Farming Friends

Chicks and keets can be left in the incubator for up to 24 hours once they have hatched before moving them to a brooder.

Hi 4 of my japanese quails have just hatched this morning how long do i leave them in the incubator for?Shane

Hi Shane,
Congratulations on the hatch of your quail. They are lovely little chicks and look abit like bumble bees!
You can leave the chicks in the incubator for 24 hours without food and water as they will still be feeding on the feed sac from the egg.
When they hatch out their down feathers are damp and it is good to let them completely dry out and fluff up.

It is also good to keep them in the incubator for up to 24 hours after hatching if you have other eggs in the incubator as not all eggs hatch at the same time.

I have left quail, guinea fowl and ducks in the incubator for 24 hours before transferring them to the brooder. I make sure that I have the brooder set up before I take them out and have the lamp on so that the temperature is correct once they are removed fronm the incubator.

I hope this information helps. Let me know how your quail get on.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

How long do you keep your chicks in the incubator?

Positioning eggs in an incubtor depends on the type of incubator and whether or not you are using an automatic egg turner.

Hi i was just wandering how do i position chicken eggs in an incubator do i lie
them down or can you leave them standing up like the point of the egg pointing
up.
Thanks
Shane

Hi Shane,

You can lay the eggs on their side in the incubator and if you mark one side in pencil with a cross and one side with an 0 then when you are turning the eggs you will know which side to turn onto next. it is recommended that you turn the eggs 3 or 5 times a day if you don’t have an automatic egg turner. Some turners are just rollers that roll the eggs over on their side and some are trays that tilt the eggs from side to side. My egg turner is a tray that requires that the eggs be placed with the point facing downwards.

Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

Does anyone have any advice for Pauline whose broody hen has hatched on of the duck eggs and then dserted the rest to sit on the duckling?

Just found your site and it seems ideal. I have had 7 duck eggs under a broody hen and on Wednesday (the 28th day)the first hatched. Against all odds too, as its the second broody (the first deserted) and the eggs had gone very cold for a time. Unfortunately the hen again left the remaining eggs to sit on the duckling so I have just removed the 6 today unhatched. I am very disappointed and quite anxious as I duck will be lonely. Pauline

Hi Pauline,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I am glad that you like the look of my website. Congratulations on your duckling hatching out but I am sorry that the hen deserted the eggs and the other eggs didn’t make it.
Maybe you could try incubating some eggs in an incubator and placing some pot eggs under the broody hen and then when the ducklings hatch in the incubator you can put them under the broody hen so that she will still adopt them. I know that Sallyanne has done this successfully with her silkies before so that might be worth a try. I hope that your duck doesn’t get too lonely.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

Any advice about what to do when a broody hen deserts the eggs would be appreciated.

Different bird’s eggs require different humidity levels in the incubator. Sometimes the humidity levels get too high and need to be decreased and sometimes the humdity levels get too low and need to be raised. Marcia and her son have turkey eggs in the incubator but need help to raise the humidity.

can you tell me how to raise humidity in incubator for turkey eggs. we have a homemade incubator that measures approx. 36″ tall, 36″ deep and about 24″ side. It has 3 tray levels.
My son is trying to hatch turkey eggs and is having trouble getting humidity about 68. Any tips will be appreciated

Hi Marcia,
I believe that low humidity is caused by high temperatures which dry out the water trays in the incubator and help the humidity in the atmosphere evaporate. If you wish to increase the humidity levels in the incubator then add more water to the water trays in the incubator. You could also try to increase the humidity levels in the room in which the incubator is. You may also need to regulate the temperature in the room in which the incubator is in so that the temperature in the incubator doesn’t get too high.

I hope this information is of use and that the turkey eggs hatch out ok. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

If anyone has any tips on raising the humidity levels in an incubator then I would like to hear them, so please leave a comment.

Does anyone know if geese can incubate and hatch rhea eggs successfully as Rick would like to know?

Hello this is Rick from Wisconsin….I have three rheas fro a bout threeyears… this is first year they are laying egggs good… i have two greyfemales and one 4 year old Male breeding with them…eggs in incubator look fertile and are developing….for a week i found no eggs and now found five of them under one of my BigWhite embem goose hen in her nest..the rhea was lkaying them next to the gooseand goes in by the goose like they are friends…. do you think the goose willincubate those eggs or will the eggs get too Hot??? what do you think ..ever here of a goose hatching rhea or emu eggs??? just curious to leave them or
put them in incubator,,, or will male take them over..he seems like hes protecting the shelter but has made no real nest…he kinda tried making a nest last week by moving straw around but now hes just protecting the gooses nest…what is yoru thoughts??? any one thinks thay can help me feel better about her being on the eggs?? thank you

Hi Rick,

Thanks for visiting the farmingfriends website and getting in touch. I hope all is well with your rhea eggs and the goose and male rhea.

I have never heard of a goose incubating rhea eggs although I am sure it may occur. The temperature and humidity levels are different for goose and rhea eggs so this could be a cause for concern, particularly the humidity levels as the rhea eggs need a humidity of 35% until day 33 whilst goose eggs need a humidity of 55% until day 27. If the goose gets off the nest the male rhea may get on.
As you say that you have eggs in the incubator, I think if the eggs were mine I would leave the other eggs under the goose and see what happens. I know that the success rate for brrody hens hatching eggs is much better than eggs hatching in an incubator, so maybe it is the same for the goose.
I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful but I will post your question onto my website and if I get any advice I will let you know.
I would be interested to hear how the eggs get on.
Best of luck.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

I am pleased to say that Rick emailed back;

Thank you…. my female rhea tried pulling eggs out from the gooses nest today but after 5 days under goose i wasnt going to let her so i confined the goose now so rhea cannot take eggs she is still laying more…In incubator it seems like 30 % are showing fertility… thank you for your reply i will keep you informed on ending.. thank you
Rick

If anyone has had any experience of geese incubating and hatching rhea eggs then please leave a comment.

Hatching poultry, game bird and waterfowl eggs is not easy as Sylvia and I well know.

I have lost 3 peachicks so faor. They are pecking out but they seems so weak. They have never stood and they just die. They are fully developed but I much be doing something wrong. Could someone help me?
Sylvia

Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for visiting my site and leaving this comment. I am sorry to hear about your peachicks. it is terrible when you see the chicks have hatched and gone to all that effort of piiping the egg shell and then they don’t make it. You are certainly not alone in experiencing this as I have experienced this with guinea fowl and ducks.
I don’t have much experience myself with peachicks but I can say that there are a number of reasons why chicks hatch and then die if they have hatched in an incubator.
Temperature incorrect - check the correct temperature for different birds and at different stages of incubation.
Humidity incorrect - check the correct humidity for different birds and at different stages of incubation.
Improper ventilation - make sure incubator is positioned carefully.
Infection or disease - disease may come from the breeding stock so check that the breeding stock are healthy. Ensure that the incubator is thoroughly cleaned before each use.
Sylvia you do not say if the eggs are in an incubator, if they are it sounds like they are struggling to get out and then are too weak to survive. Click on the link for details about hatching peafowl eggs. http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-peafowl-eggs/
Are they hatching early, late or on time as this could affect why they are not surviving?
If you peachicks are hatching under a hen then ensure that the chicks have access to food and water, although chicks can survive over 24 hours without food and water as they still have their food sac from inside the egg, the sooner they get food and water the stronger they will get. If you do have access to the peachicks then you may want to try to get them to drink something by holding them to the water and food if they are too waek to stand themselves.
I hope this information is useful. Good luck with the rest of the hatch. Let me know how you get on.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

I am thrilled that Syliva has replied to my email;

Thank you so much for answering several question I had. Yes I am using a incubator. I watch temp very carefully and I turn my eggs often. I feel my greatest mistake is I didn’t stop turning on day 25 for my peachicks and I might have turned them away from the feed sac. One reason they are so weak and they are perfectly formed but they just die after peacking out and never even stand up. I am going to try and these last 9 do better but I have a problem not knowing which ones are ready to be left unturned on 25. My husband and I just put them in as she layed them and this is not good. I had hatched 19 chickens week before and so now I have to run this on till at least 28 more days. I guess I am saying we didn’t take this serious enough and made mistakes. If I turn them to much will they slip in egg and loose out where the feed sac is??? I am used too chickens and they ofcourse fees from their rectum. Well maybe by being careful and praying alot I can try and get these 9 which are left hatch. I sure have learnt alot. Like marking with crayon. Again thank you Sylvia

If you have any experience of hatching peachicks and can offer Sylvia any advice, then please leave a comment.

Hatching eggs in an incubator is not always easy as there are many variables that can affect the hatch.

I recently had 38 duck eggs in my incubator but have only 7 ducklings and only one hatched out without any help. I am not alone in finding hatching eggs in an incubator difficult.

My incubator is an ecostat incubator. The thing is i have never hatch any eggs yet i have put about 50 eggs in it. This is the second time this has happened. The eggs are fertile yet they do not hatch. I have cracked the eggs open and there are chicks fully developed. I opened the eggs a 5 days after the 3 weeks in incubation as there was no sigh of them hatching.
I don’t know what is wrong but it is really annoying me.
Anyone know what might be the matter ?
Conor

Erin left a reply comment:

Why don’t you let the hen sit on the eggs? I’ve just had a batch of lil us today to our surprise!! Our hen has been broody for a while and very angry towards to rooster. We let nature take over and sure enough the hen knew what to do. Lovely waking up and hearing little cheeps! Erin

I think that Erin is right in that a broody hen is often more successful than the incubator at hatching eggs, as nature should be!

But some of us do use an incubator to hatch eggs and it is useful to try to find out the reason why hatching is not successful so that incubation conditions can be improved and a successful hatch achieved.

Hi Conor,

I am sorry that you are having problems with your incubator. I know exactly how you feel. I had 38 duck eggs in mine and now have only 7 ducklings. Infact if I had not intervened I would only have 1 duckling.

There are many reasons why the chicks do not hatch:
Improper storage of eggs whereby the eggs become too cold.
Eggs not turned correctly.
Temperature incorrect - too low or too high.
Humidity incorrect - too low throughout incubation.
Improper ventilation.
Infection or disease.
Poor diet or poorly conditioned breeding stock.

Click on this link for more information. http://www.farmingfriends.com/reasons-why-fully-formed-chicks-may-not-hatch-out/

If you do have a broody hen or know someone who has and is willing to let their hen sit on your eggs then this is the best way to hatch eggs.

Hope this information is useful. Thanks for commenting. I hope you get the incubation sorted.

Sara @ farmingfriends

If you have any advice about using an incubator for hatching eggs then please leave a comment.