hannahsocal
Songster
- Jul 19, 2022
- 158
- 249
- 136
After a long search, I’ve found my top favorite incubators for days 1-18, but what about the best hatcher for days 19-21? A lot of people keep their eggs in the same incubator during lockdown and hatch days, but having a separate place for lockdown and hatch is very helpful if you have multiple batches of eggs going at the same time (or rather, 3 days apart from each other). So then, this got me thinking. Putting aside incubator design, what would the best HATCHER design be in a perfect world? 
Obviously, the hatcher would have to have these essential components:
1. Ability to maintain a high humidity level relatively easily and with stability.
2. Enough space for chicks that hatch to walk around comfortably.
3. Adequate ventilation and a forced-air fan to “dry off” newly hatched chicks and circulate warm air.
Additionally, these components would be nice features to have, though not required for basic functionality:
- a way to open the hatcher selectively to pick up or take out chicks as needed without disrupting the humidity levels, to avoid shrink wrapping chicks. Maybe a double-sealed door design like the doors used in decontamination rooms and underwater airlocks?
- a way to mark chicks as they hatch
All things considered, I have yet to find the “ultimate” hatcher - or even one that comes close to checking all of these boxes. You’d think someone would have designed or thought of a better design by now.
This opens up the discussion to you all:
What do you think the “ultimate” hatcher would be? What would it include? Does it already exist, or how can an existing design be improved upon? Chime off in the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Obviously, the hatcher would have to have these essential components:
1. Ability to maintain a high humidity level relatively easily and with stability.
2. Enough space for chicks that hatch to walk around comfortably.
3. Adequate ventilation and a forced-air fan to “dry off” newly hatched chicks and circulate warm air.
Additionally, these components would be nice features to have, though not required for basic functionality:
- a way to open the hatcher selectively to pick up or take out chicks as needed without disrupting the humidity levels, to avoid shrink wrapping chicks. Maybe a double-sealed door design like the doors used in decontamination rooms and underwater airlocks?
- a way to mark chicks as they hatch
All things considered, I have yet to find the “ultimate” hatcher - or even one that comes close to checking all of these boxes. You’d think someone would have designed or thought of a better design by now.
This opens up the discussion to you all:
What do you think the “ultimate” hatcher would be? What would it include? Does it already exist, or how can an existing design be improved upon? Chime off in the comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
