If you don’t have a broody breed of hen or it seems unlikely that your hen will go broody then you can artificially incubate your eggs. It is slightly more complicated and time consuming to incubate an egg yourself using an incubator, for example you will have to check the egg regularly. However, if you have a large number of eggs and since the incubators tend to behave more reliably than a hen, it is actually better to use the incubator. And practice makes perfect.
What equipment do you need?
There is a standard range of incubation equipment you will need to get started:
- Incubator - for example the Brinsea Mini Eco is a great starter incubator.
- Candling lamp - such as the Brinsea Ovaview to help you watch your eggs develop.
- Anti-bacterial cleaning solutions- Incubation Disinfectant Concentrate 100ml.
- Thermometer for the room
- An incubation record sheet- you can download one here
- Pencils - to mark the eggs and take notes.
- Incubator instructions - You can download all the Brinsea incubator instruction manuals from the incubation shop category.
Choosing the right incubator
There are a reasonable number in incubators available on the market. Most incubators work in a similar way by providing heat and humidity to the developing egg. Below is a diagram showing the basic components that make up an incubator.The basic parts of an incubator.
Comments
Nina, 11 April 2016
Did you see the Fake Britian programme last week about fake incubators which are being sold, do your customers need informing? Mine is a Pekin bantam a she is safe!!!!