Farming Friends

I received a comment asking which incubator people would recommend,

I would like to buy an incubator with my 40th birthday money. We have a smallholding that is very new, so we don’t want anything massive, something suitable for pure breed chicken eggs (maran, light sussex etc) and ducks. We inherited some geese who we were told have rarely hatched anything themselves so maybe goose eggs too? It would need to have some automatic features but I wondered what people in the know would recommend - there seem to be so many options,
Thanks Lisa

Hi Lisa,
Happy 40th Birthday.Thanks for visiting the farmingfriends website and leaving a comment.
I have the Hova Bator Model 1592 Incubator from GQF with the GQF Automatic Egg Turner which holds 42 eggs from quail to duck eggs.
I have had some good results with the incubator although sometimes the eggs have been fertile and have not hatched out. I am not sure why this is, as there are many factors that can affect this that are to do with the incubator, eggs themselves or indeed the breeding flock.
The egg turner is very useful as this means that the eggs are no longer reliant on you turning them.
This incubator and egg turner are run on electricity and can be placed neatly in a small corner of a room.
I hope this information is useful to you.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

If you have an incubator that you would like to recommend then please leave a comment, thanks.

I want to hatch some eggs, are automatic egg turners better. also if you do get an automatic egg turner, can you not be in the house for a few day, like go on holiday? Bethan

Hi Bethan,
An automatic egg turner is useful if you don’t have time to turn the eggs yourself everyday. Eggs need to be turned at least 4 times a day so this can be very time consuming. An automatic egg turner saves you this time.
The egg turner is powered by electricity so as long as there isn’t a powercut, you can leave the egg turner running while you are away on holiday.
I have the Automatic Electric Egg Turner by GQF Manufacturing. This holds 42 eggs from quail to duck eggs and moves the eggs from side to side at regular intervals throughout the day.
Hope this information is useful.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends

If poultry eggs don’t hatch on their due date then I will leave them in the incubator or under the broody hen for up to a week after the hatching date.

hi ive got three eggs in my incubator(rcom) and they were due for monday but one came early then no more have came and its now wednesday should I crack the egg open to see if its alive or should I wait(are fertile)Aaron

Hi Aaron,
I always leave eggs in the incubator for at least a week after the hatching date to see if anymore pip their shells and hatch out, as the eggs can sometimes be late in hatching. So if I was you I wouldn’t crack the egg open just yet. Once an extra week has gone by then I turn off the incubator and crack the eggs to see if they were fertile.
Hope that helps. Let me know how you got on.
Sara @ farmingfriends

What do you do if poultry eggs don’t hatch on the due date?

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.