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Note: Incubation and Hatching.
Incubation is the process of caring for eggs for the period of devlopment when a new chick grows and develops inside an egg. This page contains information on your eggs and how they should be before you put them in the incubator, how they should be in the incubator, looking at different incubators and much more.
Incubation can be carried out artifically using Incubators or using broody birds. Below is a look at each method and compares their bonus and minus points.
Broody.
A broody does just the same job as an incubator and were used more before incubators were designed as they were the only choice. Broodys can rear the baby birds though after hatching which an incubator cannot do.
There are both plus and minus points as listed below:
Plus points: A broody is cheaper to run than an incubator. A broody will still continue being broody during a power cut and there is no room for manufactering, electronic or/and human errors. A broody is natural so the chicks would be incubated and reared naturally and have a stronger bond with their mum.
Minus points: A broody is not their all year so if you wanted to hatch some eggs in the winter you may not have a bird broody so would not be able to. Incubators come in a variety of sizes so you can get one that meets your needs best and the size you want. You might get a broody that is not big enough for how many eggs you have so cannot set them all underneath her. You do not need to worry that the eggs will be abdoned or left unlike with a broody. You have more control using an incubator and can change different things like humidity, with a broody you cannot. The broody could attck or kill the chicks, with an incubator when they hatch you know they won't.
Incubator.
An incubator is just an artifical version of the broody and has been adapted for many reasons to improve it and there are now many different makes and manufactuers of incubators including Brinsea, Manio, Ecostat. These incubators come in all shaps, sizes, colours and designs. There are incubators for 10 eggs like the Octagon 10 from Brinsea to The Hatchmaster from Brinsea which holds about 104 hen eggs and ones that will take even more.
There are many plus and minus points and these are listed below:
Plus: Incubators come in all sizes so you can get and use one that is the right size and one for you. You have more control over it's settings. You do not need to worry about the hen attacking or killing the chicks when they hatch. An incubator is ready all year round not just when your bird goes broody. An incubator takes up less room than a broody in some cases.
Minus: With a broody there is no room for human errors, mechnical and/or electrical faults. It is not so natural so the chick is not incubated by it's mum. Expensive to buy and run.
Conclusion:
So as you can each method has both plus and minus points but generally people choose to use incubators as if there is a power cut they can use a generator if they have one and usally power-cuts (hopefully, finger crossed!!) they are not to long so they are prepared to take the risk and find once you know how to operate and use your incubator correctly they get the best results from them.
Which ever method you choose or if you use both here is information on both methods as it is important to know.
Incubation using an Incubator.
There are many different makes of incubators and these inculde Brinsea, Novital, MS, AB Incubators and Ecostat. These different incubators come in forced-air and Still-air. They come in all shapes and sizes for all your different needs and when selecting your incubator it is important you buy the right one for you.
This is a Brinsea Octagon 10. This is a Brinsea Octagon 20.
Some important points to consider include:
*Size? How many eggs will you be incubating? Do you need a 40 egg incubator or one that is larger?
*How ofton will you use it? If not very much you might not want to pay very much for your incubtor or might decide to go for a more expensive model as you could get a better result.
*Will you be there to turn the eggs? if not it is best to get one which has an automatic turning feature/cradle.
Once you know what you require you can start looking at the different models available and buy the one that suits you the best. www.hatchitincubators.com has a good range of incubators and equipment at reasonable prices.
Make sure when buying your incubator you keep your reciets, paperwork and documents and find out their policys for returning it and damage so you are aware and know if anything goes wrong or/and there is a fault.
When you get it home it is a good idea to make sure it is all there and not damaged and to test it before you wish to use it for incubation properly and make sure the turning facility if you have one works and it reaches the right temperture and details as below.
Your incubator should be placed in a room which has no direct sunlight and no draughts.
Setting your eggs.
When it reaches the right temperture and you know it all works properly, you can then think about setting your eggs in it. The eggs should be from healthy stock which have been kept with a cockerel for fertility. The eggs should of been stored correctly and in the right condition as stated on the Eggs page. To make sure your incubator turning facility is working and to help you if you are turing the eggs. You can mark them on one side with an "X" and on another with an "O" or another symbol you prefer. You can then see if they are changing. This should be marked onto the eggs using a pencil and not a pen.
Prepare your incubator with the correct humidity and temperture levels and make sure it is clean.
37.5c is the temperture your incubator should be at for chickens. Please though follow your incubator instructions and check your temeprture regulary and carefully. 
We will have more information on this very soon!!
When you put your eggs in arrange them how guided in the instructions/manual guide (it depends on the model of your incubator but the eggs generally should be put on there side. When they are all in place the lid back on and check the temperture later on but check it is set correctly. Rember to mark on the calender when you set them so you can work out and are aware when they are due and are aware of the different stages in the incubation process.
Incubator humidity.
This is ofton a factor of incubation that is over looked but is extremly important and ofton many people have poor results as this is not maintained correctly or a better result if they control the humitiy to the correct level.
You will be instructed on how much humity to add to the incubator in the manual and guide which comes with your incubator. The plain water is added to tubs/containers/areas in the incubator. When it is hot the humidity should be increased and when wet and damp decreased. Not much humidity is needed during the incubation process but your incubator should have a high humidity level when it comes to hatching as this will help the baby birds to hatch out of their shells.
A Brinsea Octagon 20 with a humidity thermometer.
Candling.
This can apply if you are incubating your eggs using an incubator or a broody.
You can candle you eggs during the incubation period to see if they are fertile (have a baby bird developing inside them). You will not be able to tell their sex at any time when they are inside the egg. You can do this using an egg lume (candler). This is basically a piece of equipment which is electric and has a bright light inside. It enables you to see inside the egg and you can then see if it is fertile and if so how far it has got and it's progress. These can be bought from Hatch-it Incubators and Brinsea is one make that manufactuer these. Candling does no harm to the eggs aslong as you don't do it for to long. You can do it several times during the incubation progress and you candle by:
Taking the egg and placing it againest the tip of the egg lume (this tip should be soft or paded).
You should be able to see inside the egg and will see blood vessles and a small black dot which may be moving. This is the developing chick. You will see this if it is fertile or it will be very birght and clear if it is infertile.
You can move the candler around the egg to get a better look at different angels.
Any eggs which are infertile can be removed and you can tell if any chicks are dead by if you can see a circle at the end of each egg, again these can be removed.
It is best to do this in a dark room or at night so you can get a better view and use a lume with a stronger intensity for eggs with a darker shell.
Hatching.
This will be the same hatching process for a broody except you will not be able to see it.
When the chicks start hatching you will see pips and chips made in the egg. Eventually they will make a crack or one big enough so they can apply enough force to crack it open. The chick will come out wet and sticky but you need to leave it in the incubator and let it dry.
This shows the process of a chick hatching.
Eventually it will dry off and be all fluffly and look something like this:
You do not need to take them out immediatley then as the chick can live on the yolk remains it has. You can wait to see if any more chicks are hatching but after 6-12 hours from the chick(s) hatching remove them as quickly as possible and replace the lid. The chick(s) can then be put under a heat lamp, cosy lamp or an Electric Hen.
It is not a good idea to help chicks out during hatching and this is not advised as if the chick is not strong enough to hatch by it's own or has a problem then it proberlay will not survive anyway and is not a healthy chick. Only interveane if you really have to.
Note when the chicks are hatching do not be tempted to lift the lid off else this will let humidity out and disturb the chicks hatching.
Cleaning.
Your incubator and all of it's parts should be throughly cleaned, washed and disenfected striaght away after it is empty and eggs should never be re-set in it until this has happened and it is dry.
Take safety precautions and be careful with electrical parts. Remove all waste products, scrub it clean and disenfect it, wash it off and allow to dry. More information for this will be provided in your manual and in some cases your incubator may come with a disenfectant to use. If not you need to purchase one. Brinsea do one and this can be found on Hatch-It Incubators website. Rember to always follow instructions. The incubation stage and incubators can harbour and have many bacteria and diseases so this should never be over-looked.
Incubation using a broody.
If you are using a broody to incubate, hatch and/or rear your chicks there are other points to look at.
When you have a broody hen/female bird you will need to move her. It is not a good idea to let her sit on eggs where she is as it is proberlay unsafe, not prepared properly and in a pen with other chickens. It is not recommened to keep a broody in a pen with other birds as these may steal some of the eggs, damage them, upset the broody, put her off or even attck/kill the chicks when they hatch. When you have a broody sitting and have some eggs for her to sit on or if she is sitting on some you need to prepare a run, house or ark for her to sit in. This needs to be quiet and away from the other birds.
In your ark/house where you put here you will need to make sure it is secure and safe so no predators can get inside. Then you need to start preparing her nest which will be made and have three layers. In the bottom you should put some moist earth or compost and level it out, you can also you use a square of turf placed upside down. The reason for this is to increase the humidity for hatching. Then put a thin layer of shavings which just makes a little gap between the bottom and top layer and soaks up some of the moisture and the straw on top is for the bird to sit on.
Above is a duck nest which has been made. Waterfowl and wildfowl nest boxes are ofton made and prepared before any go broody. They are placed around their enclosures/runs and then the waterfowl will hopefully lay in them and then go broody, they can then easily be moved if you use a nestbox as shown.
You will need to get a proper poultry drinker like this 
.
This will stop the newly born drowning when they hatch and mean the broody has access to water which is clean. You should also include food for the chicken. When it comes to hatching this should be changed to Chick Crumbs so the young do not try and eat the food which is not the right type for them. The food can be placed in a proper feeder or a container aslong as both the broody and chicks can reach and have access to it. You do not need to include pellets for the mum once you are providing chick crumbs for the young as she will be fine eating the crumbs.
Don't forget you need to have good ventilation as shown here.
Make sure if you have run on your ark/house it is covered with very fine mesh/wire so no crows, birds or vermin can attck and streal the chicks. It is also a good idea to put some fabric over the run like green netting to add some shade so the birds do not get burn't or to hot. When you put your broody on the eggs make sure the pop-hole to the run is down so she cannot go outside and each morning just open it so she can go out when she wants and then close it at the end of the day.
Here is an ark with a broody in. You can see the water outside and fabric for shade.
Once this is all prepared you can put some false eggs into the nest you have prepared first so you know she is serious about sitting. The nest can be in the middle or in the corner as we have experianced when we have put the nest in the middle the broody sat in the corner, she may move the eggs but ours did not so we popped them back under her so don't worry to much about where you position it as she may well change it.
When you put the broody in it is a good idea to make sure it is dark so you don't stress her out to much and upset her else it could result in her going off being broody. Get a box ready (make sure you have holes and some shavings in the bottom aswell as one or two eggs) and when dark go into your broody and quietly and gently lift her up and put her in the box. Becareful with the box and then take her to the to the prepared ark/house/coop and take her out of the box place her on the eggs gently and leave her to it.
The next morning check on her. If she has moved the nest that should be fine aslong as she has moved the eggs with her if not place them under her by just slipping them in under her side.
For the frist two days you can test her and make sure she is serious so keep an eye on her take her off and put her back if she does not do this on her own and once you are happy she is serious in the dark gently slip some egg underneath her and remove the fake ones at the same time.
All you should need to do now is keep an eye on your broody and make sure she is covering the eggs, you can open the access to the run if she has that facility in the morning and close it at night. Make sure she has fresh clean water and feed.
When it comes to the last few days before hatching day make sure you put chick crumbs in the feeder and if you have a run put the water outside in the run or if not make sure it is a little distance from the broody.
Hatching day.
When it is hatching day you need to rember the broody will be going through even more different hormones and feelings and chicks could be hatching underneath her. Just leave her to it and check every so ofton.
At the end of the day check her and see if anything has hatched if not just leave her as they may hatch later. If some have hatched lift her up to see if anything else is hatching, if so leave her, if not then you can pick up the other eggs and test them to see if you can hear or/and feel anything, if you can put them back in the nest if not you could test them using this tip/method which some people go by:
Get a bowl of warm water.
Place the eggs gently into it.
The eggs which come to the top have live chicks in them, if they sink they are either infertile or of no use.
So if they are dead discard them and if they bob to the top you can put them back under the broody. Leave her overnight to see if anything hatches. The chicks should be ohkay without water and the mum as the chicks can live off the yolk they have in them.
The next day you can give them access to outside if you want to aslong as all safe and secure and you have mesh on the top so no birds and predators can attck and steal them.
Any eggs left after day 25 which have not hatched should be removed and discarded. If there is anything alive in them you can put them in the incubator but will have to find an alternative source/method to brood and raise them.
A broody bantam Partridge Wyandotte hen with chicks.
Go to the Rearing page for information on rearing.
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