Projects With an Egg Incubator

Projects with an egg incubator involve the whole family and are a fun learning experience for children, allowing them to witness the miracle of birth. Determine the scale of your project before buying an incubator and eggs. If you have a chicken coop and lots of room for the birds, you will want a larger incubator. If you have a rabbit cage and a small fenced-in area, a small dome or Styrofoam incubator will do just fine.

  1. Incubators

    • Bird egg incubators come in all sizes and shapes, from large wooden cabinet-sized ones capable of hatching hundreds of eggs of all types and sizes, down to small dome incubators for one to 12 eggs. There are automatic incubators that turn the eggs and control the temperature and humidity levels with fans and forced air heating. Most people hatching eggs at home as a hobby use smaller, more labor-intensive incubators requiring hand-turning the eggs, spraying with a water bottle and closely monitoring the temperature and moisture levels. These are usually made of metal or Styrofoam.

    Bird Types

    • Once you've decided how many birds you want to hatch and raise, you have to choose the type of bird for your project. Popular choices are quails, pheasants, chickens, ducks, guineas, pigeons and geese. Then you will have to figure out the particular breed you prefer. There are hundreds of varieties of these birds, from the ordinary to the ornamental. Look through any of the dozens of egg catalogs in print or online to help you decide. Online auctions are a good place to select your eggs.

    Hatching

    • For all types of incubators, the procedure of hatching the eggs is pretty much the same. Research the species of bird you're hatching for any variations. Keep the temperature at 100 degrees, don't let it fluctuate. Humidity should stay at 60 percent. Control the humidity with a pan of water. Keep a thermometer and humidity gauge in the incubator and check them often. If not automatically turned, give the eggs half a turn four to five times a day, like a setting hen would. Mark the eggs to remember which way to turn them. Don't let the eggs point up, this can cause birth defects. Most types of birds will hatch within three to four weeks. Throughout the gestation period, candle the eggs to see how the chicks are doing. Do this in a darkened room by holding an egg in front of a candle or small bright light silhouetting---in surprising detail---the developing baby bird inside.

    Rewards

    • Hatching your own birds is a rewarding experience. The baby birds will bond with you and follow you around as they grow, thinking you are their mother. The hatchlings like to be held and will fall asleep in your hands from the warmth. No matter what kind birds you hatch out and raise, it's a special experience to be a part of their birthing process.