Using the Forced Air Incubator

If you follow these instructions you should get an excellent hatch rate using the incubator.   

1. Choose a temperature stable ambient room for your incubator avoiding opening doors, windows and heaters.

2. Plug the incubator in and turn the dial on the thermostat clockwise to begin heating up.

3. Keep adjusting the thermostat dial until you find your desired temperature ,  I recommend 37.0 C - for most bird eggs.

4. Get to know your incubator before adding eggs.  I recommend leaving on for 48hrs before incubation begins to ensure you are happy with the process. This will also evaporate any dampness in the polysyrene container.

7. Once the temperature is set you shouldn’t really need to adjust the dial. if you think a temperature shift has taken place turn the dial extremely slightly.  A small turn on the dial can make a few degrees fluctuation in the incubator which is bad for the hatch. I always keep a thermostat in the incubator and check the temperature before I turn the eggs just to confirm everything is OK.  One of the things I have learnt is the more you get used to incubating eggs, the more you realise that patience and interfering as little as possible can be the most difficult part of it.  

8. Humidity - I recommend filling the included small container with warm water. This is adequate for most common bird eggs. When the eggs start to pip, you can then add more water by adding an additional / larger container of water, wet sponge, or flannel. This avoids the chicks sticking to the shells when hatching, though personally I have never had any issues with this.

9. Eggs - Your eggs need to settle for a minimum of 12 hours before placing in the incubator.  Eggs should always be stored with the pointy end down prior to incubation. 

10.  If your ready to place your eggs in the incubator remember you will see a big temperature drop for a while, this is natural so don’t alter the dial, just wait for the temp to rise again. (people get caught out with this one). 

11. Eggs need turned three times a day.  With most poultry eggs turn up to day 18, morning, noon and night. Its fine for the incubator to cool down for a few minutes while you do this. I recommend on the last day of turning to line the base of the incubator with towel or equivalent to help the chicks grip when hatching.  This helps prevent splayed legs and also stops the polysytrene getting really smelly and dirty. It helps to mark the eggs either side to aid in turning them.

12.  Hatch day - Only open the incubator if you need to add more water for humidity. Opening during a hatch (even to remove chicks) can lower the humidity and is best avoided.  

13. Chicks should stay in the incubator for 24 hours without food or water. Then they need to be moved to a brooder + fed/watered.

The incubator is simple and should work well for the majority of people but please be aware of the following potential issues which can easily be avoided.

The dial is tempting to alter, if you do this you will likely encounter problems as the eggs need to have a fairly static temperature. If adjusting the dial is needed use the smallest movements possible.

Each time you use the incubator for the complete hatch its a good idea to replace the bulb, or keep a spare. (just in case).