How to Incubate Chicken Eggs

Find a Source of Fertile Chicken Eggs. Fertile eggs should be obtained from breeding farms or poultry farms where a rooster is present in the flock to ensure that the eggs will hatch into chicks, unless you're raising laying hens. You can purchase fertile eggs from local farmers who sell eggs directly from their farms. Make sure to schedule with a reputable egg seller to get the correct breed and the quantity of eggs you need. Local agricultural associations or experts may provide recommendations on sources for eggs.

• Eggs found in grocery stores are not fertile and will not hatch into chicks.
• For disease prevention and health reasons, it's best to buy eggs from a single, trusted source.
• If you are looking for a rare or special breed, you may need to find a specialized breeding farm.

Be Cautious with the Egg Delivery Process. You should be extra careful if you're purchasing eggs online and having them delivered, especially if it's your first time incubating chicken eggs. Eggs that are shipped over long distances are harder to hatch compared to those from your own flock or local suppliers.

• On average, eggs that aren't transported long distances have an 80% chance of hatching, while those shipped from afar only have about a 50% chance of hatching.
• However, if the eggs are jostled or damaged during shipping, none of them may hatch, even if you follow all the proper incubation procedures.

Choose Eggs Wisely. If you can select your own eggs for incubation, there are several important factors to consider. You should collect eggs from healthy hens that are well-cared for and have already laid a few batches; these hens are more likely to produce eggs with a high hatching rate (around three viable eggs). Laying hens should also be fed a diet suitable for egg production.

• Discard eggs that are too large, too small, or irregularly shaped. Large eggs are harder to hatch, and small eggs may produce weak chicks.
• Throw away eggs with thin or cracked shells. Such eggs are less likely to provide the necessary moisture for the chick's normal development. Thin or cracked shells also make it easier for bacteria or pathogens to enter.

You Need to Understand You'll Hatch Roosters, Too. One crucial point to remember is that chicken eggs will hatch with a 50:50 ratio of roosters and hens. If you live in a city, roosters can be a problem due to their crowing, and raising them may violate local ordinances. If you can't keep roosters, be prepared to find them another home. Even if you do keep them, you'll need to consider housing arrangements to prevent aggressive roosters from injuring hens.

• You should understand that there's no way to tell whether an egg will hatch into a rooster or a hen until it actually hatches. While the rooster-to-hen ratio is usually 50:50, you might end up with 7 roosters out of 8 eggs, which makes maintaining a healthy flock more difficult.
• If you plan to raise all roosters, there are several things to consider, such as making sure you have enough coop space to prevent the roosters from harming the hens. Aggressive roosters can pluck feathers from hens' heads and backs, damage combs, or worse, injure them with their spurs. Additionally, multiple roosters will fight over hens.
• Typically, it’s best to keep one rooster for every 10 hens, which is also ideal if you want to breed your chickens for fertile eggs.

Decide Whether to Use an Incubator or Let a Hen Incubate. You have two options when it comes to incubating chicken eggs: using an incubator or letting a hen do the job. Both methods have their advantages and drawbacks that you should carefully consider before proceeding.

• An incubator is a controlled environment with temperature, humidity, and ventilation carefully monitored. With an incubator, you are fully responsible for the eggs. You'll need to prepare the incubator, monitor its conditions, and turn the eggs during incubation. Small incubators are available for purchase, or you can even build your own. If you purchase an incubator, be sure to read the specifications and instructions that come with it.
• A hen can also be used to incubate eggs, even though she may not have laid them herself. This is a wonderful, natural option for incubation. Make sure to select the right breed of hen for hatching, such as Silkie, Rhode Island Red, or other broody breeds.

Understand the Pros and Cons of Each Method. Both incubators and hens for hatching eggs have their own advantages and disadvantages, and knowing these will help you make the right choice for your situation.

• Advantages of an incubator: Using an incubator is an excellent choice if you don't have a broody hen or if this is your first time incubating eggs. It allows you to control the incubation process. It’s also the best option if you need to hatch a large number of eggs.
• Disadvantages of an incubator: The main downside of using an incubator is that it entirely relies on a reliable power source. If there’s a sudden power outage or the incubator gets unplugged, it could negatively affect the eggs, potentially even killing the embryos. If you don’t already have an incubator, you’ll need to buy one, which can be expensive depending on size and quality.
• Advantages of a hen for hatching: Letting a hen incubate eggs is a natural and practical choice. With a broody hen, you don't need to worry about power cuts or adjusting temperature and humidity. Once the eggs hatch, the hen will become a mother and care for the chicks. It's truly a beautiful sight!
• Disadvantages of a hen for hatching: The hen you choose may not be ready to incubate when you need her to, and there's no way to force her. You’ll need to time it right. You’ll also need to invest in a “nesting box” to protect the hen from overexertion or potential harm to the eggs. This adds to the cost. Additionally, a hen can only incubate a limited number of eggs. Large hens can manage 10-12 eggs, while smaller hens may only be able to handle 6-7 eggs.

Choosing a Location for the Incubator. To help the incubator maintain a stable temperature, place it in an area where the temperature fluctuates as little as possible. Avoid placing it near windows, as direct sunlight can increase the temperature enough to kill developing embryos.

• Plug the incubator into a stable power source, and make sure the plug is securely connected so it doesn’t accidentally come loose.
• Keep the incubator out of reach of children and pets, such as dogs and cats.
• Ideally, place the incubator on a flat, stable surface that won’t be knocked over or stepped on, and ensure it’s in an area with a relatively constant temperature, far from drafts and direct sunlight.

Get Familiar with How the Incubator Works. Before starting the incubation process, make sure to read the incubator’s instructions carefully. You need to know how to operate the fan, light, and other functions.

• Use the included thermometer to check the temperature inside the incubator. It’s important to do this regularly for 24 hours before placing any eggs inside to ensure it maintains the right temperature.

Adjust the Conditions Inside the Incubator. To successfully hatch eggs, the conditions inside the incubator need to be perfect. Before placing the eggs inside, you must set the incubator to optimal conditions.

• Temperature: The ideal temperature for incubating chicken eggs is between 37.2 and 38.8°C (37.5°C is perfect). Avoid temperatures outside the range of 36-39°C. If the temperature remains too high or too low for several days, the hatchability of the eggs could be severely impacted.
• Humidity: The humidity inside the incubator should be maintained between 50-65% (60% is ideal). Moisture is supplied from a water tray beneath the egg tray. You can use a wet-bulb thermometer or a hygrometer to measure the humidity.

Placing the Eggs in the Incubator. Once the conditions inside the incubator are correctly set and you've monitored it for at least 24 hours to confirm stability, it’s time to place the eggs in. Never incubate fewer than 6 eggs. If you only incubate 2 or 3 eggs, especially if they’ve been transported, the chances of successful hatching are low, and you might end up with only one chick or none at all.

• Warm the eggs to room temperature. Warming them beforehand reduces the amount of heat and time needed for the incubator to bring the eggs to the desired temperature.
• Carefully arrange the eggs inside the incubator. Ensure that they are tilted, with the larger end of the egg slightly raised. This is crucial because if the small end is higher, the embryo could shift or struggle to develop, making it harder for the chick to break out of the shell later on.

Lower the Temperature After Placing the Eggs. The temperature will temporarily drop once the eggs are placed in the incubator, but it will stabilize if you’ve adjusted the incubator correctly.

• Do not increase the temperature to compensate for the brief drop; doing so could harm the embryos inside the eggs.

Record the Date. From the moment you place the eggs in the incubator, you can estimate the hatching date. Chicken eggs typically require around 21 days to hatch under ideal conditions. Older eggs, or eggs that have experienced interruptions in temperature or been incubated at lower-than-ideal temperatures, may still hatch, but they will do so later. If by day 21 the eggs haven’t hatched, wait another couple of days before giving up hope!

Turn the Eggs Daily. The eggs should be turned at least 3 times a day, but 5 times is better! Some people mark one side of the egg with an ‘X’ so they can track which ones have been turned. Without this, it's easy to lose track of whether the eggs have been rotated and if they've been turned completely.

• When handling the eggs, wash and dry your hands beforehand to prevent transferring bacteria or oils onto the egg’s surface.
• Keep turning the eggs until day 18, after which stop to allow the chicks to position themselves for hatching.

Adjust the Humidity in the Incubator. The humidity should be kept between 50-60% throughout the incubation process, but for the final 3 days, it needs to be increased to 65%. You may need higher or lower humidity depending on the type of eggs you’re incubating. Check with breeding farms or relevant literature for more specific advice on hatching eggs.

• Regularly top up the water tray to prevent the humidity from dropping too low. Always use warm water.
• Place a sponge in the water tray if you want to increase humidity further.
• Measure the humidity with a wet-bulb thermometer. Record the temperature inside the incubator at that time and refer to charts in books or online to find the relationship between wet and dry bulb readings.

Ensure proper airflow in the incubator. The incubator has small vents along the sides and the lid that allow air to circulate, so make sure at least one of these vents is open. You'll need to increase airflow once the chicks begin hatching.

Examine the eggs after 7-10 days. Examining the eggs involves using a light source to check how much space the embryo occupies inside the egg. After 7-10 days, you'll start to notice the development of the embryo. This process helps you identify any eggs that won't hatch.

• Take a tin can or a box that can fit a light bulb inside.
• Cut a small hole in the top of the can (or box) so that the hole is smaller than the egg.
• Turn the light on.
• Take an egg from the incubator and hold it in front of the hole. If the light shines clearly through the egg, the embryo may not have developed, or the egg wasn't fertilized. A dark spot indicates that the embryo is developing. The closer to hatching, the larger the embryo will be.
• Remove any eggs that don’t show proper embryo growth from the incubator.

Prepare for the eggs to hatch. Stop turning and rotating the eggs three days before the expected hatch date. Most eggs with normal development will hatch within 24 hours.

• Place a cloth under the egg tray before the eggs hatch. This will help catch any shell pieces and other materials once the eggs hatch.
• Increase the humidity in the incubator by adding water or placing a sponge in the tray.
• Keep the incubator closed until all the chicks have hatched.

Choose the right breed of hen. If you choose to use a hen for incubation, it's important to pick the right breed. Some hens will never incubate eggs, and waiting for your hen to decide to incubate may take a long time. The best breeds for incubation include Silkies, Golden Phoenix, Rhode Island Reds, and the Ri hen.

• Other breeds can incubate eggs, but just because a hen can do so doesn’t mean it will successfully raise the chicks. For example, some hens will incubate but not stay on the nest often enough, leading to fewer eggs hatching.
• Some hens may get startled when the chicks hatch, potentially pecking at or abandoning the chicks. If you find a hen that can both incubate the eggs and care for the chicks, you've found a winner!

Recognize the signs that a hen is ready to incubate eggs. To identify which hen is preparing to incubate, watch for those that remain still in the nest, sometimes staying there through the night. You may also observe a bare patch of skin under her belly. When you approach, she may squawk loudly or peck at your hand as a warning. These are indicators that the hen is ready to incubate eggs.

• If you're not sure about your hen, before placing fertilized eggs in the nest, test by seeing if she stays close to the nest throughout the day. You can place golf balls or unfertilized eggs (ones you are willing to discard) to check. A hen that abandons the nest while incubating won't be reliable.

Prepare the incubation area. Place the broody hen in a separate enclosure that can accommodate the entire incubation and chick-rearing process. Set up a comfortable nest close to the ground in this space, filling it with soft bedding materials such as wood shavings or straw.

• The incubation area must be quiet, dark, free from debris, isolated from the flock, and free of pests such as lice or mites. It should also be protected from potential predators.
• Ensure the hen has space to leave the nest for food, water, and movement.

Place the eggs in the nest. Once you're confident that the broody hen is capable of incubating eggs and you've prepared the nesting area, place the eggs in the nest. Add all the eggs at once to ensure they hatch together within 24 hours.

• Place the eggs in the nest during the evening to avoid disturbing the hen and causing her to abandon the nest.
• You don't need to worry about the orientation of the eggs. The hen will rearrange them multiple times during incubation.

Always ensure food and water are available. Make sure the broody hen has constant access to food and water, even though she will likely only leave the nest for eating and drinking once a day. Position the water far enough from the nest so that if spilled, it won't affect the eggs or the nest itself.

Avoid disturbing the hen and the nest. The hen will take care of the essential tasks, such as turning and adjusting the eggs, keeping them warm and moist with her body heat. If you need to check the eggs, try to do so sparingly.

• However, you will want to avoid any health or safety issues if any rotten eggs break. It's best to inspect all the eggs on day 7 and day 10 of incubation. If you find any rotten or unfertilized eggs, remove them immediately.
• During the final week of incubation, the hen may remain on the nest without turning the eggs. This is completely natural, so don't intervene.

Have preventive measures in place. It can be frustrating when a broody hen is dedicated to incubating eggs for the first two weeks, only to abandon them. But don’t lose hope. If you have another broody hen or an incubator, you can still save the eggs.

Let nature take its course. When the chicks begin to hatch, resist the urge to examine them or remove eggs from the nest for a closer look. The eggs need to remain in their rightful position. Don’t worry if not all the eggs hatch at once; the hen is very skilled at continuing to incubate the remaining eggs while tending to the already hatched chicks. The hen will typically stay near the nest for 36 hours or more, keeping the newly hatched chicks warm under her wings while still incubating the remaining eggs.

• Ensure that the water tray is positioned high enough to prevent the chicks from falling in, but low enough for them to easily drink.
• When turning the eggs by hand daily, be gentle. The eggshells are fragile and can break easily.
• Have food and water prepared for the chicks as soon as they hatch.
• If the chicks don't eat for 2-3 days after hatching, it’s not a problem; they have enough energy reserves from the egg yolk they consumed in the egg.

• Incubator
• Fertilized eggs
• Common thermometer
• Humidity gauge
• or
• Broody hen
• Incubation area