GENERAL NEWS - New Research Book Helps Incubator Development

It is well known that the best ‘incubators’ are parent birds. Even the poultry industry cannot produce better hatches than a good broody hen. With non-domestic birds the problems of artificial incubation are much greater. The reasons have so far largely eluded us; ever tighter control of temperature and humidity put us in charge of these parameters but have not greatly improved artificial hatch rates.  

Why do eggs incubated in nests generally hatch more successfully than those in incubators?  

A new book edited by Dr D.C. Deeming offers insights into the likely answers to this question. ‘Avian Incubation’ is the first scientific review of all factors affecting incubation in avian nests and includes detailed analysis of the incubation behaviour of parent birds, their physiology and how this affects the incubation process.  

Nest incubation differs from conventional artificial incubation in several important respects and it is the understanding of these differences which holds the key to improving artificial incubation hatch rates for non-domestic bird eggs.

Many birds – in particular altricial species such as parrots or falcons – are restless sitters and stand up or leave the nest much more frequently than is usually supposed. Their eggs are incubated by ‘intermittent’ warming over a small area by contact with the parent’s brood patch, a heat transfer process rather different from the constant temperature of warm air in a machine. Dr. Deeming shows how egg turning is associated with embryonic development and, potentially of great importance, the link between increased egg turning seen in nests of altricial birds and the larger albumen content of these species.  Altricial birds hatch at a relatively immature stage of development. Frequent turning appears necessary to ensure that the large proportion of albumen is fully utilised by the time the chick hatches. Birds including species of parrots, have been observed moving eggs ten time in an hour, though in a very random manor.

The contrast with conventional artificial incubation is striking. Here eggs are warmed by the action of warm airflow over the whole egg surface with regular, low frequency egg turning.  

Brinsea’s recent C.I.T. (Contact Incubation Technology) trials have demonstrated improvements in hatch rate and chick health by mimicking the natural nest more closely than was previously possible and add weight to the increasing doubt about conventional techniques used in artificial incubation of many species of birds.


Published by Oxford University Press. Oxford Ornithology Series No 13 (0-19-850810-7)

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