Incubation of chicken eggs at home: nuances and features of the process

Before you start breeding birds, it is advisable to learn all the nuances and features of the process, from the incubation of eggs to the cultivation of adults. If you have poultry, then, most likely, you are already faced with the fact that few chickens agree to become hens, so getting chickens in many part-time farms is a serious problem. In such cases small incubators come to the rescue. Do not be afraid of them and think that the chickens who have been hatching a hen will be better or healthier. If you follow certain instructions, the incubation of chicken eggs at home gives good results, you can hatch almost all the eggs.

To buy a device designed for hatching chicks is easy - in different farm shops or just on the market you can find the options you are interested in. To ensure that the incubation of eggs at home is successful, before you lay it carefully read the instructions for the purchased device. This will help to avoid errors associated with its operation, which can lead to the loss of chickens.

In addition, pay special attention to the quality of eggs used: they should be from a healthy bird, without any cracks, roughness and other shell defects. Also their freshness is important: they should be no more than 5 days. By the way, this is one of the reasons why it is not recommended to buy eggs in shops or markets.

Incubation of chicken eggs at home begins as follows: put them in a warm room, before they are placed in the device, they should get a little warmer. At this time, the device is prepared: it must be thoroughly washed, disinfected and warmed to a temperature of 37.5-37.8 ° C. After this, lay the eggs in the incubator with a blunt end up. Do not think that your work on this is over. If you have an ordinary home appliance, you will have to constantly monitor the microclimate inside the device, adjust the humidity and, of course, turn over the future chickens.

The temperature of the incubation of chicken eggs is one of the most important conditions for the success of the process. Experienced poultry farmers say that it should change depending on how many days ago a bookmark has occurred. So, in the first 3 days try to ensure that the device was about 38 ^° C (a fluctuation of about 0.3 ^° C is permissible). Starting from the 4th day, the temperature regime of incubation of chicken eggs varies: the apparatus should become slightly cooler. Optimum, if there will be about 37.6 ^o C. This level of temperature should be kept until 10-11 days, then watch that it does not rise above 37.2 ^o C.

But the microclimate in the incubator also depends on the level of humidity: at first it should be lower. In the early days, keep it at about 50-60%, and from 11 days it's better to increase it to 70%.

Follow the necessary indicators will help you special devices - a thermometer and a hygrometer. Starting from 4 days, regularly ventilate the incubator. Also do not forget that the incubation of chicken eggs at home will be successful only if you regularly turn them over. On Day 1-4, it must be done at least 6 times a day, then it will be enough to twist them twice. To not forget which eggs you have already turned, mark each of them with a marker or a simple pencil. If the incubation is successful, pilling of the shell should be expected on day 20, by 21 day there will be a massive hatching of the chicks.