Whether you are a professional chicken breeder or a beginner looking to raise their own chicks, an egg incubator will make your job a lot easier
Egg incubators are not only intended for hatching chicken or hen eggs, but can be used for:
- ducks
- doves
- rock partridges
- pheasants
- geese
- peacocks
- partridges
- pigeons
- quail
- turkeys
- turtledoves
- exotic birds
Watching your own eggs hatch is an extraordinary experience that everyone should go through at least once in their life.
But what’s the difference between a manual and an automatic egg incubator? How do automatic incubators work and what are their advantages?
Manual or automatic egg incubator
The main difference between manual, semi-automatic and automatic egg incubators is the way the eggs are turned. The eggs must be turned two or three times a day to hatch and give birth to healthy chicks. It is a vital part of the incubation process as it prevents the embryo from attaching to the sides of the egg shell.
When using a manual incubator, it is necessary to manually turn each egg several times a day. It might not seem like a lot of work, but doing it three times a day can take a long time, especially if you’re managing several broods at the same time.
If you choose to use a manual incubator, it is important to make sure you turn the eggs correctly by flipping them gently. A little trick is to mark one side of the egg with the number 1 and the other side with the number 2 so that you can check at any time whether an egg has been turned or not during the day.
Automatic egg incubators, unlike manual ones, make the job much easier. However, there are two types of automatic incubators:
- semiautomatic
- fully automatic