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The area in which incubators are kept should be easily cleaned and well ventilated, and should also be maintained at a constant temperature.
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All incubators also require added water to maintain the correct humidity. This is usually provided in the form of one or more water trays.
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Still air incubators, which have a temperature gradient from the top (higher temperature) to the bottom of the incubator may approximate the natural conditions in a nest (in which the incubating parent is providing heat from above), but they may easily be overloaded and the eggs then poorly ventilated. Forced air incubators have a much more uniform temperature throughout, and better ventilation, and may be used for many more eggs. All our incubators at Surehatch are Forced Air Incubators.
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N.B. Individual preference plays a large part in choosing an incubator. In general, better results are likely to be obtained if the operator is familiar with, and comfortable using, the incubator.
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Incubators should be cleaned and disinfected (and fumigated if required - before the breeding season. A disinfectant suitable for incubators should be chosen and care is needed in cleaning the incubator. Once clean, they should be set up without any eggs and switched on.
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After the incubator has warmed up and appears to be at the correct operating temperature, it may be tested by incubating some chicken eggs. The temperature should be monitored and recorded several times daily, but adjusted on the basis of average daily readings rather than by micro-correction every few hours.
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Wet-bulb readings should also be monitored to indicate humidity levels. A pattern of a slight rise in readings on the wet-bulb thermometer may indicate a soiled wick and this should be changed
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For ideal results, all the eggs inside one incubator should be of the same age (stage of incubation) and size. In practice, eggs of different sizes and ages are commonly incubated in the same machine.
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Eggs close to the end of incubation produce a considerable amount of heat and therefore contribute locally to the air temperature, particularly in a still-air incubator.
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Large late-incubation eggs should not be placed near to small, newly-set eggs as they may affect their incubation temperature.
