The difference,may sound stupid,but I don't know.

[Quail1994]

What on earth is the difference between an incubator and a hatcher??

Is it a must to have a hatcher and what does it do and how does it work?

Is it maybe a other word for a brooder?

Thankyou

 

[Stacykins]

It isn't a stupid question at all!

Sometimes the two are combined, an incubator can have a hatcher tray in it. The main difference is the hatcher has no turner mechanism in it, since eggs about to hatch should not be turned anymore. Many incubators have automatic turners. A lot of people who stagger hatches need hatchers so they can keep turning eggs that need to develop more, so they put the about done eggs in the hatcher. It also helps since eggs about to hatch need a higher humidity level than ones still being incubated. Make sense?

 

[Gypsy07]

Also, some people like to use a separate incubator and hatcher combo to keep their expensive incubator clean - drying off newly hatched chicks in a fan assisted bator is very messy as the fan blows chick dander all over the bator and it gets stuck up round the fan and the heater element and takes ages to clean out after each hatch. A basic still air styrofoam bator is an ideal hatcher as it has lots of room for the hatching chicks (some bators are very tight for space - I've just got a Brinsea Octagon and I can't imagine 20 chicks fitting in there!) and it's very easy to clean out afterwards. Also for some people in very dry areas it can be difficult to maintain high lockdown humidity with a fan assisted bator so they use a still air styro bator as a hatcher cause they are easier to get the humidity up high and keep it there.

It's not a must to have a separate hatcher at all. I'd imagine that most folk on here will incubate and hatch their eggs all in the one bator.

 

[Quail1994]

Thanks a whole lot