As a poultry raiser, you have to know that from the moment they were lain, eggs must hatch after 21 days of incubation. Its a good thing if your hen wanted to continue incubating her eggs. But if she doesnt, there is always an alternative an incubator.
An incubator should have a temperature of at least 98 99 degrees. To measure the humidity inside the incubator, use a hygrometer or a thermometer. Hygrometers can be bought in a price thats quite practical. You can buy it in any cigar shop or even online. For the first 1-18 days, your humidity can be at least 50% and the remaining days till day 21 must have a maximum of 80%.
You should maintain adequate moisture inside the incubator. To do this, you can use paper cups or a pan containing water. To evenly apply the heat, mark the eggs with an O on one side and an X on the other side. This will determine which side needs to be heated. Do this process at least three to four times a day. If you started heating all X sides, the next time you turn it, all sides will be O. Do not skip until hatching day comes or else the eggs will get deformed from the inside. Sometimes, you get nothing.
The above-mentioned hint is done by some egg hatchers and poultry owners. But others say that to turn or not to turn, hatch rates are always a success.
Hatching Eggs from Incubators
One good thing about incubators is that, in the absence of the mother chicken, they can come in handy. Very handy. Above all, these incubators can be bought in very cheap and practical prices. An incubator is an instrument that gives newly born egg a moist and warm state similar to that of the chickens tummy. Options are endless depending on its features including the capacity, and others.
Fertility
The fertility of a hen is unlikely. It is very rare not assuring a hundred percentage accuracy. It varies from a close 56% to an 80% that can also depend on the condition, season and the bird type. Fertile eggs can be at least 75% expected to hatch.
Determining the eggs fertility cant be done before the incubation. This can only be detected after 3 days or so by candling. Candling can be done by holding a candle in front of an egg which is typically white-shelled. As you do this, you could see a slight silhouette of the embryo. That will be the time when you can determine if it is fertilized or not. If they dont look anything close to normal, otherwise damaged or cracked, you have to rid of them because they will develop a very unpleasant odor.
If the eggs are uniformly white, the candle will be hard chance. So instead, you have to use a light bulb. Place the light bulb inside a can or a small box. Punch a small hole through the can or box wherein only a small percentage of light is reflected. You can place the egg over the hole where the light slits through.
If you have noticed the cloudiness of the egg or a mass is prominent, assume an embryo has been successfully fertilized. But if the inside of the egg is clear, the egg is unfertilized.
With these slight hints, you can diagnose the end product of an artificially incubated egg and not compromising the outcome of the chicks raised.