Incubation, using the Little Giant Incubator, starting off your system. www.FredsFineFowl.com

[rainbowfarmsale200]

I never wash my eggs and they hatch. Also I've never seen momma hen wash her eggs and they do hatch. Why r u washing your eggs?

[HTCSWEOD]

@rainbowfarmsale200 Egg sanitizing improves hatch percentages... it you are a registered hatchery, it's "required" by the Dept. of Agriculture (this is my situation)... not only does the Dept. of Ag require sanitation of the eggs, but all associated working surfaces. Hens hatch and walk away with their brood, incubators may hatch continuously allowing pathogens to compound. Mother hens are BEST, artificial incubation benefits from cleanliness, solid science... I have to pass inspection.

[fenteng43]

Great Video ... Very Helpfull

wats the sanitizer you use?

[HTCSWEOD]

@fenteng43 I use Tek-Trol... you can get it by the gallon, pint, or even as a spray for hard to reach places... it forms a residue on the shell and continues to fight bacteria after the initial cleansing. Thank you for the comment! Using Sanitizer has definitely improved my hatch rate... you have to weigh the added cost. Hatching under a brood hen is still my first choice (">

[travhal]

do you know a good humidity for incubating eggs 1-18 days because i have a hydrometer and it usually stays at about 38% is that a good humidity?

[HTCSWEOD]

@travhal There are many factors, including egg shell quality, bloom and beginning freshness... I go by the air cell size and almost never use water during incubation until the 18th day... during pipping, I max out the humidity to prevent chicks from drying out and sticking to their shell lining. You will have to gage your own humidity practices. if the humidity is too high, the chicks cannot successfully pip out as they will be too large when the time comes. It's trial and error...

[travhal]

@HTCSWEOD Thanks for the reply, are using the dry incubation method? I live in Canada, Manitoba and we have had lots of rain so the humidity is high but in my house it is dry because of the a/c. Do you recommend trying the dry incubation method where i add no water until the 18 day?

[HTCSWEOD]

@travhal Yes, that's exactly what I do.... completely dry until the 18th day. However, if the air cell progresses too quickly, then you will have to increase humidity to slow that down, but I have never had to do that... we also run our a/c and it has no effect.

[XxB0rd3rsProxX]

having trouble setting the temp, it is always at 120F and i cant lower it even if i turn the knob all the way down, any suggestions to setting up the temp

[HTCSWEOD]

@XxB0rd3rsProxX Most thermostats have the ability to be reset.... consult the owners manual for the thermostat style/design you have and see what the reset procedure is.... often it's to turn the dial all the way clockwise and then all the way down to zero... then come back to the operating temp you desire... hope that helps you out!

[3031607]

is thet a temp at where you can get only hens or roosters?

[HTCSWEOD]

@3031607 The sex of the bird cannot be controlled by incubation temperature... this IS true with some reptile species, but not birds.

[VelvetSparrow1]

@3031607 Yes, but what hatches...is--

[zoughbi]

what is the cost of the incubator ? and how to get it ?.

[HTCSWEOD]

@zoughbi just go online to StrombergsChickens(dot)com and you can see current models and pricing... tell them Fred sent you! (">

[zoughbi]

@HTCSWEOD thx for ur answer ...I did try the web u sent to me ..but it does not worck!!!.

[gokory]

what do you mean by starting dry? does this mean you put no water in the resevoir? don't you need water for humidity?

[HTCSWEOD]

@gokory That's correct, I do not put any water in the incubator(s) when starting off and in my part of the country, I don't put any water in any incubator until the 18th day through pipping/hatching. Otherwise (for me) the eggs do not sufficiently dehydrate during incubation resulting in chicks that pip but do not complete the hatch due to being too large. Egg shell condition and environmental humidity are all factors to consider.

[gokory]

@HTCSWEOD where do you live? i wonder if the climate is the same where i live...

[bdsoper1]

You mention sanitizing the eggs, but I couldn't hear if you said "how" to sanitize them.... ? Any help would be greatly appreciated..

[HTCSWEOD]

@bdsoper1 the sanitizing procedure is described in great detail in the hatching section of the DVD Titled Regarding Chickens... most libraries have it... YouTube has a 10 minute limit on their vids, so every detail isn't in these shorts sorry...

[djlancastre]

I have an incubator too, and sometimes I have to help my chicks coming out of their eggs because they can't do it by themselves, is that normal?

[HTCSWEOD]

If all incubation conditions are right for your fertile eggs, there should be no need to assist the chicks during the hatching process...  If they are getting "stuck" as in pipping but not completing the hatch process, consider lowering the humidity during incubation and having it increased only after the 18th day. Also consider breeding flock diet strength, there may be nutrients missing that breeding birds need.

[djlancastre]

@HTCSWEOD I use the r-com 20 suro incubator and it says that I should use 45% humidity and 37,5ºC, do you think this levels are good?

[HTCSWEOD]

Until you have established the levels which work best for you and the species you are hatching, it's a good idea to start off with the manufacturer's recommendations and go from there. Keep records and document the humidity as you go.

[djlancastre]

@HTCSWEOD Ok, thanks for your help!

[djlancastre]

I have an incubator too, and sometimes I have to help my chicks coming out of their eggs because they can't do it by themselves, is that normal?

[Stormclouds777]

Prior to incubation, how long is it acceptable to store eggs? I was told by an old poultry farmer, as long as you are turning them and keeping them at room temperature....they can keep for up to 2 weeks. What is your take on this?

[HTCSWEOD]

The more fresh the eggs of course, the better and generally one week is pretty good, expect viability fall off pretty quickly after 7 days. tilting the eggs, or even turning them over in 12 hour cycles can help... storage temps also have an effect on viability 50-60 deg. F. is pretty good, with elevated humidity. Let's say you have a trio (2 hens, one rooster) and you want to incubate full capacity in your incubator. Nothing to lose by saving them all, as the freshest eggs will do fine still.

[HTCSWEOD]

so what I'm saying is... keep collecting the eggs... if you were keeping them only one week, then incubating with what you have, you'll do ok, but you have no problem continuing to collect and add to your incubation tray until it is full, even some of the older eggs will successfully hatch. The most recently collected will do the best in that batch. Best of luck!

[Stormclouds777]

@HTCSWEOD Thank you for a quick response. I do appreciate you answering my question. This definately helps. :)

[mizrainboprincitc]

hello,

where did you place the thermometer and hygrometer inside? what kind is accurate?

thank you.

[HTCSWEOD]

Just place your thermometers as per your instruction manual. Thermometer bulb should be at the height of the upper third of the incubating egg. See how to place and read thermometers for wet bulb readings on my Roll-X incubator demonstration.

[prichunks]

Ok thanks!

[prichunks]

So informatice thankyou so much!!!Just one question,I will probably only be incubating 20 quail eggs at a time or a dozen muscovy eggs,with that small amount of eggs and such a large amount of space(Im not using the egg turner)Ive heard you can use the shakenbake method.You just kind of shake the incubator gently and the eggs will role over without opening the lid do you think this will work or a big no no?

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks for the comment...

I wouldn't personally "shake" the eggs to turn them.. you can turn them by hand with no problem. Opening the unit during incubation isn't a problem at all, you have plenty of time to turn it off, open the unit, turn the eggs, close it and turn it back on... shaking is a little risky in my opinion.

[pauldelicata]

what is the best tempruer and humidity for the incubator

[HTCSWEOD]

Humidity and temperatures are discussed in detail in my video post on the RX incubator.... including wet bulb readings... thanks for your question.

[Olezhandr]

Temperature and humidity are different at each stage of incubation. For a certain type of eggs used by various regimes. For example, chicken eggs early days of the temperature of 39.5 40.5 degrees, 38,0-37,0 - an average cycle, 36 - the last days.

[nelielful]

The little giant incubator, is the best i been used for ten years without any problems.

[HTCSWEOD]

great! I'm glad you've had such good luck with yours! Thanks for commenting....

[markoilic123]

im incubating eggs right now in my mini incubator for 3 eggs. when the chicks hatch (if they hatch) should i leave them in it take them out or change temp./humidity

BTW nice vid

[HTCSWEOD]

"when" your chicks hatch, I recommend putting them into a home made brooder... they will be developing, growing and needing heat for approximately six weeks. Check out my posted video on table top brooder.. where I simply use a glass fish tank/reptile tank in the kitchen... lost of fun! Thanks for commenting!

[marco3395]

nice one

[HTCSWEOD]

Thank YOU!

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks.... I'm so glad you've learned something (">

[karahibler13]

your vids are so very good. what is better the little giant or hove bator. and how do we sanitise it, what do we use. and can we wash our hands with soap before we touch the eggs?

[HTCSWEOD]

Thank you, so glad you like them... yes, always wash your hands with soap before and after handling your eggs (skin oils can block egg shell pores) and you can sanitize the incubator between hatches with Tek-Trol, or a 10% bleach solution (wear gloves) and then dry in the sun... really easy.  The little giant is probably the least expensive and does just fine... the other unit has pre-set temps, so is more stable in the end... but comparable.

[turtlelee]

I have a question about this version of the little giant. So on the 18th day, remove the eggs but, once we remove the eggs from the auto-egg turn and put them inside the surface of the little giant, we'll just wait until the chicks hatch w/o turning the egg anymore right?

[HTCSWEOD]

That's correct, the eggs just sit motionless on their sides, this allows the chicks inside to properly orientate for pipping/hatching. Thank you for your question!

[turtlelee]

oh alrite, thank you.

[zeropointprophet]

my rcom incubator is alittle complicated to take a part and clean because its a one peice unit and it has electronic parts but i what i do to sanitize it ..is i build a chamber where i  place the whole unit in and i pump in pure Co2 gas i let it sitt and it kills all forms of virus's and germs by sufacation

[zeropointprophet]

i have the Rcom 3 egg incubator its a great little hobby unit ..i like hatching eggs its fun i mostly use it for my lovebird eggs at the final couple days when the eggs are due i put the eggs back with the parrents and they take care of them until i start hand feed the chicks 3 weeks later

[HTCSWEOD]

Nice, Rcom's are good units... glad you are having great success with it! Thanks for commenting.

[zeropointprophet]

your video is very informative!!! i was just thinking the other day "someone should post a step by step video in egg incubation ...and sure enough i run in to your video haha great work!! 5 stars cheers!!

[honda125ford]

this was very helpful

[HTCSWEOD]

Thank you for commenting, I'm glad you got something out of it.

[HTCSWEOD]

The most important indicator or proper humidity and weight loss, is to candle the egg itself during incubation. learn how by visiting my website. A humidity level indicator or wet bulb thermometer is not mandatory and you can probably get along without those indicators. But you must look at the eggs by candling to know if they are on track. Fill your water troughs during the last days so the chicks don't get stuck during pipping.

[trooperx666]

oh ok thanks for the help

[trooperx666]

do i really need a humidity tester thing? or can i just make sure the water tray is full.

[trooperx666]

im just wondering is 40 bucks a good deal for this incubator?

[HTCSWEOD]

yes

[trooperx666]

oke thanks farm and fleet usually has good deals

[sillygirl722]

If I have a still air inc, and the top of my eggs are at 99 degrees, is that too cold? Should the top read 102? I can't get the get the fan in time to beat my eggs ariving today. Your help would be much appriciated!!

[HTCSWEOD]

Yes, with the still air units I recommend 102 deg. F. in the top third of the egg. You'll notice the temperature will be lower at the bottom third, this is why it's a different setting than with forced air.

Thanks for your question!

[sillygirl722]

Thanks for the video! Now let's hope my silkie eggs will hatch with my still air. They aren't selling the fan kit, and it is my first time hatching......

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks for commenting... there are several online locations for getting the fan assembly kit. It's really easy to install. Best of luck to you!

[vcamnowguys]

i have one to and a lot of eggs hatched

[vegafarm]

I remember my first little gaint :) I never got to hatch anything! It was a little gaint still air, no egg turner. Then i bought the cerculated air and i got 4/5 eggs to hatch. Thanks for the info Carlos. V.

[HTCSWEOD]

Your welcome Carlos.... yes, the still air units are very sensitive to temperature changes.

The forced air units are very even in their distribution of warm air, with almost no cool or uneven temps within the incubator.

Thanks for the comment

[Johann0220]

I was thinking of buying the giant incubator and this gave me a lot more information.

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks, watch for my next video, where I review the Hova-Bater with a large top view window and battery backup.

[HTCSWEOD]

I do appreciate your comments Doratooley, and there is a long standing practice of never using sanitizers and incubating only those eggs which have clean shells. A well respected APA Hall of Fame Poultryman, Master Breeder, Master Exhibitor, introduced me to his sanitizing methods, the improvements were very impressive. I also must do it to meet Dept. of Ag inspection requirements, so it's not an option for me. Keep it natural if you can. Thanks again.

[doratooley]

i just wanted u to now that u shouldnt sanitie the eggs before putting them in.t his removes the eggs natyral seal alowing air and moisture in and keeping bacteria out. sanitizers may not kill the eggs but they cn deform the chicks. this is all from personal experience

[HTCSWEOD]

I agree that sanitization may not be necessary for the occasional small hatch and yes, it removes the bloom (nature's protection), For the large hatch, it's proven beneficial (solid science) and improves hatch rates. Tek-Trol, for example, cannot cause a "deformed chick". The statistics are proven, that large hatches (800+ per incubation batch) have demonstrated improved hatch rates when properly sanitized. Each person may do what works for them. I present both methods for information.

[BABIEBABIE7]

Great vid!