![]() ![]() Homemade versions usually involve some sort of insulated box – a cheap Styrofoam cooler will do. Ventilation: Egg shells are porous, allowing oxygen to enter and carbon dioxide to exit incubators need to have holes or vents that allow fresh air to circulate so the fetuses can breathe. Humidity: 40 to 50 percent humidity must be maintained for the first 18 days 65 to 75 percent humidity is needed for the final days before hatching. Temperature: The eggs need to be kept at 99.5 degrees at all times just one degree higher or lower for a few hours can terminate the embryo. No matter how fancy or jerry-rigged, all incubators must accomplish a few basic things: You can also go the DIY route, which saves money, but is almost as much work as sitting on the eggs yourself. With top-of-the-line incubators, you put in an egg, close the door and out pops the chick three weeks later. Plus, why would you want to miss out on an opportunity to experience one of life’s miracles? Step 1 – Set Up an Incubatorĭepending on how many eggs they accommodate and how automated they are, Incubators run from around $50 for the homesteader favorite ‘Hova-Bator’ into the thousands of dollars for commercial scale incubators. You can also buy day-old chicks and skip the incubation process, but it costs more. For this reason, most farmers and backyard chicken enthusiasts don’t trust incubation to their hens, they take it upon themselves to do the brood work instead. Whether it’s genetic or culture, who knows, but they get distracted, other hens oust them from their nest, the rooster comes by… there’s no shortage of things that can go wrong. Modern chickens, it turns out, are not always very effective mothers. Or worse, they may hatch with deformities. Motherhood is a big responsibility for a young hen – if she’s the least bit neglectful, her babies will never hatch. ![]() They constantly fuss over them, adjusting them just so throughout the day and rarely leaving the nest for more than a few minutes. Once a hen lays a clutch of eggs, instincts take over. ![]()
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