Let's talk I N C U B A T I O N

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Some will see this title and think... Incubation? Is not winter just around the corner?

Yes! All the more reason to talk about incubating your eggs and hatching chicks now.

Think about it... maybe you want hens to lay eggs for you...

When do hens come into lay? Well, for example a Rhode Island Red won't begin to lay until around it's 5th month of life.

Chicks hatched now, will be laying their first eggs in February or March of 2009.

What takes the boredom out of winter more than little baby chicks on the kitchen table? (they won't be there for long, but it's a nice place to start them).

I never understood people waiting to order or hatch chicks in the spring...
You won't get eggs from them until November, if you hatch in June.

So, let's talk incubation and I'll be happy to share what I know, to get you going in the right direction...

Raise them in winter, put them to work in your garden patch in spring!

[gardengirl72]

Fred what is the best homemade set up for incubation. I am trying with my Quail (which may have been cooked already) and I need advise. I want to try and do it with the least amount of everything. I am thinking about the "in a pinch" version.

Help me......

[RogueAPBT]

Patti, here's some info found online. Hope it helps!

http://www.umsl.edu/~microbes/pdf/Incubator.pdf

http://www.ecquail.com/incubating.htm

Cheryl

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

You can get leaky aquaria from pet shops and chains. Tanks that don't hold water are still great for chicks of every kind.

Reptile tanks have the screen tops and are wonderful for baby birds.

Here is my YouTube version so you can see the setup I use small scale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL6mC_BrsDA

Check garage sales, someone always seems to be getting rid of an aquarium.

I like glass, as it is easily washed out and sanitized between broods, plus everyone can see the chicks!

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

I would first try to get one of the inexpensive Little Giant Incubators

Stil air is the least expensive and they have screen bottoms or automatic turners with quail cups in them.

You can get the still air models online for around 30.00 and forced air with turners for around 100.00

Saves many headaches to have a system already constructed for incubation.

Some of the best prices are at www.EggCartons.com and they have most hobby level units.

You can also go on E-bay for example and pick up a used one? But I am always concerned about bacteria with used systems.

Little Giant is one type I recommend and Brower Top Hatch units are also pretty good and they can go into your dish washer in between hatches.

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

You can watch this class project... how to make your own incubator.

You should know though, they had marginal results at best?

I'm sending it your way just for fun...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_H55i6rlrc

This was done with sixth grade kids.

[plantoneonme]

Thanks so much for sharing. I love your utube and really liked the walk around your backyard. Kim

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

I'm glad you enjoyed my short videos...

Sharing information is what it's all about! (">

[gardengirl72]

Fred, I have my eggs in a cardboard box, a light provideing 95 degree heat. I turn them three times a day, and moisten some hay in the box when I turn them.

What do you think? Also the first day the temp was around 107. Did I cook them already? And I can't for the life of me candle these eggs.

Should I just start over?

Patti

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

You would not beleive how often I get the "did I cook my eggs?" question...

There are lots of things in play here Patti... how long were they at this temperature? And at what day of development are the embryos?

I don't know much about how you have them situated, so I'll just give out the general guide here...

The first week is c r i t i c a l for everything.... heat, turning and proper ventilation/humidity.

If this is a still air unit, relying on simple convection (heat rising) for ventilation, then you should have them at 102 deg. F. at the upper 1/3 of the egg.

Turn a minimum of three times a day... always turn odd numbers... 3, 5, 7 and so on, this way a different side is up over night each night. (turn end over end, don't roll them, it's better.. people have a bad habit of spinning the egg too fast)

If your temperature spiked for an hour or less? Then you are probably ok. Bantam eggs are less forgiving, as they have less mass and therefore heat up and cool down quickly.

If you have, say a computer fan in use, to keep air circulated and temperatures even, then the target temperature is 99.5 deg. F.

If the eggs were not washed, nor sanitized prior to incubation, then this time of year in your area Patti, I would not add any additional humidity during the incubation process... up the humidity in the last 72 hours only.. this helps them hatch without sticking to the shell membrane.

Should you give up? No.. what have you to lose by continuing? I've had people toss eggs in the trash, only to have chicks hatch there.

Aside from "ideal" temperatures and circumstances, truly viable embryo's are very resiliant and can surprise us.

I've observed setting hens, leave their nest for up to an hour... I was certain their eggs cooled too much and the chicks were a loss... only to have a 100% hatch in the end.

Out of curiosity Patti.. why can't you candle your eggs? Get yourself the mini-mag light (with two AA batteries in it) focus the beam to a pin point and in a completely darkened room, put the flashlight on the side of the egg and see if there is any sign of vascular development or even a thickening of the material enough to cast a shadow... YOU can do it...

Keep us posted!

[gardengirl72]

Okay, I will keep trying. Thank you for the info. I have to say this a nerve racking process.

Can quail be shipped day old?

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

You won't see any real progress in the eggs until they are 5-7 days into development.

So, If you aren't there yet... not to worry. You are going to be so excited when you see that tiny embryo moving around in the egg!

As for quail, yes, they ship day old. BUT, know how you should get chicks in quantities of 25 normally? Well, quail generally come in orders of 100 as they are very tiny.

Please share this with anyone thinking about quail, chukar partridge, or other game birds... they actually fall under the control of State Regulatory Agencies that control wildlife management. You may need a permit.

State Fish and Game commissions have heavy clout and will not hesitate to hend down a stiff fine... no discussion there after the fact.

They don't want to deal with future issues of improper wild bird management, so they "chicken slam" those who don't do their research.

I attend meetings here in my state with our wildlife agency representatives and they hatch 250,000 quail and pheasant at a time... these are released onto State Game Lands. Entirely different category than domesticated birds.

In the past, breeders like myself, were contracted by the game commission to start quail and turn them over. As of around five years ago, the commission handles all their own hatching and grow out operations.

I'm one of those "front row" guys at the meetings... with my cappuccino and a name tag that has a chicken on it. They always start off poultry tech meetings with introductions... they go around the room.. "I'm yadda yadda and I hatch 500... it goes on... I hatch 300".. 250 and so on.. see, they are talking about THOUSANDS.. as in 500,000 birds! They get to me... I like to say.. my capacity is 204... and that would be... two hundred and four... period.. as in backyard guy. Ohhh, they get those smug looks on their faces... anyway, that's my input

[Backyard Permaculture]

I just put 42 White Rock eggs in a borrowed incubator today. Hope to do 2 batches of white rocks, then with my buff cornish roosters switched with the with the white rock rooster, start hatching and raising my own Cornish Rock Crosses

Now I realize they won't probably equal the commercial hatcheries cornish rock crosses in growing speed, but hopefully still grow faster than either of the parent stocks.

Then I need to build my Whizbang Chicken plucker and scalder, and I should be in the processing business

Ron

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Sounds like you're starting up and headed for a full freezer?

I'll be interested in reading about your progress and how you like your "wiz-bang" automatic chicken plucker!

Best of luck with your crosses... don't forget to keep a good log so you know what worked, genetically speaking, and what failed or didn't go as planned.

What sort of incubator have you borrowed?

Thank you for sharing.

[Kittikity]

I've built a couple incubators myself and had marginal results.. One with a small styrofoam cooler and one with a larger styrofoam chest.. My next version will be big with wood and styrofoam sheets.. When I get chickens again, I plan to hatch my own eggs and sell the chicks at the local livestock auction..

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

I hope you will share your final design with others here and then report on the results?

When looking around for resources, and if one is thinking of larger scale incubation... look at things already well insulated. You can save on materials and re-use something currently useless.

For example, you could purchase a worn out fridge, that still looks good cosmetically. Remove the front door and replace it with an adapted lucite or insulated door with a window in it.

I find that computer fans do a fantastic job of re-circulating air within the incubator and are very quiet. The sky is the limit as far as designs go. A good friend of mine is a long time poultry man... 45 years or more and he hatches 800-900 at a time. His incubators look like large fridges, with wonderful cabinet work enclosing them.

Since you are doing this in hopes of making an income from them? Just food for thought;

Consider partnering up with a local hardware or feed store and set a price you can count on. This brings business to the feed store and, you sell your quality birds at a predictable rate. Auctions can go any direction at any time. You don't want to go home with day old chicks, and they may end up selling for pennies a piece.

It's just too easy, for someone else to also show up at auction with a huge batch of surplus chicks and drive the price through the floor for you.

What breeds will you be hatching?

I really like the old fashioned cabinet type incubators, they really are extremely well made. I come across them from time to time and marvel at the fine oak and maple construction. Look more like parlor furniture.

I get inspected by the Dept. of Ag. and have to demonstrate absolute sanitation practices... so, sadly, wooden surfaces are off my list. I have to scrub out between hatches.

[Kittikity]

Well, it's going to be a bit of an experiment at first.. I've read that wood holds the heat better (like the old wooden ones) but I wanted to use styrofoam sheets on the inside to help hold the humidity and for better cleanup.. The only problem that I can't figure out in my head is the racks.. How to build them, what to make them of, how to keep the eggs secure so they don't roll around, how to turn them from the outside.. Turning a bunch of eggs with the door open is not something I want to do.. I would prefer having a rack system where the eggs are held up on end, but I may end up just having to lay them on their side..

I did use an old computer fan in the bigger ice chest incubator I built.. It was tall enough that I knew there would be a lot of temperature variation in it so I would need recirculating air movement.. I wired that myself and also learned to wire the wafer thermostat to the light bulb that I was using for my heat source.. Something to note though, if you use a light bulb for your heat source, don't put it in your bedroom.. I even had mine in our closet and it would wake my husband up several times a nite when it would switch on.. Of course, my closet was also the best place to put it because there's not a lot of temperature fluctuation in there and less likely for the kids to get curious and tamper with it..

As for what I'm going to hatch.. I love blue and buff orpingtons.. Buff orpingtons where the first I ever hatched.. I also really love red frizzle cochins but I prefer larger breeds, so I'm going to try and develop a standard frizzle cochin.. Finally, I love the quirkiness of the polish chickens but I really love the buff laced color on them so I'll be getting some of them.. I also want to eventually hatch some cayuga and muscovy duck eggs..

I said that I had marginal success with my previous designs.. But I'm not totally sure that was because of the incubator because all the eggs I've hatched were also shipped to me.. I've hatched chicken eggs, guinea eggs, and even some cayuga duck eggs..

But all of this is far off in the future as I get my goats, rabbits, and veggie gardens going.. I might get some chicks from the feed store in the spring just so I can have some eggs for the family later on.. Depends on what breeds the feed store has this year.. Or if somebody has some ready to lay hens of a breed I might like..

[Kittikity]

Actually I was just looking on eggcartons.com and I think I found some very economical plastic trays that I could use.. Might have to trim the bottom out of each cup though to allow better circulation through the eggs..