Incubator for eggs - all the subtleties of use and choice for beginners

To engage in poultry farming, you need a reliable egg incubator. There are industrial and household products, differing in volume, automation and other design features. To select a successful model, you need to know the principle of operation of this device and to study the basic parameters that affect the breeding process.

Conditions in the incubator for eggs

Regardless of whether you have a home-made incubator for eggs or a factory device, without a strict adherence to the incubation regime, you will not be able to get a good chick out. "Underheated" chicks are weak, they come out of the shell later, they move worse. The "overheated" brood has a sticky fluff, the yolk is badly drawn in, a large percentage of suffocated embryos. To speed up the incubation process by raising the temperature is a bad decision. In addition, the health of chicks in the incubator for eggs is influenced by humidity, ventilation and other factors.

Incubator temperature for eggs

Incubation times, overturning times and temperature conditions for each bird species are different. Chickens are hatched for 21 days, and for the appearance of goslings it is required to wait up to 29 days. Use only one incubator for eggs at the same time for guinea fowls , chickens and ducks can only an experienced person. On different days, the temperature in the incubator for chicken eggs varies in accordance with the stages of development of the embryo. Limit temperatures for embryos - from 27 ° C to 43 ° C, the optimum temperature for the top heating of eggs is from 37 ° C to 40 ° C, if heating is made from different sides - 38.5 ° C.

Humidity in the incubator for eggs

Another reason why it is difficult to obtain a full output of chickens and waterfowl in the same egg hatchery is a different degree of humidity for each bird species. The drying of the shell leads to the evaporation of liquid from the egg, which affects the embryo badly. The humidity in the incubator for chicken eggs is maintained by means of irrigated canals in the lower part of the hull or baking trays installed under the grate, using household or automatic sprayers.

If there is no special device for changing the humidity (professional hygrometer), then a medical thermometer wrapped in moist cotton wool or cotton cloth can be used for this purpose. We have a dry and wet device on one level, we turn on the incubator. After 15 minutes, but before the liquid dries completely in the wrapper, we compare their readings on a special table.

How to choose an incubator for eggs?

Earlier, it was not easy to get a good incubator for eggs in the trade network, people had to make homemade devices from foam plastic, plywood, old refrigerators and other material. Now the stores are full of equipment of this type, both domestic and foreign production, but the question arises with the right choice of a quality and reliable device. It must withstand the desired mode of incubation and is guaranteed not to break in the midst of this important process.

Criteria for choosing a good incubator:

1. Thermoregulator. There are mechanical (manual) and electronic controls, but in any case their accuracy class is important. For household appliances, there are 6 classes of accuracy. The triac controllers do not burn out the contacts, but they are afraid of voltage drops in the network. The optimum temperature setting step is 0.1 ° C.
2. Rotation of eggs. An incubator for eggs with an automatic turning mechanism is more convenient to maintain, but more expensive. The cheapest devices are made of foam plastic with a simple plastic grille.
3. Humidity control. In cheap devices there are no hygrometers at all, so you need to monitor this indicator yourself. Modern incubators are equipped with electronic humidity sensors with a good class of accuracy.
4. A heating element. Incandescent bulbs are the cheapest, but often burn out, which leads to a violation of the regime. Now the manufacturers switch to heating elements or thermo-film, which has a high durability.
5. Connect a backup power source. Expensive devices can be connected to 12V batteries using a built-in converter.
6. Housing. For installation in a warm room, a device of any material is suitable, but in a cold room it is better to use an incubator for eggs made from foam. Plastic has its advantages - it is stronger and it is easy to wash.

Incubators for egg gratings

Lattice is one of the key elements of any incubator. It allows you to fix the eggs in the correct position, turn them at the right angle. A good incubator for eggs is equipped with universal grids for different sizes, which are tilted with an automatic mechanism. Previously, they were made of metal or wire, now more often plastic parts are used. Nowadays, it is easy to independently assemble automated homemade incubators, using ready-made universal trays with a drive.

Standard cell sizes:

1. chicken eggs - 0,67-0,75 mm;
2. for quails - 0,35-0,45 mm;
3. for the incubation of ducks and geese - 0.75-0.86 mm.

How to use the incubator?

Even fully automatic devices need periodic monitoring, in most Chinese incubators, the sensor readings are sinning from the truth, periodic temperature correction is required. In business, how to use the incubator at home, there is no great difficulty. You need to know how to lay eggs properly when they are ventilated, sprayed and turned over. The most important nuance is to remember what temperature to maintain during a certain incubation period, to avoid overheating and hypothermia of embryos.

Main mistakes in the incubation process:

1. Ignorance of the device device, a person does not know how to use regulators, does not understand their scale, sets the wrong temperature. It is advisable to experiment at first with an empty incubator, exposing different values ​​on the sensors to learn how to operate it.
2. The user does not maintain an egg incubation table, does not record the time and date of the bookmark.
3. The use of old eggs, the maximum period of their storage - up to two weeks.
4. The incubator is laid dirty and contaminated material, unchecked for egg defects.
5. Jumps in temperature, frequent power outages in the network.
6. The incubator for eggs is installed in the wrong place, near the heating batteries, in the sun.
7. Eggs do not turn over on time.

Preparing the incubator for the bookmark

Be sure to read the device's passport and its design, the old models are very different from the instruments of the new sample. Preparation of the incubator for work begins with the disinfection of its internal elements with ecocide, chloramine, formaldehyde. Wash the lid, body, trays, grilles. We install the incubator in a warm place, away from draft, batteries and open windows. Place it on a flat surface. We turn on the incubator, adjust the sensors to the desired temperature, after 24 hours, after warming up and checking all the indications, it is ready for use.

Modes of incubation of eggs in an incubator

If you have learned how to properly use the incubator, then maintaining the preset mode will be easy. Do not forget about the ventilation of the camera, the owners of automated devices often do not produce it, which greatly worsens the percentage of chickens' yield. With poor gas exchange, they are born with deformities, vices, often a naklia in the upper part of the shell. Insufficient moisture leads to the birth of small and weak offspring, and at high humidity the naklev occurs with a delay.

The temperature regime of incubation of chickens:

1. 1-6 days - 38 ° C,
2. 7-11 days - 37.5-37.7 ° C,
3. 12-20 day - 37.3-37.5 ° C,
4. Day 21 - emergence of chickens from the shell.

The optimal moisture regime for chicken eggs:

1. 1-7 days - 50-55%,
2. 8-14 days - 45-50%,
3. 15-18 day - 50%,
4. 19-21 days - up to 70%

What should be the eggs for the incubator?

The average weight of eggs plays a big role, for egg breeds of chickens it becomes about 60 grams, for broiler breeds - 70 g. Immediately discard the broken and dirty material, try to inspect the shell for small chips and potholes. It is better to use freshly incubated eggs for incubation, in this case the chance to get a good yield of chicks considerably increases. The inside of the eggs is checked with a professional or homemade ovoscope.

What eggs should be in the incubator when researching a vegetable:

1. The air chamber is located at the blunt end.
2. The yolk is located closer to the center.
3. The yolk is whole and not spread.
4. There are no dark spots or reddish inclusions.
5. When the egg rotates, the yolk does not move.

How long does the egg lay in the incubator?

An important question, how long to keep eggs in the incubator, depends on the breed of the bird. Naklev in chickens is observed from 19 days, the average duration of incubation is 21 days. Ducks and turkeys are baked on the 25-26th day with an incubation period of 28 days. Goose eggs lie in the incubator for the longest time, they bite in from day 28, and the mass withdrawal of goslings takes place on day 31. Chickens must choose themselves from the egg, when interfering with the natural process, there is a great risk of damaging the circulatory system.

How to lay eggs in an incubator?

Eggs before incubation are stored in a cool room, the day before they are kept for up to 12 hours at 25 ° C. Nestlings grow better in spring on green grass, when the heat is not yet high, so the best time for egg laying is from the end of February to the first of May. It is recommended to perform this process in the second half of the day, then the first chicks hatch in the morning, and by the end of the day the incubation will be completely completed. In the case, how to lay eggs in the incubator, their role in the tray plays a role, for better warming, put them inside horizontally or under an inclination.

How to turn the eggs in an incubator?

The mechanism of turning eggs in the incubator makes it much easier to use, in which case you only need to observe a strictly fixed schedule. In incubators without automatic rotation of trays, this procedure is performed manually. If this is not done, the embryos will adhere to the walls and die. It is recommended to combine this work with the ventilation of the device. It is advisable to put labels on the eggs so as not to be mistaken with the angle of rotation. Until day 19, the process is performed 4 times a day, then we stop spraying and turning over.