a little better and help you with monitoring the air cells so that you know they are growing properly.