Jump In and Incubate

Some say the best way to learn to swim is to just jump in. For better or worse that’s usually my approach to most things I do in life. Although I admit, on the way down to the pool I might ask a question or two with the hope of getting some useful information that might keep me afloat. I strongly suggest before you “jump in” to incubating eggs, you ask several questions. This is especially true if you have kids participating. Trust me, if those eggs don’t hatch, you’ll be down at the pet store buying hamsters while trying to convince your kids that hamsters make much better pets. Then when it gets loose in the house, you’ll have to convince your wife that you’re not an idiot! Of course I’m speaking about someone else’s experience. I actually bought my kid’s gerbils. However since that time, I’ve asked the right questions and as a result successfully hatched thousands of eggs.

When I incubate at home, I feel an extreme amount of pressure because my kids think dad’s an expert on anything poultry related. In addition, my wife points out that anyone who has worked sixteen years selling incubators should have no trouble getting a few dozen eggs to hatch. She made that comment a few months ago when I was about to incubate 1 dozen buff orpington and 1 dozen barred rock eggs. But these were not just any eggs, this was my youngest daughters first experience with incubation and I wasn’t about to disappoint her, like the way I did in the driveway playing basketball and she asked me to “dunk it”. Well I may not be able to dunk a basketball, but I feel confident with my incubation experience, I can make good fertile chicken eggs hatch in an incubator. So before you decide to incubate some eggs, let an “expert” or if you are not my child and/or over the age of 10 (the age at which I can no longer convince you I am an expert), let an “experienced incubation guy” answer some of the questions you might ask before you jump in.

Each school year I provide an incubator for one of my daughter’s teachers and the Randall Burkey Company (the company I work for) generously allows me to pick any incubator I want from our catalog. FYI, if you want to be a hero to your kids, loan an incubator with some fertile eggs to their teacher. They love the attention they get from their classmates asking them all sorts of questions as if they were an incubation expert. I usually choose the Hova-Bator because its small, quiet and reasonably priced. I consider price in the equation because occasionally a parent will ask about buying an incubator. I want them to know they can successfully hatch eggs in one without spending hundreds of dollars. The Hova-Bator is a small styrofoam incubator that will hold about 41 chicken eggs or 120 quail eggs. The idea of styrofoam turns off some people when they first shop around for incubators. I think they picture an ice chest in the back of a pick up truck all banged up from a weekend camping trip. In reality just as styrofoam makes a great insulator for cold drinks, it also serves very well to hold in heat. Since you probably won’t take it camping with you, it should hold up well if kept inside sitting on a table.

Assuming you already have the Hova-Bator, you will obviously need some good fertile hatching eggs. If you don’t have a local source for fertile eggs, you can have them shipped directly to you from one of the hatcheries that advertise in the Backyard Poultry Magazine. Your best bet is to order a more common breed of chicken that is know for its high hatchability rate such as a rhode island red or barred rock. You may also want to order a few more eggs than the number of chicks you plan on having to compensate for a few cracked eggs due to mishandling during shipping, infertility or as in my case, my one year old son dropping them on the floor. It’s okay though, I’m pretty sure it was one of the infertile eggs. Keep in mind, even when good fertile eggs are handled right and incubated properly, you may experience only 60 to 80 percent of the eggs to hatch. Before the eggs arrive though, you’ll want to have the incubator up and running at least 48 hours if possible. This allows you the opportunity to stabilize the temperature and humidity. For chicken eggs, the correct incubation temperature is 99.5 F and humidity should be set at 50% to 55% RH. This will be easier to achieve and maintain if the room temperature is 70 to 80 degrees F and room humidity is 35% to 40% RH. Also, avoid placing it near a window that would allow direct sunlight on it during the day and where moisture tends to condensate.

The Hova-Bator is designed to hold an automatic turner that turns the eggs about every two hours, which is almost a necessity considering most people’s busy lifestyle. The turner is generally sold separately, so be sure to specify when ordering. The Hova-Bator does come standard with a thermometer only, not a hygrometer. The thermometer it comes with is a small mercury thermometer placed on a clear piece of plastic, which I personally believe has room for improvement. I prefer to place a digital thermometer/hygrometer inside that is easier to read and displays relative humidity. Although many people successfully hatch without measuring humidity inside the Hova-Bator, when a poor hatched is experienced, it’s difficult to diagnose the problem without having important information such as the humidity reading. Correct humidity inside a Hova-Bator is normally achieved by filling one of its bottom liner troughs with water while the eggs are turning and both troughs while they are hatching. Having said this, I would still recommend placing a hygrometer inside to take the guess work out incubating.

Avoid opening the incubator as much as possible. If you have kids or you are a teacher doing a classroom project, you might consider getting a picture window view Hova-Bator. It allows for easier viewing of the eggs, therefore less temptation to open the top which allows heat and moisture to escape. Trust me; you’ll be just as curious as your kids when those eggs get close to hatching. On the last three days of incubation, remove the eggs from the turner and place them on the bottom wire mesh floor. Raise the humidity to around 65% relative humidity. This prevents excess albumen from becoming like glue when it comes in contact with the surrounding air. Dry air can cause the chick to stick to the shell making it a more difficult struggle to completely hatch. This makes it even more important to avoid the temptation of opening the unit after the first one or two chicks have hatched. Remember, if you still have more chicks hatching, they will require the same warm and moist environment the first few experienced.

In my opinion, everyone should incubate eggs at least once in their life. It’s an experience that brings joy and lasting memories to both adults and kids. I encourage anyone who has the means, to loan an incubator to a teacher so kids who may not otherwise be able, get to experience it first hand. The Randall Burkey Company has provided discounts to teachers purchasing equipment for classroom use for years. Teachers tell us it is the most memorable point of the year for most students. They tell us that the halls are “buzzing with excitement” when the chicks start hatching. As for my youngest daughters first experience with incubating eggs, SLAM DUNK! We started with 24 eggs, lost one to the tile floor, leaving us with 23 eggs to incubate. Out of that we hatched 19 healthy baby chicks. If I do the math right, let’s see, I need to carry the one, that’s about an 82% hatch rate. Not bad at all! In fact, if you ask my 5 year old daughter Kassidi, she would tell you her daddy’s an expert!

Note: Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for incubation when using their brand of incubator.