Hatching Chickens.

Incubating Eggs for Raising Baby

Chickens.
Hatching chickens artificially is both an art and a science. Successfully raising baby
chickens by incubating eggs is not difficult, but does require attention to some important
aspects. Here youll find tips for raising chickens eggs in an incubator.
Artificial incubation of eggs is never as successful as using a broody hen. However, if
you dont have one available, then incubating eggs is the only option.
Whichever alternative you choose, it is vital the eggs are of good quality.

Sourcing Quality Eggs for Hatching Chickens

Both the fertility of your eggs and the hatchability
of those that are fertile are influenced by the
management of the flock they came from.
To produce top quality eggs, breeding poultry must
be in perfect health, have a great diet, and be
managed so that each hen is regularly served by a
fertile rooster.
Inbreeding, common in show bred birds, also
detracts from the fertility and hatchability of eggs.
Success also depends on starting with clean, fresh eggs. This is because washing can
dramatically reduce an eggs viability by removing its protective bloom and providing
an opportunity for germs to infiltrate the shell and infect the egg.
If you must wash an egg, do it gently and quickly using water that is warmer than the
egg, and dry well before storing.
So source yours from a conscientious breeder who keeps her nest boxes filled with
fresh, dry litter to prevent soiling, collects eggs frequently during the day, date stamps
them and stores them correctly.

Egg Preparation and Storage for Hatching Chickens

For optimal fertility, eggs that have been stored at room temperature pointy end down,
rotated daily, and are less than 7 days old are best. Longer storage up to 14 days - is
possible but requires cooler (e.g. cellar) temperatures (55- 60F).
We store ours on trays in a few inches of moistened vermiculite to create humid but not
damp conditions (60% to 75% is ideal).

Never handle your eggs roughly or with dirty hands to safeguard their health and
hygiene use clean, dry hands and a gentle touch.
It is preferable to pick up the eggs you plan for raising baby chickens directly from the
farm gate.
However, if you ordered your fertile eggs through the mail they will need to be kept still
(pointy end down) for 12 to 24 hours to settle their air cells prior to being set in the
incubator.
Wherever you get them from, allow the eggs to warm to room temperature (70-80F)
for 24 hours before you set them in the incubator.

Incubator Preparation for Hatching Chickens

Locating the Incubator
For raising baby chickens from incubating eggs,
appropriate location of the incubator is
paramount. Because temperature control is the
single most important factor to successfully
raising chicken eggs, you need to protect your
incubator from extremes of temperature in the
immediate environment.
This helps it to maintain even temperature
conditions for hatching chickens from incubating eggs.
Locate your incubator in a room where it is out of direct sunlight, away from draughts
and shielded somewhat from outside temperatures by being placed on an inside wall.
Ideally, room temperature should be a reasonably steady 70 to 75 F (21 to 24 C).
Incubator Preparation
First, ensure you get a reliable incubator with the right features.
Fill your incubators prescribed trays with water (check manufacturers instructions)
and turn it on.
Ideally, you should run your incubator for a week before setting your eggs in it. Some,
particularly those with an electronic temperature control, appear to need this time to
run in after which they stabilize. If time is short, at least 24 hours is advisable.
While youre waiting, check your incubator temperature with an accurate thermometer
(note that the thermometer that may be supplied with your incubator may not be
accurate and should be calibrated first using a high quality photographic or medical
thermometer).
Once the temperature in the incubator has stabilized, allow any stored eggs to warm
gradually to room temperature before putting them in. This is to avoid the eggs from

sweating, as they are likely to do if warmed too rapidly, providing an opportunity for
germs to enter the shell.
Set your eggs in the incubator either on their sides, or pointy end down.

Incubation Guidelines for Hatching Chickens

Expected Hatching Rate
Dont count your chickens before they are hatched, or even after for that matter!
No matter how good, no incubator can fully replace the effectiveness of your eggs
natural mother at hatching healthy babies. If incubator management is good, and only
top quality fertile eggs have been used, the best hatching rate you can expect is 85%.
If the eggs have been posted to you, 50% hatching is a good result. And a normal post
hatch loss of incubator hatched chicks is up to 10% on top of the other losses.
How long will incubation take?
When it comes to raising chickens eggs, it only takes 21 days of incubation to convert
your fertile eggs into hatching chickens. This is the incubation period, and it varies from
species to species.
The incubation periods and temperatures of other species eggs you may wish to hatch in
your poultry incubator are shown in this table:

Please note that these temperature guides may differ according to the incubator
manufacturers guide. Always check it first!

Top Tips for Hatching Chickens in an Incubator

Successfully hatching chickens that are healthy depends completely on maintaining a
controlled environment for the entire period of incubation.
The main factors to be controlled are:

 Temperature
Humidity
Ventilation (oxygen)
Turning
While these factors are all important, the most critical of these is temperature, followed
by humidity. When incubating eggs fail to hatch these two are the first that should be
ruled out as the cause.
Temperature for Successfully Hatching Chickens
Every incubator model has its own unique
temperature setting and means of measurement,
according to design, and whether they are still air,
forced draft or contact types. So ALWAYS FOLLOW
THE MANUFACTURERS DIRECTIONS when
setting up and operating your incubator.
However, dont rely on the manufacturers
thermometer without first checking its accuracy!
They are notoriously inaccurate!
A great incubator thermometer is an investment, not
a cost.
Get yours here!
Temperature readings are best taken away from the
source of incubation heat and at the same level as the
tops of your eggs.
Testing has revealed that the corners inside incubators
are often drastically cooler than the center up to 4 or 5F in still air models.
It is therefore advisable to operate your incubator at no more than 2/3 capacity, and
cluster your eggs near the center of the unit.
Once a day we also exchange the position of the eggs so that those that were in the
center of the cluster are moved to the outside and vice versa.
Embryo development is very sensitive to temperature. While sustained slight underheating may simply cause them to grow slower, over-heating even for a short
period can cause significant injury or even death.
So while a hatch might be delayed somewhat by lowish temperatures say 98F for
several hours - the embryos in your incubating eggs may be killed if subjected to a
temperature of 105F for just 30 minutes.

As a guide, your incubating eggs are unlikely to survive several hours of temperatures
over 103F or under 96F.
Marginally high temperatures can result in hatching chickens with a myriad of health
problems including early hatching of chicks that are undersized, dead in shell, sticky
(covered in egg white), malformed, weak, and/or with rough bloody navels.
Sustained low temperatures, aside from delaying the hatching date, can result in
hatching chickens that are soft and mushy or have crooked toes.
Saving Incubating Eggs during a Power Failure
A power outage does not necessarily mean death for your incubating eggs. If you act
quickly to prevent your incubator from losing heat, there is every possibility that the
batch can be saved.
Insulate your incubator immediately the power fails using blankets.
If the power outage is likely to be sustained, your best
insurance is a back up power source!
A small (600W for a portable incubator) inverter like this one
connects into your cars cigarette lighter for instant power, and
gives you peace of mind for less than AUD$100.
Recommence incubation as soon as mains power has resumed, then check for survival
by candling them a few days later.
Humidity for Successfully Hatching Chickens
The humidity of the incubator environment affects how much moisture is lost by the
incubating eggs during incubation. The more humid it is, the less moisture - and
therefore weight - loss occurs.
Ideally, when hatching chickens and other birds that emerge from the egg as a well
developed (rather than blind and helpless) chick, weight loss between laying and
pipping should be between 13 and 15%.
Humidity levels on particular days (other than during hatching time) is not as important
as the overall level and overall weight loss.
Humidity is created inside an incubator by the use of water trays. Remember to always
use lukewarm water when filling them!
The humidity in an incubator can be measured using either a Wet Bulb Thermometer or
a Hygrometer. However, since air flow is necessary for their operation, neither give
reliable readings in still air machines.

A wet bulb thermometer is simply a regular thermometer with its end sheathed with a
cotton wick the tail of which is immersed in water. Water soaks up the wick where it
evaporates and cools the thermometer.
Luckily, unlike with temperature, precise humidity control is not critical to successfully
hatching chickens, which is just as well as it is very difficult to achieve in portable
incubators. Less is better than more, and Near enough is good enough, so long as
humidity is kept within 15 % of the target level.
For hatching chickens, desirable humidity during the first 18 days of incubation is
around 50% to 55% Relative Humidity (equivalent to wet bulb thermometer readings of
82F [28C] to 88F [31C]).
If hatching duck eggs aim for the higher end of this humidity range - 55% RH (84.5F
on wet bulb thermometer at a temperature of 99.5 F).
When raising chickens eggs, this rises to 65% - 70% Relative Humidity for the final 3
days prior to hatching (equivalent to wet bulb thermometer readings of 90F [32C] to
93F [34C]). The higher humidity levels at this time keep the egg membranes soft and
easy for the hatching chickens to escape from.
For hatching duck eggs at this stage a much higher relative humidity of 80% is needed
(93F wet bulb at a temperature of 99.5 F).
Humidity Management in Practice
Most incubators have separate trays to be filled at these different stages of incubation,
so in the absence of measuring humidity, follow the manufacturers directions.
Bear in mind, however, that you have to compensate for exceedingly dry or humid
climatic conditions where the incubator is running. Incubator management thus varies
season to season.
For very dry conditions, you can boost humidity using small pieces of damp sponge.
Under very humid conditions, humidity can be reduced by covering part of the
incubators water tray with aluminum foil, taped into place.
Ventilation Requirements for Hatching Chickens
Embryos inside incubating eggs need oxygen which they get via their shell from the air
around them. For this reason, it is important to ensure adequate ventilation by
maintaining the patency of the ventilation holes in your incubator.
As they develop, the amount of oxygen needed increases. In larger incubators, this is the
time to gradually open the adjustable vents till they are set on fully open by hatching
time.
However, at pipping time higher humidity is also needed which is hard to achieve if air
flow is too high. Thus a balance between the two must be aimed for.

Turning Your Eggs

For hatching chickens and most other species, the eggs must be turned regularly for the
first 17 days incubation to prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell.
We turn ours three times a day first thing in the morning, mid afternoon and last thing
at night. On one of these turns we also rotate the egg.
To achieve this with incubating eggs set on their sides, we mark our eggs with a pencil
for example, an X on one side, and an 0 on the other.
At each turning all the Xs or all the Os face upward. Turn them gently and ensure your
hands are clean and grease free.
If your eggs are set at an angle (always pointy end down so the air sac is at the top) then
they are simply titled in the opposite direction rather than being turned.
Turning is discontinued for the last three days of incubation of eggs.
So for hatching chickens, turn for the last time at the start of day 19, boost the humidity
by topping up the water trays or sponges with warm water, and keep the incubator
closed (except to add water) until 24 hours after the first chicks hatch so that humidity is
not lost.
As soon as pipping starts open up any additional vents to increase the oxygen supply.
Hatching Chickens
Pipping is when the hatching chickens begin to peck through their shell. It can take up
to six hours for the chick to fully emerge, and a further six hours for it to dry, fluff up
and begin to move about.
Since the chicks have reserves of yolk to draw on, they dont need to eat or drink for the
first 24 hours after hatching and can be left in the incubator until the stragglers have had
a chance to hatch.
Any that havent hatched within 24 hours of the first hatching chickens are usually weak
and unhealthy anyway. Dont be tempted to help them out either! If they dont make it
out on their own they are likely to be weak and die anyway later on.
Once dry the chicks can be moved to a brooder designed for raising baby chickens.
A bedside lamp fitted with a 40 watt globe aimed
into a cosy box makes a good brooder.
A chick brooder.
Position the globe to within 6 inches of the floor and
ensure the box is big enough that the chicks have
room to choose the most comfortable temperature by
getting closer to or further from the globe.

Keep the box safe from cats and other predators in a draft free, warm environment.
Remove the hatched chicks from the incubator and place in a heated box. The heated
box should contain a 40-watt light bulb lowered to within six inches from the bottom of
the box. Keep the box in a warm place and away from drafts.
Sanitizing Your Incubator
It is surprising just how thoroughly mucky your incubator will be after hatching! And
the muck is just the sort of stuff that bacteria and fungi thrive on egg shells, albumen,
yolk, bum-fluff and chick poo.
Poor sanitation between batches of incubating eggs can result in infection and death
during incubation or after hatching chickens.
To reduce the scale of cleaning needed people with large incubators often opt to transfer
incubating eggs to a small, portable incubator for the hatching chickens stage.
So how do you do it?
First: read and follow the manufacturers instructions carefully. You will probably have
to be careful to avoid immersing any electrical or other working parts in water and just
wipe them clean with a dry cloth.
After wiping we also spray them lightly with an alcohol solution which effectively
sterilizes then evaporates completely away. The floor of the incubator as well as
hatching trays and water pans get the dirtiest and warrant thorough cleaning and
disinfection with a weak bleach solution (unless otherwise instructed by the
manufacturer).
Unfortunately, foam incubators do not bear up to scrubbing. Some manufacturers also
stipulate that only water should be used to clean them. In this case, after cleaning leave
the parts in full sunlight to help disinfect them. You could also spray them lightly with
an alcohol solution.

Troubleshooting Problems with Hatching Chickens

Lots of Infertile Eggs
It is normal for around 5% of eggs to be infertile. Higher rates point to poor egg storage
and handling prior to setting, or suboptimal breeding bird management and/or fertility.
Lots of Quitters
If your biggest problem is embryos getting started but then dying before hatching
chickens, there are many possible reasons.
Ruling out a power failure as the cause, other factors can be inbreeding or nutritional
deficiencies in the parent birds, rough handling of the incubating eggs, viral infection of
the eggs, using dirty eggs, or poor incubator hygiene.

Eggs Pip but Fail to Hatch

If your chicks develop all the way up to pipping and then quit, it is normally because
they have been weakened by a suboptimal incubation environment.
Go back and scrutinize your management of temperature and humidity levels
particularly for possible problems.

How To Hatch Chicken Eggs

Related tutorials: How-To #2: The First 60 Days
General Hints
First things first - eggs should hatch in 21 days, give or take couple, after the hen has
begun to "set" or incubate them.
Before putting your eggs into an incubator, plug it in and make sure the temp is steady
at 99.5 degrees. I use a thermometer and a hygrometer (which measures humidity) in
my incubator. Hygrometers can be purchased quite cheaply at a cigar shop, Radio Shack
and I believe even Walmart. You want 50% humidity for day 1-18, then 70-80% for the
last few days.
Mark eggs, using a pencil, with an X on one side and an O on the other. Make sure to
turn the eggs at least 3 times a day (turn an odd number of times a day). You cannot skip
weekends - you might get deformed chickens or none at all. You must keep adequate
moisture in the incubator at all times. A couple of small paper cups or a pie pan (with
water in them) will do nicely for your moisture supply. Or, just follow the directions that
came with the incubator.
Note: Some people report good success and excellent hatch rates with no-turn hatches. I
happen to enjoy the personal connection and turn them myself.
Incubators
An incubator keeps the eggs uniformly warm and moist, as it would be under a hen's
tummy. If you're going to buy one, there are lots of options, depending on capacity,
features (auto-turning and such), and your budget!
Here are two examples:

There are links to homemade ones on our Resources page.

Fertility and Candling

Natural fertility is rarely 100% - it may vary from 55% to 95% with season, condition
and type of birds. You might be safe to expect that 50% to 75% of the fertile eggs will
hatch. Eggs that aren't fertile, or if incubator conditions are too far off won't hatch.
Fertility of eggs cannot be determined before incubating them. After 2 to 3 days, whiteshelled eggs may be candled to see if embryos have developed. Cracked or damaged
eggs usually do not hatch and often develop odors - they should be removed when
detected.
Uniformly colored or white-shelled eggs may be candled by placing a light bulb under a
box or can. Make a hole slightly smaller in diameter than the egg through which light
will pass. Place the egg over the hole, if a cloudy spot or mass is observed, this can be
assumed to be a growing embryo. If the contents of the egg allows light to pass
uniformly through it (it's clear), assume that the egg is infertile. If an egg is candled at 7
days or older and is absolutely clear, it is dead or was never fertile.
The Air Bubble in the Egg
Soon after an egg is laid, a small air bubble forms in the large end under the shell. A
membrane separating the mass of the egg and the air bubble moves back and forth to
relieve stress and pressure on the embryo resulting from changes in temperature. The
drier the outside air is, the more fluid is depleted and the faster the bubble grows.
Correct humidity in the incubator insures that the bubble does not grow too big,
depleting essential fluids, or deny the chick enough air by remaining too small.
The importance of correct humidity is more apparent at the end of incubation. The
normal condition is that the bubble has enlarged to the point where the chick can reach
his beak through the membrane wall and pick around the shell, breaking the bubble area
off as a door. If humidity has been excessive, the chick may not reach the bubble but
will pip the shell in the fluids under the bubble and may drown at that moment, before
she is able to go any further with her effort to release herself from the confines of the
egg. On the other hand, if humidity has been too low, the bubble will be oversized and
the fluids under it will have dehydrated to the point where final development of the
embryo will be retarded and the chick may become stuck to the shell when it pips. In
this condition, the chick will exhaust itself, unable to get out of the shell. After half a
day, a chick that is stuck to the shell, after pipping, may be released by pulling the top of
the shell off.
Positioning of Eggs
An incubating egg should set in a normal position as it would on a flat surface; that is
with the large end slightly higher than the point. An egg that persistently has the small
end elevated may cause the embryo to be misoriented with the head toward the small
end. In the misoriented position, the chick is likely to drown on pipping. Therefore, it is
quite important that in general, the large end of eggs should be slightly higher than the
small ends; or as they would lie naturally on a flat surface.
Turning
Turning 3 times a day seems to be adequate for chicken eggs. Turning is essential in the
early stages. For the last 3 days of incubation when the bird is preparing to hatch, do
NOT turn. If not turned to a fresh position frequently during the early stages, the

developing embryo touches the shell membrane and sticks to it causing abnormal
growth. Turning the egg aids these movements within the egg, and mimics what a
mother hen would do naturally.
Temperature
A fresh egg takes up the temperature of its surrounding, but as development proceeds
the embryo generates its own body heat. By hatching time, it has an internal
temperature. Chicken eggs should incubate at 99.5 degrees. The embryos are extremely
sensitive to overheating; if the temperature strays beyond 103 degrees for any length of
time, the embryos may be damaged or die.
What to do With Hatched Chickens
Do not be in a hurry to take chicks out of the incubator. Gallinaceous birds, such as
chickens, quail, and pheasants survive up to 3 days without feed or water. The yolk of
the egg is drawn through the navel into the stomach of the baby bird before it hatches.
That provided enough nourishment for the transitional period from the time the bird
hatches, fluffs out, gains strength and becomes active enough to go out and seek food.
Chicks continue to grow and develop in the incubator, before they receive food. Of
course, they do not gain weight, but they do gain in stature, activity and use of their
faculties.
They will instinctively be interested in drops of water, each other's toes, and other
objects of possible experimentation. Do not assume from these evidences of interest that
the chicks are hungry. It is simply nature's way of experimentation, exploration, and
learning of the young. In general chicks are taken from the incubator after 24 hours. No
harm is done if they are not taken out for 48 hours after they hatch.
Feeding Baby Chicks
Feed and water must be available at all times from the time they are out of the incubator.
Do not dole out a measured daily ration. Do not let feed or water run out!
Baby birds should be fed a dry mash. Chicken and pheasant chicks do well on baby
chick mash. Solid grains are not suitable for feeding baby birds. No grit is needed when
a mash feed is used. Best source is a poultry feed store.
Prevent Drowning
Water receptacles are a problem with baby birds during their first week, in that if they
can, the birds will drown themselves. The urge to get into water is thought to be related
to the fact that the birds are fresh out of the fluids of their natural environment. The
younger the bird is, the stronger the urge to throw herself completely into any water that
is available. After a few days, certainly a week, this instinctive compulsion to flounder
in water disappears.
A common device to prevent drowning is to use a shallow water cup with marbles set in
the water over the entire drinking area. The chicks will drink in the spaces between the
marbles.