Selfsufficientish.com

Hi All,
This is going to sound really strange but.... In the absence of an egg incubator is it possible to hatch eggs in a slow cooker, stop laughing.. I make yoghurt in the slo cooker on the "keep warm setting", so wondered if anyone had come across this as a method that works and provides the heat and humidity required.
Or indeed another method I can use to hatch out said eggies
Thank you
Becks

dont know about the slow cooker, but my sister has hatched some eggs in a "heated propegator" before

A quick Google result - if you can guarantee to maintain a steady temp. of 99 to 101 degress (Fahrenheit, note well) and a humidity of between 58 and 60%, then you can incubate in a shoe box.

Thanks for those ideas, one of the teachers at school has a max min thermometer so I can gauge what temp it gets up to before I launch into egg hatching mode!
Becks

You'll need to turn the eggs daily as well - if you haven't already, I would recommend getting hold of Katie Thear's book on Incubating and Raising chickens, it will give you a sound grounding in the basics of incubation.

Ive got that book, recommended. Love to hear your results with this.

Thank you I will have a look for a copy.
After reading a bit more on the internet I'm beginning to wonder if the humidity aswell as the temp would be too high.
The heated propogator is begining to look the better option

Just bear in mind - hens do it all of the time, so how difficult can it be?

Perhaps not difficult at all... if you are a hen

We have a chair that is almost permanently inhabited by one or more cats. I wonder what would happen if I put some fertilized eggs in there... and what would happen if the eggs hantched...

Jandra

I wonder what would happen if I put some fertilized eggs in there

a mid morning snack I suspect!

So having done lots of reading I have now decided to use an aquarium, my friend has added a light and thermometer,and a dish with a wet sponge for humidity and the lavender bantam eggs are in place, just 4 this time.
We intend to turn them 3-4 times a day keeping a record of when etc. so hatching day has been calculated as 15th May. It's very exciting.
Keep you posted.

The eggs have been candled and we can see 3 definites out of 4,but its still early days yet.

Good luck with the aquarium attempt. I had tried to hatch about 3 dozen eggs once and out of the entire lot I had one silkie hatch and with my luck it turned out to be a rooster so I had to rehome him as I had girls only and close neighbours so didn't want a crowing lad to join the fray.


I hope your adventures are much more successful!!!

thank you for the good wishes, the neighbours might not be so keen on a cockereal however someone has told me the pekin bantam males are very quiet indeed... should I beleive them???

oo exciting - hope your experiment works

actually - my grandad made an incubator using a thermostat from a fish tank,, and they hatched loads... so no reason why it can't work

dang I miss him.. such a great bodger.