Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
thirds of that for chickens. Goose egg capacity is one-third the capacity for chickens.
When incubating bantam eggs, increase the capacity by about 20 percent. So, an incub-
ator designed to hold 42 chicken eggs will hold approximately 28 duck or turkey eggs,
or 14 goose eggs, or 50 bantam eggs. The size of game bird eggs will vary, but an in-
cubator this size will generally hold around 100 Coturnix or Bobwhite quail eggs com-
fortably. Pheasant eggs are similar to bantam eggs in size.
“Toy” incubators that use a light bulb and hatch one to four chicken eggs really aren't
suitable for the backyard chicken raiser. Their success rate is fairly low and unless you
place them in a climate-controlled room out of direct sunlight they will not hatch any-
thing.
The next step up — the small square Styrofoam incubator intended for 42 chicken
eggs — is very economical and can be purchased at most farm stores. For these you can
buy an optional automatic egg turner that moves the eggs from one side to the other, usu-
ally four times a day, but more often with some top-quality brands. A height attachment
also can be purchased for incubating goose eggs. This is simply a ring of Styrofoam,
which can be added to change the distance between eggs and the heat source.
Several companies that make small cabinet incubators have survived the trend toward
factory farming and breeding. These devices generally handle around 250 eggs, feature
automatic turners, and recent models have installed controls already set for specific tem-
peratures. This is a huge technological gain for raisers.
Smaller machines use wafer control, a method that produces a wide variation in tem-
peratures. This happens because incremental changes in barometric pressure alter the
wafer thickness, thus changing the temperature as the wafer comes in contact with the
switch that controls the heat source.
Electronic controls are definitely worth the extra expense. I have had more than one
share of disasters from failed thermostatic wafers. Recently, manufacturers of the small
42-egg Styrofoam incubator added electronic controls for an additional cost; I wasted
no time purchasing one.
Use More than One Incubator
It is probably best to try to have one incubator for early incubation and a separate in-
cubator for hatching. This is one of the key methods for lowering incidence of disease
in baby chicks. Hatching in an apparatus also used for incubating eggs works okay if
you incubate and hatch one batch at a time. It's not a good idea to have eggs at an
earlier stage of incubation in a device that contains hatch-lings simultaneously. The bac-
teria load inside the incubator increases, with the manure, chick down, and other mess
from the hatchlings threatening the incubating chicks that will hatch at a later date. The
younger, unhatched eggs often suffer from very rough treatment.
