What should I do about about this, help!?

Question

I have a 6 day old chicken egg with a possible live embryo in it, I keep warm in a homemade incubator I made myself. But what I want to know is it ok to leave the incubator on if I'm gone for 1-3 hours? the heat source I use for this incubator is a heating pad.

I'm really concerned if I should leave the incubator on while I'm gone for over 1-3 hours since I wouldn't want the heating pad to get too warm and catch on fire.

Also on this heating pad the heat setting CANNOT be adjusted.

Can anyone help me on this please? I really don't want to lose this egg if its possibly fertile.

Hey! wildrift for FYI I want to keep this egg alive if it is fertile, I would NEVER hurt an animal on purpose. So anybody who does jokes or wise cracks please don't come here.

For those who want to know, yes I do lantern the egg and turn it over.

Answer 1

A simple solution to this is to go to a sporting store and buy those little packages for folks who do sports like skiing. They're called Hot Paws. They're used in winter, usually by folks who will be out for hours on end. They're stuck in people's mitts and boots. Basically you crack them and they produce heat for several hours. It's safe for the egg and won't produce anything chemically that will damage the embryo. :-) Folks use them up here in case we have a power outage and we've got babies on the way ^.^

If that's not an option, try sticking rice in a sock and stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then wrap it in a face cloth and place it an inch or so away from the egg. It will retain heat for a good hour and if you place a lid over the incubator, it should keep the egg comfortably warm for a good 2 hours. Be warned, the sock is HOT when you first take it out of the nuke ^.^ .

Good luck!

Answer 2

To find if there is an embryo inside you need to lantern the egg. You can do this by taking a tolet paper roll and setting the Large pointed side on the hole of the tube. Then, you stick a flashlight on the other end and shine it through the egg. If there is a dark spot in the egg, it is fertile, if it does not, it isn't fertile. By the way, remember to turn the egg at least three times a day, if you don't the embryo will stik to the sides and the chick will die.

Answer 3

Do you have a thermometer? Many times, incubated eggs will fail because improper heat or humidity will interfere with normal growth and development of the embryo.

The best temperature for hatching is 100 F throughout the entire incubation period. If the temperature is more than 1 degree higher, the egg may hatch too early and end in death.

Are you turning your egg?

Answer 4

Why don't you try to get one of those plant light bulbs or see if there is another source of heat you can use that is safer. I'm like you. I don't like leaving those things on since I've had a fire before. I found this part of a sentence when I did a search but not the rest of the article: "the eggs in a clear box with a desk light as the incubation light, I have placed a medical thermomoter and a damp towel to keep it moist".
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Livestock_and_Farming/1977_March_April/How_to_Raise_Baby_Chicks_from_Scratch

Answer 5

buy a different heating pad with an adujstment, other wise, you could maybe put some towels between it and the egg and to keep the heat down, or buy a real incubator.

Answer 6

I don't know if it will harm the egg or not but most heating pads will turn off by themselves after an hour.My heating pad does that anyway.Best Wishes and Be Blessed! Monica

Answer 7

Dummy....it's just an egg (only one). You are not saving the universe! If you really need to hatch an egg, research and buy the proper equipment, and hatch all the eggs you can hatch!!!

Answer 8

um i dont think the heating pad will catch on fire..i mean is it touching anything flamable? i have baby finchs atm and they have a heating lamp over there little plastic box..