Note<\/strong>: A \u201cday\u201d is measured in 24 hours, not days of the week.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If it\u2019s your first time trying to hatch chicken eggs, you\u2019ve come to the right place. You\u2019ll learn how to hatch chicken eggs\u2013both with and without an incubator\u2013and by the time you\u2019ve finished, you\u2019ll know everything you need to know about helping your eggs to hatch!<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a complete, easy-to-follow guide on how to hatch chicken eggs like a pro\u2026<\/p>\n To get your hands on chicken eggs you can actually hatch, you\u2019re going to need to visit a poultry farm, hatchery, or a hatching hobbyist. The eggs sold in supermarkets aren\u2019t going to work! It\u2019s best to get all of your eggs from the same source, as that will reduce the risk of disease.<\/p>\n Eggs are usually selected from special breeder hens, the healthiest hens with the highest fertility rates. Fertility rates vary from 55 to 95 percent, and you can expect at least 50 to 75% of the eggs you purchase to hatch. Hatcheries will usually \u201cset\u201d all of their eggs, but if you don\u2019t have enough space to hatch all the eggs, choose only those of top quality.<\/p>\n You should only set eggs that are both clean and undamaged into your incubator, as those are the eggs most likely to produce healthy, disease-free chickens. Your eggs should be set no more than a week after they are laid. More than 10 days and the chance of the eggs hatching decreases drastically!<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> If you are having eggs shipped from somewhere else, let the eggs sit for 24 hours after arrival before placing them in the incubator. This will ensure the eggs\u2019 contents settle.<\/p>\n Before you place the eggs in the incubator, make sure that it is plugged in and fully warm. The temperature in the incubator should hover around:<\/p>\n Keep a thermometer handy, as well as a hydgrometer to check the humidity in the air. You\u2019ll want to keep the humidity somewhere around 45 and 50% for the first 18 days, then increase it to 65% for the final days of incubation.<\/p>\n Candling is a means of checking to see if an egg contains an embryo within. It\u2019s as simple as holding the egg up to a light source in a darkened room. The egg shell is transparent enough that you should easily be able to see whether or not it contains an embryo.<\/p>\n You can candle the eggs at any time of the incubation process.<\/p>\n However, the best time to candle an egg is between Days 8 and 12. This is when the embryos are most visible!<\/p>\n If you need an incubator, check out our incubator reviews here.<\/p>\n Once the eggs have been set, you need to turn them every 12 hours. This will ensure that the embryos within the eggs develop into healthy chicks. Use a marker (NON-TOXIC!) to mark an X on one side of the shell and an O on the other. That way, you can be certain you have turned the eggs over properly.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need to make sure that there is plenty of ventilation to keep the eggs dry. Without ventilation, the eggs will sweat, providing organisms a way to get in and damage the embryo. You will slowly open the vents in the incubator (as directed by the manual), until the vents are fully open in the final three days of incubation.<\/p>\n You may notice that an air bubble forms under the shell, in the larger end of the egg. This air bubble will allow the chick to breathe once it is ready to break through its shell. The air bubble will only form correctly if the humidity levels are managed properly. Too much humidity, and the air bubble will become too large\u2013making the chick unable to hatch.<\/p>\n Follow the steps above, and the chicken should hatch healthy and strong!<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to hatch eggs in an incubator, but what do you do if you don\u2019t have an incubator?<\/p>\n Step 1: Buy a plastic storage bin \u2013<\/strong> You\u2019ll want a plastic storage bin (Rubbermaid is usually a good choice) with a lid. Clear plastic is always best, as it will allow you to see the eggs within. Drill holes into the bin\u2019s lid, ensuring that there is even ventilation throughout the box.<\/p>\n Step 2: Get the lamps \u2013<\/strong> If you are hatching a few eggs, a single desk lamp (with adjustable gooseneck) will do the trick. You may need a second or third lamp if you cannot fit all of the eggs under the lamp.<\/p>\n Step 3: Set up the nest \u2013<\/strong> A bit of sacking should serve as the base of your nest, and lay a soft towel atop it. This will provide the soft surface for the eggs to rest on as they hatch. Place the lamps inside the bin, and point the light directly at the center of the nest.<\/p>\n Step 4: Insert the eggs \u2014<\/strong> Place the eggs inside the nest after marking them with their X and O. Turn on the lamp, and let the eggs incubate.<\/p>\n Step 5: Control humidity and temperature \u2013<\/strong> To increase the heat on the egg\u2019s surface, move the lamp closer. To increase humidity, spray water onto the eggs. Use a hygrometer and thermometer to ensure the temperature and humidity of the eggs remain consistent.<\/p>\n Step 6: Turn the eggs \u2013<\/strong> You\u2019ll need to turn the eggs more often in your homemade incubator\u2013five times a day!<\/p>\n Incubation time will still hover around 21 days even with your homemade incubator.<\/p>\n And there you have it! Once the chicks are hatched you’ll need to start thinking about where to house them\u200b and right after you figure that out you’ll be wanting to know how you can automate managing them (because it’s a pain). Check out those articles, we’re here to help!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Did you know that it takes about 21 days for an egg to hatch? Though some eggs hatch a day or two early or late, you\u2019ll find that Day 21 is usually the time when your eggs will hatch into adorable baby chicks. Note: A \u201cday\u201d is measured in 24 hours, not days of the… Continue reading How to Hatch Chicken Eggs: The Complete Guide<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":891,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions\/891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/violetsveggies.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to Hatch Chicken Eggs<\/h4>\n
Getting the Eggs<\/h5>\n
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Setting the Eggs<\/h4>\n
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Candling<\/h4>\n
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Hatching Chicken Eggs in an Incubator<\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/organicdailypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/eggs-in-incubator.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHatching Chicken Eggs Without an Incubator<\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/organicdailypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/chick-hatching-out-of-its-egg.jpg\")
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