AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

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Incubation of Chicken Eggs
Collecting eggs
To collect or not? On our premises, the question really does not arise. Either eggs are frequently collected, or predators are regaled. Among those, the rats can visit the hen houses and carry eggs. The magpies can also catch some eggs. Take care of a suitable habitat to limit the damage of predators, such as a concreted ground for instance.

The collect of eggs will be sufficiently frequent to get eggs as clean as possible. This will be facilitated when having sufficient nests, filled of a thick litter, maintained clean. The type of nest - with or without trap door - will depend on the level of selection you want to operate. For example, a nest with trap door is used to know which hen produce a specific egg. Note that this practice requires some availability, because the animal needs to be released as soon as possible after the laying.

Sorting
The eggs to be incubated are to be selected: the too small or too large hatch badly. The eggs with abnormal shell (bumps, vacuums, pad, thin, porous or too thick shell, limestone grains, fissures, very pointed end) are to be set aside.

Cleaning of eggs
If necessary, the eggs can be rubbed with a brush (a small teeth brush for example) or a fine abrasive paper.

Some breeders wash their eggs with water and disinfectant. This is not always easy to realize and would be rather disadvised for beginners.

Another technique still consists in disinfecting eggs by fumigation. This consists a disinfecting gas as quick as possible after the laying. This kind of product can be found in a specialized shop. Follow instructions accompanying the chosen product.

Another simpler technique, though less effective, consists in exposing the eggs to the direct light of the sun. Lay out eggs on a clean surface, exposed to the sun and turn them over gradually. Take care that eggs do not overheat!

Storage of eggs
While waiting for the start of incubation, the eggs must be stored in a fresh and dry place (12 to 15°C), not in the sunlight. Note that the embryo dies at -2 °C and starts to develop as from 27 °C.

Eggs should be neither too old, nor too fresh. The ideal ranges between 3 and 10 days. Even if it is possible to obtain hatching with some 3-week old eggs, the chances of success drop however in an important way.

During their storage, the eggs are placed either:

in a natural horizontal position. It is advisable in this case to turn them twice a day of 180°.
sharp end downwards. In this case, the support (paperboards for hen eggs for instance) is tilted by 30° and will be regularly turned from 1/4 of turn.
Artificial incubation
The temperature of the body of a chicken is 41,6°C, comparatively higher than in the mammals. This makes it possible to better understand and manage the artificial incubation of chicken eggs.

A hesitation, a doubt? Think to what a hen does when it broods. The artificial incubation simply consists in imitating what the animal does.

History
3000 years b.c., the men practised already the artificial incubation.

In the scale of civilization, it is in China that the first traces of artificial incubation were found, about 3000 years b.c.

In Egypt, you can still see today how manals function. These are monuments built 4000 to 5000 years ago for artificial incubation. Each manal includes a variable number of furnaces heated with the dessicated droppings of camel. Some, such as the one of Alexandria, have a capacity of 90 000 eggs.

Curious characteristic: the specialists in this profession transmit their principles and their secrecies in family, from father to son. No testing device is used, the candling is done with the eye, while placing the egg on the way of a sunbeam.

The temperature is evaluated by the contact of the shell with the eyelid.

Any heating is remove as from the 11th day, «The life entering at precise time the shell».

In spite of these rudimentary methods, the results of hatching are excellent as a whole, reaching 60 to 65 % of eggs put in incubation, a percentage that many modern installations would envy.

Choice of an incubator
For some advice before purchase, click here.

Preparation of incubation
Preparation of the incubator
The incubator must be cleaned and disinfected. For disinfection, you can use bleach diluted to 10%. In specialized shops, there are specific products for the disinfection of incubators.

The incubator will be placed in a room whose temperature oscillates between 15 and 20 °C, rather stable. Badly exposed buildings, badly insulated or with strong temperature amplitudes are to be avoided. The romm must be quite ventilated but without draught. This will make it possible to avoid the climatic shocks when opening the incubator for maintenance.

It is particularly important for small incubators, which are not very well insulated.

It is recommended to follow the instructions provided by the incubator manufacturer.

Calibration of the hygrometer
For the incubators provided with a hygrometer with hair, it is advisable to calibrate it.

Surround the hygrometer of a wet linen for at least 20 minutes. Then remove it and regulate it using a small screwdriver on the value ...%.

Calibration of the thermometer
The thermometer for checking or calibration must be intact: the tube with mercury or coloured liquid should not be divided.

For incubators with adjustable thermostat, check the exactitude of the internal thermometer using a clinical thermometer or an incubator thermometer.

Positioning of the probe
In the majority of incubators, the probe which is used as a basis for the thermostat is positionale in height. It is particularly important to take care to place the probe:

at the height of the top of the egg in a static incubator
at the height of the middle of the egg in a ventilated incubator
If the height of the probe is not adjustable, position a calibration thermometer following the same rules. You can use blocks from children games to adjust the position of the calibration thermometer at the correct height.

The incubator thermostat will be regulated in comparison of the calibration thermometer.

A variation of 1 cm of height of the calibration thermometer may induce a variation of 1 °C of the incubation temperature. Knowing the importance of the incubation temperature, this step should not be neglected.

Startup
Place the thermometer and the hygrometer in the incubator. If the protocol of incubation requires it, fill the container(s) with water.

Turn on the incubator.

Adjustment of the thermostat
Adjust the thermostat until the incubation temperature is reached. This may take several hours.

Adjustment of the humidity
The humidity in the incubator is determined by the surface of the water container. Depending on the degree of sophistication of the incubator, you can have:

a container to be filled
a container with adjustable lid
a device of measurement and production of humidity
In addition, some incubators have adjustable air holes which can help maintaining the correct humidity level:

open the air holes increases the air ventilation and thus decreases the humidity level in the incubator
close the air holes decreases the air intake and thus increases the humidity in the incubator
Do not forget that the humidity inside the incubator depends also on the humidity of the ambient air and can thus undergo some fluctuations.

Preparation of the eggs
Candling

The candling will be done with a candler. The goal consists in directing the light in such a way that they cross the egg so that the internal structure is revealed. Operate way from daylight will facilitate the experiment.

A candling before putting the eggs in incubation will indicate which eggs, presenting a crack, should be put aside.


The candling during incubation helps making sure that the development of the embryo continues correctly. Not fertile eggs or those whose development stopped will be withdrawn so that their rotting does not contaminate other eggs.

Fertile eggs present blood vessels like a red spider.

Progressively with the development of the embryo, the egg becomes increasingly dard. This makes it possible to follow the evolution of the air cell.

Marking of eggs
If the eggs are to be placed horizontaly in an incubator with manual reversal, it is recommended to mark eggs in order to make sure they will be turned from 180 °.

Therefore, take a pencil or a marker with nontoxic ink and draw a star on one side and a circle on the other side.

Installation of eggs
If the incubator is provided with cells, the eggs will be placed the point downside.

Otherwise, the eggs are laid out flat on a grid.

Monitoring of incubation
Monitoring of the temperature
It is wise to keep an eye on the thermometer and to adjust the thermostat if the protocol of incubation specifies it.

Monitoring of humidity
The hygroscopy in the incubator must be supervised closely because it is an important parameter in the success of incubation.

Monitor in particular the water container(s) which may be empty quickly in a ventilated incubator.

If the protocol of incubation requires modifications of humidity, make the necessary adjustments.

To increase moisture:

use a water container with a larger surface
open the lid of the water container, if possible
close the air holes of the incubator if available
To decrease moisture:

use a water container with a smaller surface
close the lid of the water container, if possible
open the air holes of the incubator if available
Do not forget that humidity in the incubator is also depending on the humidity of the ambient air and can thus undergo some fluctuations.

Moisture is particularly important for palmipeds (geese and ducks). If there is not enough humidity, the air cell is too large and it will be difficult for the ducklings or goslings to break the shell. If there is too much moisture, the air celle is too small and the embryos risk death for lack of oxygen.

In cas of poor incubation results, this parameter can be better supervised by measuring the loss of weight of the eggs during incubation. Therefore, weigh eggs just before starting the incubation and once again right before transfer in the hatcher. For poultries, the weight loss must be 13%. For palmipeds, the weight loss must reach 14%. If the weight loss is less than 12%, humidity during incubation is too strong. If the weight loss is higher than 15%, humidity during incubation is too low.

Turning eggs
If the incubation is not provided with a system for turning eggs (semi-automatic or automatic), the manual turning must at the same time permute egg lines and eggs within the same line. Moreover, turn egg on themselves of 180°.

If the incubator is provided with a semi-automatic system of turning, eggs just have to be turned on themselves of 180°.

In an incubator with automatic turning, the device must be set and withdrawn according to the incubation protocol.

That's good, lots of details there

That is helpful for me I seem to set rotten eggs all too often




Raf