How to use a tabletop incubator

Place the tabletop incubator in a location that does not have drastic external temperature changes, because the incubator may not adjust quickly enough. This primarily means to keep it out of direct sunlight and out of the direct path of a heating or air-conditioning vent.

Fill the appropriate water reservoirs to provide humidity in the incubator. A commercial tabletop incubator should have instructions directing which reservoirs to use during the incubation period. A homemade incubator with one reservoir may take some trial and error. The incubator should have a temperature of 99 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 50 percent to 65 percent.

Turn on the tabletop incubator the day before you plan to begin using it. This will enable the environment in the incubator to stabilize before the introduction of the eggs.

Write the numbers 1, 2 and 3 with a pencil on each egg's shell as you put the eggs in the incubator. Space the numbers equally around the eggs. The numbers will serve as a guide when you turn the eggs, so it's a good idea to place the eggs in the incubator with the 1's facing up.

Turn the eggs to the next number three times a day. This rotation mimics the hen's rolling the eggs to keep the yolks from attaching to the insides of the shells.

Add water as necessary to keep the reservoirs full and the humidity at the proper level. Not enough humidity can cause chicks to stick to the shells of the eggs and reduce the number of successful hatches.

Stop turning the eggs four days before the scheduled hatch. Chicken eggs hatch at 21 days; turkey eggs and guinea eggs hatch at 28 days. Duck eggs and quail eggs hatch at different times depending on the specific breed. Quail eggs usually hatch in 22 to 25 days, and duck eggs in 28 to 35 days.

Increase the relative humidity in the incubator to 65 percent to 75 percent two days before the scheduled hatch. You do this by increasing the surface area of the water reservoirs. A commercial incubator usually has channels to fill on the bottom. On a homemade incubator, increase the humidity by adding a second reservoir or placing a sponge that sticks out of the water in the existing reservoir.

Thoroughly clean the tabletop incubator with a solution of bleach and water to prepare for the next batch of hatching eggs.