When hatching chickens, once the best eggs have been selected, the next step is to incubate the eggs.
An incubator is a device the mimics the environment chicken eggs would experience under a hen. The incubator keeps the eggs uniformly moist and warm, the most important conditions to consider when hatching chicken eggs. Maintaining the proper conditions within the incubator will increase the number of eggs that will actually hatch after the incubation period, about 21 days.
Proper Incubator Conditions for Chicken Eggs
When an incubator is purchased, it will come with instructions. However, knowing what conditions are ideal beforehand will help guarantee successful hatching. Temperature and humidity must be monitored daily. When setting up the incubator, the following steps should be taken before placing the eggs inside:
- The incubator should be turned on and brought up to temperature at least 48 hours prior to adding eggs. The incubator should be kept at around 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit and never higher than 102 degrees.
- A hygrometer should also be placed inside the incubator to measure the humidity. For days 1-18, the air should be about 58-60% humid. After day 18, the humidity should be raised to 65%.
- Finally, if an electric egg turner is being used it should be inserted and plugged in to make sure it is working properly before eggs are added.
Chicken Egg Incubation Days 1-18
After the incubator has reached the proper temperature and humidity levels, place the eggs inside. They should be placed on their sides with the larger end pointing up because of the air bubble at the larger end of the egg. The chicks’ heads will point towards the higher end, and if it is not the end with the air bubble, they will drown when hatching.
Besides a keeping steady temperature and humidity, the most important thing to do when the chicken eggs are incubating is to turn them daily for the first eighteen days. Turning the eggs makes sure the chicks do not stick to the membrane on the side of the egg wall as they develop. If they do get stuck, they could be deformed or drown in the liquid inside the egg when hatching. Ideally, they should be turned four to six times a day, but two to three times works well. It is best to turn them an odd number of times a day.
Force-air incubators have automatic turners, but if a still-air incubator is used, the eggs will have to be turned by hand. Mark an X on one side of all of the eggs, and an O on the other side to easily see which eggs need to be turned. When turning the eggs, use only clean hands to avoid infecting the eggs.
Chicken Egg Incubation After Day 18
On day eighteen of the incubation period the egg turner should be removed if using a force-air incubator, or if using a still-air incubator, the eggs should no longer be turned. Turning the eggs after eighteen days could injure the chicks.
At this point, the humidity of the incubator should be raised. The lid of the incubator should then be closed and the eggs should not be touched for the rest of the incubation period.
While waiting for the eggs to begin to hatch, the brooder box should be prepared to house the chicks until they are old enough to be outside on their own. A cardboard box lined with either newspapers or sawdust will work well. A heat lamp should be set up to shine directly into the box. The best temperature to keep the brooder box is 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
The chicks will begin to peep inside the eggs at about day twenty-one. It could take them up to 24 hours to fully hatch. During this time, the chicks will pull the egg yolk into their stomachs. Do not help the chicks out of their shells because the yolk could break, causing them to bleed to death. After a chick is fully hatched, let it dry completely in the incubator before removing it and placing it in the brooder box. It will mostly likely take several days for all of the eggs to hatch. Plan to open the incubator only once a day to remove dry chicks to avoid chilling the ones that are still damp. They will not starve to death if they remain in the incubator for a day because the yolk sustains them for three days.
After day 25, if there are still eggs that have not hatched, they should be removed and thrown away. The eggs were either unfertile or the chicks died before they could hatch. Before reusing the incubator it should be thoroughly cleaned and dried.
Stephanie Kropp - Stephanie Kropp has always considered herself a writer. She has always found it to be the easiest form of communcation, both as a writer ...
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