First attempt at incubating.

[Floyd]

Last year we successfully hatched 5 out of the 6 eggs we popped under our broody Light Sussex (although sadly 4 were cockerels and had to go). This year we've borrowed a small incubator (Novital Covatutto 12) from a friend and bought a dozen mixed eggs from the local farm shop so that my 6 year old daughter can see the whole process from setting it up, to candling, hatching and brooding.

I've read up quite a lot on the whole process, just wondered if anyone had any pearls of wisdom to pass on?

[Scarlet]

That's how I got the bug! The kids weren't interested after the first hatch but I was hooked. just enjoy it! I keep a log of humidity and temp every time I turn them and have always done this - it a reference point to look back on if you have any problems with the hatch. Keep us posted, ask questions if you have them as you go along and put up some pics of the end result. Good luck!

[Floyd]

Cheers Scarlet, I'm not even going to pretend to be half as organised as you so the logs are unlikely to happen. I'm just looking into the best way of making a brooder for any hatchlings we get at the moment.....I'm better with the manual work than the paperwork

[Scarlet]

Ha! I'm so rubbish at building anything! Unless youre going to do loads it can be quick makeshift. I'm lucky that I have a stone outbuilding that I can use, I corner a section off and hang a heat lamp above. Its simple but it works for me.

[Floyd]

Well I had one chick hatch successfully yesterday evening (day 22) but no sign of anything from the other 11 so far. Poor little dude looks so lonely sat there surrounded by eggs, I think I'll pop her/him in the brooder today and give the others a couple more days before I give up on them.

[Scarlet]

Anymore today? How was the humidity over the last few weeks, makes a huge difference. Fingers crossed you now have a few more.

#i notice that you said you had the eggs from a farm shop. Do you know if the eggs were fertilised or did you just take the chance?

[Floyd]

No sign of anymore I'm afraid , bit worried about it getting lonely and difficult to integrate in with the other hens when the time comes. I'll candle the rest later today to get a better idea what's gone on with them.

The incubator is to be fair a very standard model without means of checking humidity and the eggs were pot luck from the farm shop. That said though, the bloke I borrowed the bator off has had a decent success rate with it and likewise I know people who've had a good hatch rate from the same egg source, so maybe it's just one of those things.

[Scarlet]

What a shame! My incubator is pretty basic but I've got a little extra gadget that cost around a tender. I sit it inside With the eggs and it shows humidity and temp, much better than what the incubator comes with. In this warm weather I find humidity is difficult to keep within the limits. Buying farm eggs is a bit hit and miss, best results come from eggs that are very fresh, been handled gently (though I have often had them posted!) and from a small flock of hens that are running with a enough males to ensure fertility is high.

Such a shame, but it's not too late to try again...

It is difficult with one and s/he may well end up a boy but with the constant handling it will be very tame. You could try getting a couple of extra day olds in? Maybe worth a shot.

[Floyd]

Well I did the 'float test' on the rest yesterday and they all sat floating in what looks like the right place, however still no sign of anything happening. I'm going to give them until Thursday (day 28) just for my own piece of mind, then it'll be 'eggtopsy' time to see what went wrong.

On the plus side, the lonely dude is doing well.....noisy little bugger though! seems to love my Border collie nosying through the side of the brooder.....future friends I think.

[Scarlet]

For "candling" I have a baked bean tin with a hole punched in the top. (Can't remember how I did it, too long ago) covered the top with a piece of felt, that also has a hole. The bottom is open and I sit that over a light bulb on a desk lamp. Turn off all the lights and sit the egg over the hole in the top, the felt helps it rest but I keep hold of it. I check mine every 5 days or so. It's really interesting. First you can start to see blood veins forming, then you can see the shape and them breathing and moving. Obviously towards the end the egg is full but at least you can throw the dud ones out as you go along.

[Floyd]

We gave up on the remaining eggs on day 26 and went and bought 3 chicks to keep our lonely dude company, so we've now added a cream legbar, lavender auracana, another light sussex and whatever breed the hatchling turns out to be to our menagerie.

When we opened up the remaining eggs one was part formed, one was completely black and stinking and the rest were never fertile from the looks of them.

[Scarlet]

Oh, what a shame. At least you know the main reason for the poor hatch had nothing to do with the incubator. Disappointing though.

[Floyd]

On the plus side though, I've now found a local supplier of chicks and hatching eggs who seem to operate an extremely well run business Glad we did the 'eggtopsy', as you say it's quelled any worries about using the incubator again.

[Bill HH]

The vast majority of eggs sold for eating are infertile. You were lucky to get even one. We used to have large 17,000 egg incubators but I hatched out a lot of pheasant eggs under broody hens, I kept the humidity up by laying fresh turf under the nest.

[Scarlet]

On the plus side though, I've now found a local supplier of chicks and hatching eggs who seem to operate an extremely well run business Glad we did the 'eggtopsy', as you say it's quelled any worries about using the incubator again.

If you do have another run at it make yourself an "egg candler" it can save you a couple of weeks wait if there's been a problem and not sure if you have have kids, but its fascinating to see what's inside as the chicks develop. Kids love it.