Newbie- Where to get started?

[Poohb10454]

I have had chickens for a few years and never thought of hatching eggs until now. I am thinking this spring I would like to buy an incubator and hatch out some new chicks. Can someone point me in the right direction as far as information on which incubator to purchase, is used ok? How can I tell which eggs are fertile vs which are not? and any other important information I will need. Thank you in advance.

 

[HS Pye]

Hi,

Personally I'd make my own incubator. But I know some people who purchased a used incubator and they're hatching eggs like crazy. You can't really tell if the eggs are fertile, as long as you have a cock they will most likely be fertile.

HS Pye

 

[bittychicks]

You can check your eggs fertility in general by cracking some of them open and looking for the blastoderm. Its a round circle on the egg yolk

 

[HS Pye]

You can check your eggs fertility in general by cracking some of them open and looking for the blastoderm. Its a round circle on the egg yolk

However it isn't very efficient to crack open fertile eggs :/. If you have a cock and see him breed, then you have fertile eggs.

HS Pye

 

[Poohb10454]

Right now I have 24 hens and 2 roo's. I dont know if that is enough roosters to cover the hens. However, I was thinking of putting a few of them separate for a few days and getting some fertile eggs that way.

 

[HS Pye]

Hi,

No, 1 roo per 12 hens should be fine. Happy hatching!

HS Pye

 

[bittychicks]

However it isn't very efficient to crack open fertile eggs :/. If you have a cock and see him breed, then you have fertile eggs.

HS Pye

I know nobody wants to waste fertile eggs but if you are making breakfast with the eggs you can look then. If none of them have the apparent blastoderm on them then you know you probably don't have good fertility! This is just a way to check before you start incubating, so you do not wait 21 days for nothing. It is possible that the rooster was ill recently and cannot fertilize the eggs or is too young or old.

 

[bittychicks]

I have had chickens for a few years and never thought of hatching eggs until now. I am thinking this spring I would like to buy an incubator and hatch out some new chicks. Can someone point me in the right direction as far as information on which incubator to purchase, is used ok? How can I tell which eggs are fertile vs which are not? and any other important information I will need. Thank you in advance.

Used incubators are fine to use, just see that the person has all the parts. It really depends how simple or high tech you want to go. The hova-bator or other still air incubators are pretty cheap, but can be hard to incubate with if you do not take the time to learn how to use it. Right now I have the Brinsea 20 Octagon Eco, and I love it. I had 30 out of 32 eggs hatch recently, and it was my first time using it. You can shop around and see which one has both the price, and the features that you are looking for. Good luck, hatching can be addictive!

 

[Poohb10454]

I was looking at the brinsea mini because I want something pretty automatic, user friendly without a lot of room for error

 

[bittychicks]

I've read reviews about that one and they were very positive. I guess the only down side would be if you want to hatch more eggs then the 7 or so that can fit. But if you are looking for something small then it shouldn't matter.