Anybody ever incubated eggs before?

[piptickle]

Originally Posted by MindieRose

Wow! I want an incubator like that! We are going back to homeschooling next school year and that would be a neat project.

This is the incubator I'm looking at
http://www.chickenhouseuk.co.uk/ekmp...odel_2008).jpg
The company I'm buying it from also hires them out for 4 week intervals (£100) but I think I'm going to buy one as its something we could do regulary!

Originally Posted by Breezeaway

We used to raise Quail, If you plan on raising some, better read up on them because they are hard to raise. They get pneumonia easy and have to be fed medicated food with Amprol to control coccidiosis. Also be careful as the coccidiosis can spred to your other animals. They will drown in the water if the hole is too big.Chicks kept together in a relatively confined space such as in a brooder have a tendency to peck each other, a nasty habit which can lead to deformed beaks and sometimes even death, we used to clip beaks to prevent cannabalism. They are cute little fellows just hard to raise.

I have been doing lots of research and only plan to keep them in a purpose built brooder for the first two weeks then they will go into a much bigger area(I'm looking at huge plastic storage boxes and different types of cages) with an electric hen type heater for warmth at one end and plenty of room to spread out. The purpose built brooder and the electric hen heater will accomodate twice the number of chicks we hope to raise at any one time and since its unlikely all our eggs will hatch sucessfully there will be plenty of room! The water dish will have pepples/marbles in it for the first week or so til the desire to get into the water subsides.
I have heard of Coccidiosis and will take all of the necessary precautions to make sure it does not become a problem. Thanks for your input its great to hear from someone who has knowledge in this area

[chattiesmom]

I hatched some chicks out a few times because I wanted to imprint them. They were beloved pets (how kooky is that?) . We had their dad, Brooster the Rooster for over 5 years. He was quite famous in our little community - he was a "student" at the elementary school I worked at for a week each year (while they were studying farm animals). The chicks I hatched out were Bantam Cochins, the little chickens that have feathers on their feet. They are incredibly friendly, as far as chickens go.

We rigged up an incubator the old fashioned way with a box, some hay, a light bulb and a dish of water. I marked and turned the eggs and was there when they hatched. I was their mom! It was tons of fun!!!!! Below are some pics of the eggs hatching.

[piptickle]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I hatched some chicks out a few times because I wanted to imprint them. They were beloved pets (how kooky is that?) . We had their dad, Brooster the Rooster for over 5 years. He was quite famous in our little community - he was a "student" at the elementary school I worked at for a week each year (while they were studying farm animals). The chicks I hatched out were Bantam Cochins, the little chickens that have feathers on their feet. They are incredibly friendly, as far as chickens go.

We rigged up an incubator the old fashioned way with a box, some hay, a light bulb and a dish of water. I marked and turned the eggs and was there when they hatched. I was their mom! It was tons of fun!!!!! Below are some pics of the eggs hatching.

Awww! They're adorable! Thanks so much for sharing I would be far too scared to incubate like thisSince I've never done it before I want to give all the eggs the best possible chance and am seeing this as a hobby.I know I won't make any profit and its going to cost me money(especially to get started) but I rarely go out and have few other hobbies to spend my money on and I'm sure the kids will get alot out of this too.

[piptickle]

OK! So I chickened out! Pardon the punn And bought the r-com mini, its still fully automatic and fool proof but costs a third of the price and I bought a special scope with it so the kids can actually see the chicks developing inside the eggs!!! Plus it only takes 7 quail eggs at a time so we can't get carried away and end up with more than we can cope with-at least as first timers! I'm thinking if this works out and we want to do it on a slightly bigger scale (the r-com pro takes 52 quail eggs) then we'll upgrade and I may donate this one to the kids school if they want it next year! Enlarge the pic below-its fantastic! The kids will love it

[bchgirl]

I made an incubator while in high school and hatched chicken eggs. The first dozen...I "fried" when the temperature in the incubator got too warm. In the end I had 3 hens and 1 rooster. He was quite protective over his "harem". I taught them tricks. One would go up stairs...another came to a bell and I can't remember the third. The rooster never learned anything. Typical. LOL

[piptickle]

Originally Posted by bchgirl

I made an incubator while in high school and hatched chicken eggs. The first dozen...I "fried" when the temperature in the incubator got too warm. In the end I had 3 hens and 1 rooster. He was quite protective over his "harem". I taught them tricks. One would go up stairs...another came to a bell and I can't remember the third. The rooster never learned anything. Typical. LOL

LOL