Egg Incubator Instructions

Incubators

• Your choice of an incubator will depend on your needs. If you are just hatching eggs for the pure joy of it, a domed incubator will work nicely. Economical and portable, dome incubators come in various sizes and will hold between 6 and 12 eggs. The incubator of choice for small farmers and hobbyists is the square Styrofoam incubator. Styrofoam incubators are lightweight and portable like the domed incubators, but they hold up to 70 chicken eggs. If your sights are set higher and you want to hatch chicks for profit then you may want to consider a high-hatch incubator. Weighing in at nearly 100 pounds, the high-hatch incubators can hold up to 270 chicken eggs.

  You can find dome and Styrofoam incubators at your local farm supply store. Most farm supply stores can also order the high-hatch incubators for you. Incubators can also be found online. Hatchery businesses, like McMurry Hatchery, have a large selection of incubators on their websites.

Preparation

• Incubators should be placed in a room with little or no drafts. A temperature-controlled room where the average temperature does not fluctuate more than five degrees works well. Before hatching eggs in your incubator, you need to test the incubator. Plug the incubator in and adjust the temperature according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place a small thermometer inside and watch the temperature for 24 hours. The temperature should level off around 99.5 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the incubator undisturbed for another 24 hours to make sure the temperature is stable. Once you are sure your incubator is working properly, add water to the trough at the bottom. If you are using an automatic egg turner, put it inside the incubator. The temperature varies depending on what type of egg you are incubating. If you are hatching chicken eggs, set the the temperature to 99.5 degrees.

Incubation

• Now it's time for your eggs. The eggs should be at room temperature before going into the incubator. Place the eggs small end down in the automatic egg turner. If you don't have an egg turner, place them directly on the wire rack. Without an egg turner the eggs will need to be turned by hand four times a day. Mark one side of each egg with an X. In six hours turn the X side down. After six more hours, turn the X side up. Put the thermometer and humidity gauge on top of the eggs so the readings can be taken through the window at the top without opening the lid. For chicken eggs, the temperature should be maintained at 99.5 degrees through out the incubation period. The humidity should remain at 60 percent until the eggs begin to hatch at 21 days. Once the eggs begin to hatch the humidity should be increased to 65 percent. Control the humidity by adding or removing water from the trough.

Hatching

• Three days before your eggs hatch remove the egg turner from the incubator and place the eggs on the wire rack. Eggs should not be turned during the last three days of incubation. Do not open the lid once the chicks start to peep or break through the shell. In preparation for your newly hatched chicks, you will need a brooder box. A brooder box can be purchased from a farm supply store, or made out of a cardboard box or small plastic swimming pool. Fill the brooder with saw dust or other bedding material. A heat light is needed to keep the chicks warm. The brooder should be heated to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat lights can be hung above the brooder or clipped to the side. Leave at least 1 foot between the light and the bedding material. When your chicks start to hatch, put a full food dish and water container in the brooder.