can i use reptile incubator for chicken eggs ???

[sussex x]

hi , iv seen some reptile incubators on ebay , looking very nice and big ( could fit a lot of eggs in there ) . also quite cheap , i was thinking is it possible to incubate chickens eggs in one of them ?
thanks

 

[chrismahon]

Turning the eggs three times a day for 18 days is the problem Sussex. Can introduce bacterial infection which is why people use the slightly more expensive semi-automatics, where you pull or push a handle to rotate them all from outside. Alternatively the very expensive fully automatics where the turning is done for you. Saving a few pounds on an incubator can waste a lot of time and hatching eggs.

 

[sussex x]

thanks was a quick reply ,
to tell you the truth the turning part is not a problem with me , iv hatched in a 5 quid manual loads of times . my only concern in the temp and humidity the incubator stays at .
thanks

 

[tygrysek75]

You need to check if you can adjust temperature in them as reptiles needs higher than chickens,humidity is not a big problem as we live in England and most of people run they incy dry anyway.Always wash your hands before handling the eggs and should be fine.

 

[chrismahon]

Just be aware that the temperature requirements are quite fine for chickens. So the thermostat needs to keep switching on and off in the range of 0.5 degrees. Think reptiles are more tolerant and its about two degrees, which is no good for poultry.

 

[sussex x]

hi , sorry for late reply . would the incubator need to be at 37 celcius constant ? what humidity ? do you think it can be done ?

 

[Japanesebantamkate]

Hiya Sussex,
Yes the incubator would need to be 37.5c constantly, give or take 0.5c. Obviously when you open it to turn the eggs it drops, like when a broody hen gets off the eggs to eat but this is only a few times a day. With a less reliable theromstat going up and down 2c all through out the day will have a very detrimental affect on the embryos. Ones that dont die may hatch early or late and have many problems. No doubt there will always be some that defy the laws of nature and you will have some that hatch healthily but your hatch rate will be significantly reduced. I certainly dont want to sound rude or snobby but if you are looking at buying an incubator you must be hoping to hatch many eggs over and over. In that case I would just buy a chicken egg one as its been designed for that purpose. Im all for saving money but I think speculate to accumalate may ring true here. If someone were giving you a reptile incubator for free and the eggs were from your hens, so not costing anything I'd say give it a try and buy a hydrometer from eBay for about £5 and stick it inside with a pot and sponge soaked in water (You want to achieve 45% humidity up until 2 days before hatching then raise it to 65% by adding more water) but if you are having to spend good £££ on buying one then spend just abit more and get a chicken one. Manual incubators are very reasonably priced. Its the automatic ones that hurt the wallet. Goodluck though
Kate