Incubators have become a popular investment for preschool and younger grade teachers. These wonderful machines not only educate learners on the hatching process, but also help facilitate hands-on learning. Students learn to work together and make decisions all whilst cultivating the skill of patience and tapping into their natural curiosity.
An automatic chicken egg incubator is one of the easier incubators, to begin with, if you are new to the hatching scene. They are usually digitized and easy to operate. Engaging lessons are important for keeping students interested and learning.
We’ve compiled a list of 9 of the best incubator’s currently on the market. Check out their features below and pick the perfect classroom incubator for your specific needs.
How do you incubate eggs in a classroom?
Hatching chicks in the classroom may sound like a difficult feat, but worry not! We’ve got 5 top tips to bear in mind when you want to incubate chicks at school.
Remember that hatching chicks in an incubator takes a total of 21 days so firstly, be sure that you have the necessary time available and aren’t starting the project before the school holidays begin!
Secondly, you need the right tools to aid you in hatching the chicks. Get yourself an easy-to-operate incubator for classroom use.
Step 3 would be to set up your device correctly – ensuring that the temperature, humidity, and turning settings are appropriate. Once your eggs have been placed comfortably in the incubator, use the 21 day period to prepare for hatch day. You can do this by arranging appropriate food, a heat lamp, a cage, and of course, making sure that you’ll be able to appropriately care for the chicks once hatched.
The best incubators for beginners certainly have to be ones with automatic turning abilities and automated settings. They are extremely simple to operate and make them the perfect choice for first-time chick incubators.
1. Magicfly Digital Egg Incubator
Hatch 9-12 eggs with the Magicfly digital egg incubator! This one is certainly multi-purpose as it helps you hatch 7 different variants of bird eggs. Avoid having to manually turn the eggs as this incubator does it for you! Monitor the temperature with a built-in digital thermometer and LED display. If you’re not good with technology then this is the machine for you! It’s so simple even your preschool class could operate it with supervision!
2. KEBONNIXS 12 Egg Incubator
12 eggs can comfortably develop in the Kebonnixs chick incubator. Its induced airflow system keeps the temperate and humidity at a moderate level. Students can marvel at the development of the eggs thanks to the 360′ glass screen. They get to enjoy a hands-on learning experience as the machine comes with a candler and allows students to observe development directly. The digital display gives you direct control over humidity control, preset temperature, and other settings.
3. Altrapow Egg Incubator
Help your kiddos unlock the wonders of nature in the classroom with Altrapow’s incubator. Designed to house a total of 36 eggs, including those from chickens to quails, it’s the perfect machine to allow for interactive learning on many fronts. With automatic egg turning and precise temperature control, each egg will get the optimal care it deserves. Plus, the water alarm will help your students maintain a stable environment.
4. HBlife 9-12 Digital Fully Automatic Incubator
The HBlife automatic incubator is a compact device that helps you incubate 9 eggs until they become baby chicks. Hatching chicks is no easy task, but it certainly is made simple thanks to HBlife’s straightforward design and programming. Powered by an electric extension, you can simply plug the incubator in, place the eggs in the tray, and set the incubator on to go. A vent hole, temperature probe, automatic turner, and control buttons help you create and regulate the perfect environment for any chick embryo to develop.
5. Hatch Mate Egg Incubator
One of the biggest pros of Hatch Mate’s incubator has to be its size! Its compact size means that it’s lightweight and easily transportable. Just to mention a few desirable product details, the Hatch Mate automatic incubator has easy thermometer calibration settings, is easy to set up and operate, and comes with a 1-year warranty.
6. Brinsea Mini ll Automatic 7 Egg Incubator
This Brinsea incubator can comfortably house up to 7 eggs for incubation. What’s unique about opting for this device over any other is that your students have 360′ visibility throughout the incubation period. The digital display menu allows you to easily control the program settings. You can preset an automatic egg turner and monitor fan flow. Humidity levels are also taken care of manually- all you need to do is top up the water through the external inlet.
7. Harris Farms Nurture Right Incubator
Harris Farms incubator gives you the capability of hatching up to 22 chicken eggs at once! You get to enjoy a hassle-free incubation period thanks to the automatic turner and user-friendly system design. Induced airflow allows for optimal air circulation whilst also letting you monitor the stability of its temperature. Air vents and the humidity adjustment function also make temperature control as easy as can be!
8. Vevitts Egg Incubators
Delve further into hands-on learning with Vevitts’ robust incubator. With a capacity for a whopping 120 eggs, it’s great for use in larger classes or multiple experiments. Automatic temperature control coupled with humidity monitoring offers an optimal environment for egg incubation. Regardless of the eggs you have on hand, you can now provide your students with a front-row seat to the fascinating process of birth.
9. R-Com PX-03S Plastic/Metal Egg Incubator with EZ Scope
The R-Com PX-03S Egg Incubator is your ticket to seamless poultry hatching. Precisely crafted from durable plastic and metal, it’s equipped with even heating and auto-turn functioning to promote optimal embryo health for the 7 eggs that it’s able to house. The best function of them all? Its EZ Scope- which will allow your little ones to watch the magic unfold without disturbances.
Conclusion
Incubation assignments are perfect for middle school science projects, learning more about the growth period of chicks and so many more interesting lessons! They provide students with a hands-on experience and are certainly something different from the average classroom experience. If you try your hand at facilitating a hatching project, be sure to monitor heat with a digital temperature gauge, humidity controller, and appropriate vents.