Why Incubate?
As smallholders we’re not cash rich, we are quality of life rich, but certainly not rolling in money. If we want to increase the size of our flock, buying Point of Lay hens has become very expensive. It’s normal to pay £45 plus for one single quality hen of a named breed from a reputable breeder. Even hybrid egg layers will set you back a considerable sum from a good breeder.
That means incubation becomes a viable option simply on the basis of cost, but why else would you want to incubate?
- What can be really appealing is that the number of breeds that are available to you to hatch are much higher than available point of lay hens, so your choice is much wider.
- If you have children, it’s a great educational experience watching the chick’s hatch.
- It allows you to create a bond with the chicks from day one so if you want friendly hens, this is an excellent way to achieve it.
The Elephant in the Room
The big downside that anyone considering incubation needs to think about is cockerels.
On average, if you have two eggs, one will be a hen and the other a cockerel. Of course, if you only have two eggs, you have a 50% chance statistically of getting one hen and one cockerel, but you also have a 25% chance of getting two hens (hurray!) or, unfortunately, a 25% chance of getting 2 cockerels. Can you see the issue? Essentially, with every two eggs incubated, you have a 75% of getting at least one cockerel.
If you live in the middle of nowhere with no issue of noise, that may not be a problem, but if you intend to keep cockerels or mature cocks, you will need to check if there are any restrictions with your local council, your deeds or in your rental agreement.
Before incubating, it’s best to have a plan for any males that you hatch. These are the options and it’s up to your personal circumstances, what works for you:
- Keep them. Depending on the breed, cockerels may fight so if you intend to keep them it might be sensible to have a “bachelor flock”
- Sell. There is limited market for cockerels, even pure breed cockerels. To prevent feather wear, only one cockerel per 8 hens is advisable
- Giveaway. Even giving away cockerels, there is still a very limited market.
- Cull on hatch. This is what the commercial hatcheries do.
- Grow to maturity & cull for the table. This is the option that most smallholder take as it provides food for the table as well as re-stocking hens in the flock.
Incubation Periods
If you’re starting out for the first time, eggs from different poultry species need incubating for different periods. Chicken eggs incubate for 21 days, ducks for 28 days, quail for 18 days, turkeys for 28 days and geese for 28 – 35 days depending on breed.
Sourcing Eggs
The eggs you incubate must be fertilised so where do you source them? You can either generate them within you own flock if you’re already a smallholder with hens and a cock bird, or your other option is you’re after a different breed or even a different type of poultry bird is to buy the eggs in.
Buying eggs in is very appealing as “the world is your oyster” in terms of type of bird, size, temperament and breed. There are two problems to consider. The first is that you are not in control of the quality of what you receive, so it’s best to buy from a breeder with a good reputation. The second issue is that eggs are normally sent in specialist boxes through the post. Rough handling may cause the eggs to be not viable by the time you receive them, so in general hatch rates from your own flock will be higher than purchased eggs sent through the post.
Equipment
You’ve got past all of the planning and now you want to get on with it. I don’t blame you. It’s very rewarding and exciting! There’s a list of equipment that you’ll need.
Incubator. We’ll look at this in more detail in a moment.
Candler. This shines a bright light through your egg and allows you to see if the egg is developing at the expected rate. If not, these eggs should be discarded as they will start to rot. As eggshells are porous, the gases produced may cause the adjacent eggs to die.
Brooder Plate. Chicks when they hatch are unable to regulate their own body temperature only being covered in fine down so they need a heat source to prevent them falling victim. to hypothermia. Alternatively, you could use a heat lamp, but this provides light as well as heat. It will need to be turned on 24/7 so the chicks don’t become cold, and they won’t sleep according to daily rhythm i.e., sleep at night and awake during the day.
A brooder box. This is a temporary area where you can keep your chicks until they are able to move to an outside coop and run. This should be kept in a temperature stable area. If you’re hatching in the colder months, we recommend this is inside a heated room.
We use an old tin bath with wood shavings on the base, a brooder plate and a chick feeder and drinker. We also keep it in the living room!
Coop & run. Your chicks will need somewhere to live and exercise once they outgrow your brooder box. If the weather is inclement and/or they are not fully feathered, a heat source like a brooder plate should be available inside. If you already have a flock, they need to be grown to a reasonable size before being introduced to your hens so they can cope with the pecking order establishment. A run is essential to keep your chicks safe from harm, but it also serves as a way of allowing order hens to see the chicks while they grow, without harming them.
Feeder & Drinker. Smaller feeders and drinkers are advisable. Chicks are very messy in their eating habits and large drinkers can be a drowning hazard for newly hatched chicks.
Choosing an Incubator
Incubators come in all different sizes and formats and it can be a confusing array so here are the basics that you need to know.
No. 1 Don’t buy cheap incubators from an unknown brand. Cheap incubators are cheap for a reason. We know. We bought one and the hatch rates were awful. They struggle to regulate temperature, require you to calibrate humidity according to the relative humidity of the room the incubator is in (who knows this?) and have very shallow turning angles (see below). Buy a reputable brand with a great reputation like Brinsea. We sell a wide variety of Brinsea incubators in our shop, and we can help you find the right one for your circumstances. Just use our contact form and we’ll help.
No. 2 Choose a size of incubator. The smallest incubators on the market can incubate 7 chicken eggs e.g., Brinsea Mini II range but you may not be sure if you want to incubate again, or incubate more eggs in the future so something bigger like one of the Brinsea Ovation range might be better. These can fit 28 eggs. To help you decide, let’s assume you want 3 hens as a result. As we’ve explained because on average you will get 1 hen and 1 cockerel form 2 eggs, to get 3 hens you ideally need 6 eggs to hatch (an average of 3 hens and 3 cockerels). If you have purchased the eggs through the post, you can assume a 50% hatch rate so you need to be incubating 12 eggs. All of these figures are assumed and nothing is guaranteed. There is a chance you end up with 12 hens or even 12 cockerels, or there is a chance you end up with no chicks at all! If you play the averages though, the smallest incubators aren’t going to give you many hens from a hatch.
No. 3 Decide on the format of incubator. There are two main types, the dome and the tray. Dome incubators are fantastic if you have kids that want to watch the hatching process. These are generally limited to smaller numbers of eggs. Their turning mechanism mimics the way a broody hen turns the eggs, but if the eggs are not placed correctly in the turning trays, it’s possible they may not turn so some adjustment might be necessary. I (Fiona) prefer this format, but Hugh prefers the tray incubators as they are very reliable in their turning action, essentially rocking the eggs from one side to the other.
No. 3 Decide if you need auto-turning or if you have the time to regularly turn the eggs. If the eggs aren’t turned, there is a danger that the chick as it grows will stick to the shell inside the egg. To hatch from the egg, the youngster needs to turn around inside to break its way out at hatch so turning the eggs is very important.
No. 4 Temperature control is a big decision. If you have an area where you can keep the incubator in a room with a stable temperature, out of direct sunlight, it’s possible that manual monitoring of the temperature in the incubator is possible. If you’re not sure, select an incubator which automates the temperature control for you. To be honest, even with automatic temperature control, it’s advisable to keep the incubator out of direct sunlight in a room with a stable temperature.
No. 5 Humidity levels are very important to eggs during incubation. For chicken eggs from day 1 to day 18 the relative humidity level should be around 50%. On day 19, the humidity should be increased to 65 – 70%. Many incubators will give you a humidity display and you can add water if the humidity drops, but there are incubators which will adjust the humidity for you by connecting a water reservoir.
Hatch Day
When your chicks hatch in the incubator, have your brooder warm and your brooder box ready with a small feeder and drinker. It’s really tempting to open the incubator as each chick hatches and move them to the brooder, but for the sake of the eggs still hatching, it’s best to wait. Opening the lid will affect the internal humidity levels and potentially cause issues for the hatch process.
Your chicks before they break out of the egg will absorb the last of the yolk. This will sustain them for the first 48 hours. We have a rule that the lid is opened for the first time 36 hours after the first chick is hatched and “fluffed up” chicks are moved to the brooder which means the first chick hatched has access to food and water before the hydration and nutrients from the hatch run out.
When we say “fluffed up”, they come out of the egg looking exhausted and soggy and take a little time to dry out and look like the fluffy chicks you see in the Easter adverts.
After we open the lid for the first time, we’ll then take chicks out once more. It’s likely that 48 hours after the first egg hatches, any egg that’s showing no signs of pipping (the first hole made by the chick as it hatches from the egg), the eggs probably won’t hatch. We’ll candle the eggs to be sure, and if we’re not certain we may give the remaining eggs another 48 hours before calling a halt to the process and turning off the incubator.
Not Sure What Equipment to Buy?
We have a comprehensive range of equipment in our store with lots of information. If you’re still not sure after browsing and want tailored advice for you, use the contact form on the website and either Hugh or myself (Fiona) will get in touch.
