Monthly Archives: July 2013

Many of our customers ask us why it is important to stabilize their incubators for 24 hours before placing eggs in them.  The main reason is to make sure that the incubator is functioning correctly. Even though the majority of the incubators we sell never have any issues; there is the occasional unit that doesn’t function correctly.  Occasionally customers do not follow this step and have eggs in the incubator when they realize the incubator is malfunctioning and they lose a batch of eggs.  

It is also important to allow the incubator to stabilize for an extended period of time to make sure it is going to operate correctly for the location. Often when customers set up their incubator and initially stabilize it the room temperature stays constant long enough to hold a stable temperature, and they will set their eggs thinking that nothing is going to change. However, the room temperature changes enough over a 24 hour period that the incubator is not able to maintain a constant

Having an accurate thermometer is a key component to successful incubation. One of the challenges with thermometers is that it is difficult and most of the time expensive to find an extremely accurate thermometer. This is why when you are considering which thermometer to use or purchase it is important to pay attention to the stated accuracy range. 

The accuracy range is how close to the actual temperature the thermometer can measure. For example the IncubatorWarehouse.com IncuTherm™ series thermometers stated accuracy is plus or minus 1 degree F; this means if the thermometer is reading 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit the actual temperature could be up to 1 degree F higher or lower tha

Years ago when we first started getting in to egg incubation, we were told that hatching quail eggs was one of the most difficult types of birds to hatch.  So when we started getting really good results with quail, we were feeling pretty good about our hatching abilities.  But I have learned that there is another type of poultry that can also be tricky to incubate: Ducks! 

As you consider duck egg incubation, there are a few key differences than other non-water fowl.  And these items make a big difference!   

First of all, most breeds of duck eggs take about a week longer than chicken eggs.  And some (Muscovy ducks, for example), take two weeks longer.  The extra time in the incubator means more time for little variables to add up and go wrong.  The temperature needs for ducks are the same as for chickens and most other poultry, but the moisture requirements are different.  Ducks get wet and so the eggs naturally are