Selecting A Chicken Egg Incubator

Taking the time to research the features that your next chicken egg incubator might have available to help make hatching your chicks a little easier on you will pay off in the end. Chicken eggs normally hatch in about 21 days and the simplest models will not help you turn your eggs which will be necessary for the first 18 days. You will want to make sure you choose a model that offers humidity control as well as adjustable heat settings as both of these factors will be important. There are other features offered that will help make your hatching experience successful as well.

Your first incubator should be purchased and set up at the proper temperature at least 24 hours before adding eggs. Your temperature settings should be right around 99.5 degrees for any incubator models that work with a fan to keep the air inside the incubator moving. The simplest models will not even have a fan and you will want to measure the top of the eggs themselves which should be right around 101.5 degrees. Setting up your chicken egg incubator for at least 24 hours in advance will help you make sure that it is keeping a steady temperature.

 

You may also want a model that offers some form of humidity control as well. Humidity levels should be right around 60% for the first 18 days which coincides with the time they should be turned twice a day. The last three or four days before the eggs hatch they will not need to be turned and the humidity should be brought up to around 80% or so. You can use hygrometer to help you read the humidity levels in your incubator and keeping the temperature and humidity levels correct will help you hatch your new chicks on schedule and without any health issues.

There are chicken egg incubators that will automatically turn your eggs for you. This can help save a lot of time and make sure you don't forget along the way. You can even program some of them to stop after the first 18 days which means you will need to keep some reminder to check on them if your incubator is not kept in your site. It is still good idea to take a look at your settings on a regular basis as spikes in temperature may kill your eggs. The most expensive incubators may still fluctuate at times and there is always the chance that you may have a faulty product.

Beginners may benefit from using a simple incubator to start with so they can learn what features to look for in their next incubator. It is also a good idea to make sure that you are going to keep hatching chicks before spending money on an incubator that you may not even use in the future. There are many models available and the amount of chicks you plan on hatching at once will help you choose one that has the dimensions needed to hold the amount of eggs it will be required to. Whatever model of chicken egg incubator you choose it will be a good idea to make sure you understand the basics needed to hatch healthy chicks before even attempting to set it up.