What incubator would people recommend?

[black_cat]

You want to try not to open the incubator during hatch. As you get more experienced you can snatch them out quickly, but the worry is that you will dry out the eggs that have pipped and not hatched. This can cause shrink wrapping where the chick can’t hatch on its own because the membrane is hardened onto it.

Okay! What would you do if one needs help hatching or is injured etc? Are they ok staying in the incubator until the others all hatch? Do they damage the other eggs?

 

[IamRainey]

Glad someone else weighed in on that question.

I took them out once their feathers down had dried and they got active. It was so easy and quick and we didn't lose any in 2 hatches. So that's what I'd do but, black_cat, you might want to heed more experienced advice.

 

[FloorCandy]

Okay! What would you do if one needs help hatching or is injured etc? Are they ok staying in the incubator until the others all hatch? Do they damage the other eggs?

This is a difficult question. In my experience, yes, they can harm the other eggs by kicking them around and making the chick malpositioned. With regular sized eggs in the NR360, many people leave the turner in, but turned off at lockdown, that way the chicks can’t move the eggs too much. Putting bumpy shelf liner below the eggs helps as well. I raise quail, so leaving the turner in still leaves room to get kicked around, I’ve been making little channels for the eggs to sit in at lockdown, with extra strips of shelf liner on either side of a row of eggs, this keeps them from rolling side to side and has worked well for me.

Once hatched a chick can remain in the incubator for up to 24 hours. If one is injured or in distress you should remove it as quick as possible, get everything ready and plan your movements before opening it. Many people will use a straw or pipette to add water to a paper towel inside the incubator if they need to open it, recently Ive tried just dampening a small piece of shelf liner and tossing it in there, the porous nature of it gives a lot of surface area to spread moisture from.

 

[black_cat]

This is a difficult question. In my experience, yes, they can harm the other eggs by kicking them around and making the chick malpositioned. With regular sized eggs in the NR360, many people leave the turner in, but turned off at lockdown, that way the chicks can’t move the eggs too much. Putting bumpy shelf liner below the eggs helps as well. I raise quail, so leaving the turner in still leaves room to get kicked around, I’ve been making little channels for the eggs to sit in at lockdown, with extra strips of shelf liner on either side of a row of eggs, this keeps them from rolling side to side and has worked well for me.

Once hatched a chick can remain in the incubator for up to 24 hours. If one is injured or in distress you should remove it as quick as possible, get everything ready and plan your movements before opening it. Many people will use a straw or pipette to add water to a paper towel inside the incubator if they need to open it, recently Ive tried just dampening a small piece of shelf liner and tossing it in there, the porous nature of it gives a lot of surface area to spread moisture from.

I don't understand about half of that post most likely because I'm not experienced with what incubators look like or how they work has someone figured out a thing where each egg has it's own separate thing, so that
A) the chicks won't harm the other eggs
and B) you can open just that section of the incubator to take the chick out without harming the other eggs
???
That seems like it would make sense.

 

[FloorCandy]

I don't understand about half of that post most likely because I'm not experienced with what incubators look like or how they work has someone figured out a thing where each egg has it's own separate thing, so that
A) the chicks won't harm the other eggs
and B) you can open just that section of the incubator to take the chick out without harming the other eggs
???
That seems like it would make sense.

I wish, if it exists it probably costs a fortune :-(

 

[black_cat]

I wish, if it exists it probably costs a fortune :-(

As someone who knows nothing about incubation, to me the most logical incubator for *small* hatches would be a round one with different compartments (1 per egg or per 2 or 3 eggs or something) that were positioned around a centralized contraption that does the humidity and temperature. That way you don't risk a chick harming other eggs (aside from any others in the same section) and once all the chicks in the section have hatched, you can put those 2 in a brooder without jeopardizing the other 14 or however many.

 

[IamRainey]

The small Brinsea is round.

If you look carefully under the eggs there's a little plate that rotates, rotating the eggs in the process. Under the plate is a corrugated piece of cardboard that needs to be fresh for each hatch. The external reservoir is that little pocket on the right. The heating element is in the black portion of the lid and the internal reservoir is in the area in the center where you might detect a grate-like device. The programming is all in the top black portion.

The whole thing is about 10" in diameter so it doesn't take up space. We set ours up on a counter between our kitchen and family room so my grandson didn't miss a thing.

You set the number of days, the humidity and possibly a few other things based on what you're hatching (chicken, turkey, duck or quail eggs, for example). There's a manual that helps you figure out the settings and do the input. The manual, in my humble opinion, could be easier to read but nevertheless I got it right the first time out. And people here will help you if you have questions.

Retrieving a hatched chick is in no way difficult as the lid (everything not yellow) lifts off and goes right back on. I didn't have any appreciable difficulty with the humidity when I did it a few times on each hatch. I don't think any separate compartment would add anything. If there were such a compartment you'd be depending on a chick to choose it and, believe me, they're just careening around pretty mindlessly that first day. They're also pretty lightweight and not, I think, capable of doing any damage.

You can see other options for larger hatches and degrees of automation if you go to their site.

I hope others will give you lots of alternatives. This is what I have some experience of.