Some basics about incubation you need to know
•
Chicken eggs take
21 days to incubate
•
For the first 18 days eggs are placed in plastic egg trays (
Also called the setter
)
•
On the morning of day 18 the eggs must be moved from the plastic egg trays (setter)
to
the hatcher
(Hatching crates below the egg tray).
•
The eggs must lay still in the hatcher. On day 21/22 the chicks will start hatching. Chicks can
be left inside the hatcher for up to 24 hours after they have hatched.
•
DO NOT TO OPEN THE HATCHER/HATCHER FROM DAY 18 to 21
– opening the door causes
major moi
sture loss and may “shrink-wrap” the chicks inside the eggs
•
Ideal incubation temperature is
99.5°F
(Fluctuations between
96°F
to
101°F
is normal).
Your
hatcher is
pre-set to regulate the temperature to 99.5°F
•
Ideal hatcher humidity: Day 1 to 18: 50-60%. Day 18 to 21: 60-65%
•
Eggs must lose 12% of weight due to moisture loss in the first 18 days.
•
Only eggs which are fertile can stand a chance to hatch
. There are various reasons why
eggs don’t hatch – at the end of this manual you will find reasons why eggs fail to hatch. You
can check if the eggs are fertile after 10 days in the hatcher.
You
can’t check for fertility
before they are placed in the hatcher.
