Meet the animals and harvest the information without getting your hands dirty!
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 … Read more
Different eggs have different hatch rates. A chicken egg has a hatch rate of 21 days. I was left a comment by Jayne asking, “Could anyone tell me please how long after 21 days should you leave unhatched eggs under a hen before removing them?” Although I don’t have much experience of eggs hatching under hens … Read more
“Why exactly do so many more people choose the broody hen over the incubator?” This comment was left by Megan (thanks Megan) and I thought that it was an interesting question. More people choose to use a broody hen because the success rate with the hen is usually better than with the incubator. The broody … Read more
Eggs in an incubator can hatch early sometimes (resulting in chicks possibly hatching with bloody navels, being too small or dry). Possible reasons for this may include; Small eggs. Improper egg storage. Temperature too high in the incubator. Humidity too low in the incubator. Here are some handy tips to help prevent eggs hatching early; Choose incubation eggs … Read more
What is Candling? Candling is a way of checking the fertility of an egg and the development of the embryo, with the use of a light source in a darkened room. In a darkened room, carefully hold the egg up to the light to observe the contents of the egg. Candling Results The embryo is … Read more
Different species of birds’ eggs require different humidity levels when being incubated. Here is a guide to the humidity levels (wet bulb thermometer) for different species of birds’ eggs. Bobwhite Quail = 84-86 degrees fahrenheit. Canada Goose = 86-88 degrees fahrenheit. Chicken = 85-87 degrees fahrenheit. Chukar Partridge = 80-88 degrees fahrenheit. Cotumix (Japanese) Quail = 84-88 degrees fahrenheit. Duck = 84-88 degrees fahrenheit. … Read more