It has been over 10 years since I have hatched eggs out in the incubator. I have chicks coming May 19th, so decided to see if I could hatch some of our eggs to go with these chicks. So about 10 days ago I started saving the eggs that I brought in from the hen house. I put the eggs in egg cartons with one end propped up on my counter. Twice a day I switched the ends that were propped to keep the yoke from sticking to the shell. Last week I cleaned up one of our incubators. I left it out in the sun for a day to kind of sterilize it. Then Friday I plugged it in and started adjusting the temperature. I set the eggs on Sunday evening. So far so good. I hope to figure out a way to candle them in 10 days. I thought I had a candler, but can't seem to find it.
I am trying to keep the temperature at 100* since I don't have a forced air fan for it.
A little bit about the incubator. We actually have 3 incubators. We have 2 Hova-Bators and 1 Little Giant. The Hova-Bators use a wafer for the thermostat. The Little Giant is all electronic. I really dislike the Little Giant. I have never had a great hatch in it. I have had some great hatches in the Hova-Bators. A good hatch is 50% to 60% according to the experts.
I have actually had 80% and 90% hatches in these 2 Hova-Bators.
I even hatched goose eggs in one of them once. Supposedly that is impossible because the heating element is too close to the eggs. I just put 4 eggs in and turned them several times a day. We had a 50% hatch, but lost one later. Jade, the goose, lived a long happy life.
Over the years, I have hatched many chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasant, quail, guineas, and chukkar. These incubators have been used hard, but not for at least 10 years. Not sure if I will have a good hatch after all these years, but giving it a try. I will try to update this post as I go along. I am turning them every 8 hours I turn at 7 a.m., 3 p.m., and 11 p.m. Working so far. My biggest problem has always been keeping the humidity correct. This time, I not only filled the tray with water, but folded up 2 paper towels into little squares and have them in the corners. I keep these wet. I have a little squirt bottle for wetting them down.
I have 50 eggs in here. If I really get back into this, I may get an automatic egg turner some day.
Blessings,
Winona