- Good incubator recommendations, especially for new hatchers.
I used HHD 12c incubator for around 6 years about once a year, maybe twice. However, this last year it made a pretty rough sound when it booted up. It worked fine, but the noise put me on edge so I've retired it. It controlled temperature, you had to add the water to the tray yourself and it was a little hard to access, and it self turned. For my very first incubator it was great! It worked pretty reliably and was fairly affordable. Its best for those who do maybe a small hatch once a year, or classroom hatches (what I used it for mostly).
Currently I have a Sailnovo 56c incubator and I enjoyed it so much I got another! I did a lot of digging for a new incubator that met my criteria and this was the one! It manages the temperature, it self turns, it tracks humidity and self waters, it stops turning during lockdown, and you can change the number of days which makes it viable to use for other species! I set the eggs in, put the lid back, and let it go. I like the hands off approach to it. There's also a water tray if one would prefer to use that! The lid is clear compared to the HHD so you can see in. For its size I think it's priced on the lower end. This will be my second year with it so we'll see if it holds up, but last year I put it though constant hatches (up to/around 6?) so it made it through constant use. If you want a larger incubator (that isn't a commercial fridge style) that handles all the stuff for you, I'd recommend this one.
- Homemade incubators.
I'm definitely not technically inclined to make a homemade incubator
but kudos to those who do!
- Selecting eggs for incubating.
I start by culling (getting rid of) any dirty eggs. That means nothing with poop, dirt, cracked/cracks, egg matter like yolk etc, or really anything that sticks to the shell that is foreign. Then I look through and find the most Egg Shaped eggs. A chick is gonna grow inside so you don't want a golf ball, football, fairy egg, double yolker, etc. A good rule of thumb for me is to pick the most photogenic ones! You can candle the eggs (process of shining a light through the shell to see things inside) to see any cracks or fractures too.
- Humidity during incubation - "dry" incubation, what humidity do you incubate at, etc.
My incubator that I use keeps the humidity level throughout the incubation process (I can't remember what it is atm TvT but know that its whatever the Standard it) and then raises it at the end for hatching! (I don't do dry hatches so I can't speak on them!)
- How to handle power outages, temp spikes, and other incubation mishaps, like cracked eggs, etc.
Admittedly, I have no backup plan for if the power goes out. I'm grateful to live somewhere where if the power goes out it's usually for just a minutes, never longer than an hour.
Anything you'd like to add.
I think incubation can range from simple to rocket science. There's a lot of ways to do it, and so many little factors to think about. It can be extremely overwhelming for those who are just starting out. A little advice on that front is to take a deep breath and exhale. Eggs are surprisingly forgiving. I used to worry that my eggs were too cold or too hot or that they'd spontaneously combust and die. Or that I was opening the lid too much or not giving it enough humidity. I ran my first incubator for years without a humidity monitor! I still successfully hatched eggs. Temperature is a little more important, but I accidentally ran mine a few point degrees warm and was confused why my eggs kept hatching at twenty days! Incubating is a special experience I think, because you're facilitating the start of a life. Whether its your first hatch or your hundredth remember to enjoy it! <3
