The Incubation and Hatching Files

CANDLING EGGS Candling eggs is a great way of checking on the progress of your little babies developing inside the eggs. There are many reasons why you should candle your eggs.  Breeders use candling to learn which of their chickens' eggs are fertile and will hatch into baby chicks. Candling can also be used to tell if a fertilized egg has stopped developing. The candling process works by illuminating the interior of an egg so you are able to see what is inside the shell. This article will show you the correct procedure for candling an egg. picture: the development...

Looking for information regarding assisting hatching? perhaps you have a chick trying to pip and is taking a little longer than normal and wondering what to do?  Warning: This article show graphic images of deceased chicks I highly recommend THIS ARTICLE by Sally Sunshine - It is a must read for anyone incubating and hatching eggs and covers what you should do and more importantly what you should not do with assisting in the hatching process.    

Thinking of purchasing a new incubator? Not sure of which type to purchase? With so many incubators on the market, its hard to know where to start and what to look for.  Like most things in life, you get what you pay for and here is our warning on cheap incubators ....  you may ask "Why are there cheap incubators available for around $60 and how do they differ from our quality Brinsea incubators we sell?" After hearing of many house fires and near misses with cheap incubators and brooder equipment, here is some advice to consider: Your house and...

Incubating Basics (including extra tips on hatching shipped eggs)  Let me preface this resource by saying, I’ve hatched out a lot of shipped eggs. Honestly, more than I would care to remember., and have been breeding poultry for nearly 25 years. Coming from a Island where there are limited bloodlines and availability after a while of keeping chickens, I started wanting something a little different. Generally I fit into the category of the “Don’t tell her it’s unusual, hard to find, or hard to hatch, cause she’ll want it!” … I like left of centre and I love a challenge...

Taking Care of your Day Old Chicks Getting Started Checklist: A brooder box - this needs to be set up and ready to bring your new pets home Poultry Heat pad (we stock two brands in various sizes) or brooder lamp A chick suitable drinker (this is most important as young chicks often drown in the smallest lids of water or containers that they can fall into) A chick feeder Chick Starter Crumble  Litter for the base of your brooder box (we recommend hemp bedding) You can make a brooder box from just about any storage tub or wooden box...