Setting Up Your Incubator

jo-chicken · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:07 pm

For those who don't know E2 is 288 egg incubator. When I first started incubating (I had an older E1) I filled her almost to brim, was the best way to learn for me , candling eggs etc. I can now tell at day 3 if an eggs is fertile or not, which i find quite facinating. Worst thing was at the time i had a silkie hen (1), so I put all her eggs in (some 3 weeks old), and a whole load of my fathers crossbred layer eggs and out of 140 eggs came 128 chicks. All the silkie eggs were fertile and hatched even the 3 week old eggs. I cartainly didn't expect so many chicks to have to rear. it was so funny, I was selling chicks left-right-and-certre. Worst thing of all was that the Silkie hen or rooster she was with (not sure) had a fatal gene and as soon as the chicks reached 4 months old they just died over night (really wierd). they were the only ones to die and every single one of them died - certainly didn't know this could happen before this time. (Sorry really will shut up now)

jo-chicken · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:48 pm

Well very nervous, just put my duck eggs into incubator (first time for duck eggs), so this will be a new test for me.

Peacocks Australia · **Joined:** Wed Jan 02, 2002 9:14 am **Posts:** 310755

debbieo4914 wrote:

Hi Ian,

I have been laughed at before for this, but I will share again - my little 12 egg incubator is currently sitting in our living room (right behind where we sit at the computer) with a large fire guard around it to keep prying little fingers away! :oops:

I thought it would be best to have it inside where the temperature was relatively stable, and because it is so small it is a full-time job keeping the water bowl filled up to keep the humidity right.

It is also nice and handy for the kids to keep an eye on things at hatching time! :-D

I admit, I don't think even I would be allowed to have an enormous Bellsouth in here though! :lol:

One of the best and most stable places for those (Foam) bators is in the House. We originally started off many years ago doing exactly the same thing with great success.

Thanks
P.A :lol:

danniella · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:21 pm

we keep our 2 small incubators in the spare room along with the 5 brooder boxes as well as we have 1 E1 (128 set and 36 hatching) incubator and 2 new 120 egg incubators in the shed plus there are another 5 brooder boxes for slightly bigger chickens in the shed now all we need to do is improve fertility and get the rest of the kinks out of the 2 new incubators

silkielova · **Posted:** Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:48 pm

hi i got a incubator its my first ever one and i put 9 eggs in there im so excited to so if they hatchi had 3 silkie eggs n the and soom x bred :-D

Deans' Poultry · **Posted:** Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:57 pm

Very cool silkielova :-D

You'll be able to candle them in about a week if you choose to

Let us know how they go :-D

silkielova · **Posted:** Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:16 pm

greenaus · **Posted:** Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:48 am

I have 14 eggs in my home-made fan-forced incubator. There was 15 until yesterday morning, but that is another story -- see http://www.australianpoultryforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1747#18188

Obviously the idea of the fan (a 12v quite high-speed computer fan in my case) is to circulate the warm air for temperature stability and no hot/cold spots.

If that's the case, how much variation would there be between the temperature at the top and the bottom? It's about a foot deep (if that) - an old Chrisco Frozen Hamper box.

What about the difference between layers a couple of inches apart?

The reason I ask is because with various people talking about 40 eggs, 288 eggs, etc, etc I'm kind of wondering how many more I can put in mine.

The more I put in, the more stable the temperature should be, right?

I've also considered ways I can create semi-auto turning (ie. without opening the lid each time...via pulleys, conveyors, levers, whatever) and hat may entail eggs being at different heights or even levels.

greenaus · **Posted:** Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:54 pm

\\\ bump ///

:oops:

County Lodge · **Posted:** Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:52 pm

stuart wrote:

hi countylodge

bellsouth have small incubator the r-com heres a link to it
http://www.bellsouth.com.au/webframe.html

thats ideal for some one wanting a bit of fun it only hold 3 eggs but is auto turn,

Hi guys,

I did what Stuart suggested and had a look at Bellsouth. I have ordered a RCOM20 incubator auto turn, a universal adjustable tray. a hygrometer, a Bellsouth Fertility tester (candler) and some numbered leg rings for my silkies, pekins and sussex.

OK, it should be delivered on Friday or Monday by courier and I am rearing to go. :-D

I have a feeling it will take me some time to work it out anyway even though it is fairly automatic. I told Jim to expect calls on a regular basis until I have mastered it. It is so exciting :-D

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