Chook Me!

I bought an egg incubator, but I dont know how to use it, can anybody help me or give a site for a tutorial?

This is second-hand and the person who sold it do not have manual and dont how to use it either. Please help. 1. Whats the purpose of the 1.5V AA size battery? 2. What should be the right voltage of the bulb? 3. Whats the purpose of the tray below? Some said I should put some water in it.

Public Comments

1. It depends on the kind you got. mine doesnt have a bulb or a battery. just a heater coil but yea the tray below is for water, if you dont put water in there the eggs just dry up and wont grow. make sure there is always water in the tray. keep the heat at like 90 no higher than 105. and remeber to turn your eggs at least once a day so that the baby doesnt melt or settle to one side of the egg (it can mutilate them or they will stop growing) Good Luck and have fun o yea and they will hatch 21 days after you put them in there exactly, so after 22 days, nothings gunna hatch
2. 1. Go buy eggs from someone who has chickens with a rooster. Do not buy eggs from the store. They will not hatch. Do not buy eggs that have been refrigerated. they will not hatch. 2. Go buy what's called an egg candler. Read the directions. It is used to tell if the eggs are fertile. (If they will hatch or not.) 3. If the eggs are fertile, you can start up the incubator. 4. Does you incubator have an automatic egg turner ? If not, you'll have to rotate and turn the eggs twice a day. 5. You need to use a 40 watt bulb. The battery might be to run the thermostat or the autoegg turner if you have one. Not all models have both. Most have the thermometer. 6. The tray is for water. Fill it up with it. This softens the egg shells making it easier for chicks to break out of the eggs. 7. Turn the incubator on and let it warm up before you put in eggs. 8 Add eggs. 9. Turn eggs twice a day. 10 . Wait patiently for chicks to appear. Once hatched, allow chicks to dry off in incubator. Then gently remove them and but them in a box lined with newspaper. Make sure they have a heat lamp over them and plenty of chick starter grain and water. Just hatched chicks need help to find food and water first thing, Hold the chick and gently press its beak into the water. You may have to do it a few times with each chick before it drinks. The same thing with the food. New chicks need their box changed twice a day or it will get really stinky. Once the chicks have all their feathers, they can be moved to a pen or cage outside.
3. 1. It must be battery operated. The heater needs power from some source. Mine is electric. 2. Mine does not contain a bulb. 3. Yes, there should be different portions in the tray. You should fill the trough marked "thermal" with warm water when you put the eggs in. You will need to fill that a couple times a week. The eggs need to be turned 2 - 3 times daily, mark each side with a different symbol (O and X) to keep track. 2 - 3 days before the hatch, stop turning the eggs and fill both the "thermal" and "circulated" trough. The temperature should stay at 100 degrees. It takes some tweaking to get that to stay correct. http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/product/picture_window_incubator.html Does it look something like that one? I have about the same one as that, but mine doesn't have a fan. If you are really stuck, send me an e-mail with your questions and I will be more than happy to try and help.