DISCLAIMER: This is in no way the "100% right way" of hatching chicken eggs. These are just tried methods that have proved successful for us. There is a plethora of additional information available online for free to help you. The principles remain the same: use accurate/calibrated equipment, maintain accurate temperatures, and maintain accurate humidity. The rest can be a matter of opinion. You just need to find which methods work best for your situation. Best of luck!!

Click to go to one of the sections below:

  • Incubators
  • Secondary Devices, Calibration, Temperature & Humidity
  • ​​Hatching Egg Sources
  • Eggs: Shipped vs. Local
  • Preparing for Incubation
  • Incubation Period: Day 0-17
  • "Lockdown" to Hatch: Day 18 to 21, or 22, or 23..
  • Caring for your Chicks Post-Hatch
  • When thing go wrong​..

Incubators

       There are many incubators out there, but not all are built alike. If you plan on hatching many chicks or rare/expensive eggs, I'd recommend investing in a high-quality brand with good ratings such as Brinseas, Rcoms, GQFs, Ova-Easy, etc. The incubators currently used for our poultry are:
  1. Brinsea Ovation 28 EX (max. 28  chicken eggs)
    1. Pros: Most accurate and hands-free, best automation options, "set it and forget it", highly prefer the stand-up/tilt incubators vs. laid down/rolled for shipped eggs, well-circulated air
    2. Cons: Cover is difficult to clean, evaporations blocks don't last long and need to be replaced (we just substitute with paper towels), not easiest to see inside, lifting lid may cause rotation bar to move as rotator motor and sprocket teeth are on lid, getting the tiny water hose on the connector takes some patience
  2. MATICOOPX 30 Egg Incubator (max. 30  chicken eggs)
    1. Pros:  Higher max. egg-quantity for the price, a "budget Brinsea", like that the egg turner is controlled from the base rather than lid so egg rotation isn't effected when opening, highly prefer the stand-up/tilt incubators vs. laid down/rolling, well-circulated air
    2. Cons: Thermometer and hygrometer were off, takes awhile for it to get up to temp if opened
  3. Nurture Right 360 (max. 22  chicken eggs)
    1. ​Pros: Clear viewing, easy set up, temps may be off but calibration instructions are available, circulated air
    2. Cons: Bottom is difficult to clean, wish it held more eggs for the price, inconsistent temps, eggs in outside slots get better rotation than eggs in inner slots​

Secondary Devices, Calibration, Temperature & Humidity

IMPORTANT: 
       I would highly recommend getting secondary devices (thermometer and hygrometer) to keep inside the incubator. You can usually find these on Amazon, a project store, or retailer. Even right out of packaging, new incubators can still be off on temp and humidity settings. ​You should also CALIBRATE these devices to make sure they are accurate. Do not trust that they are accurate - even if brand new! 
       I keep at least 2 extra calibrated thermometers and 2 extra calibrated hygrometers in each incubator during hatching.
  • Temperature range: 99.5-100.5°F
    • ​Keep your temps consistent and stable.
    • Avoid opening the lid excessively and make sure the cover is set properly in the base
    • Some people like to wrap a towel or blanket around the incubator to help keep temps stable - just be sure not to cover ventilation holes
  • ​Humidity: varies during incubation 
    • ​This seems to be a grey area which people may vary for people based on their results. For the sake of ease, 50% is a good target.
    • Fluctuations can happen so if you sway down to 45% or up to 55%, so don't panic, they should be fine.
      • "Dry" hatching: A type of hatching where people do not add water to the incubator except maybe during hatch. Consider your environment before attempting - is the air very humid or dry during your hatching season? People who live in more humid climates may get by with dry hatching due to the naturally higher humidity, whereas other areas like arid climates or places that have cold months in the spring may have drier air (such as Minnesota). While dry hatching has it's benefits, the counter-side is that you don't want too much water evaporating out of the egg too fast.
  • Incubator Placement: Again, a grey area but I believe most people would agree to keep your incubator away from windows, out of direct sunlight, and away from drafty areas. Ours are kept on a tabletop surface in a temperature-controlled room with  incoming and outgoing ventilation to allow for even, adequate air exchange.

​Hatching Egg Sources

  • Facebook: FB has a plethora of egg and chicken-based groups you can join, some may even be more local. Many small business farmsteads, homesteads, and hobby farms can even be found here. 
  • Instagram: Several of the beautiful breeds we have came through Instagram. If there's something you're really interested in, message the creator and they can let you know if they offer shipping. 
  • The Flock Directory (clickable link): A collaborative site with many smaller breeders with both well-known and specialty breeds. Their list continues to grow.
  • Google: If you're searching for something in particular, put the breed/egg color/etc. and 'hatching eggs' in parentheses to yield better results: "Welsummer hatching eggs" "blue hatching chicken eggs". There are many different homesteads/farmsteads, hatcheries, or hobby farms that sell.
  • Large Hatcheries: Several of the larger, commercial hatcheries offer eggs of select varieties. 
  • Ebay: There are several places on here that sell hatching eggs. Just be sure to check their reviews for feedback. While not everyone is going to have a perfect experience, if they're in the 90%+ rating, chances are they are a good seller making an honest effort.
  • Local: Check your local listings in ag stores, livestock sales, or Craiglist.

Eggs: Shipped vs. Local

       For obvious reasons, getting local eggs will help with hatching rates as they are more gently handled from hen to incubator. If ever possible, pick up your eggs locally. This will allow you to control handling and temperature until they get to your incubator. However, many of us do not have local access to the breeds we want. Shipping eggs, chicks, or even older birds is the only other option. Also, most NPIP facilities may not allow you on-site for bio-security reasons, so you may need to make an exchange off-site from the location.*Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling your eggs. Wearing a pair of disposable nitrile gloves is helpful, too.*
  1. SHIPPED & LOCAL:
    1. ​Allow your eggs to adjust to room temperature. Keep them upright with the bigger, rounder end upward and pointy end down. Candle the eggs prior to look for any cracks as they may not be visible on the outside surface.
    2. Make sure the room you are candling in is very dark, especially if you're going to be looking at very dark eggs. You can use the light on the incubator if it is has one, but we prefer either a special egg-candling flash light you can readily find online or a small LED torch with a focus beam.
    3. We do not attempt to hatch eggs with hairline cracks as they can go foul and explode in the incubator.
      1. Some people may try to repair a cracked egg with unscented candlewax, super glue, tape, or nail polish. This is at your discretion. We have had about 50% success rate at hatching cracked eggs.
  2. SHIPPED (LOCAL MAY APPLY):
    1. ​It's advised you do not rotate shipped eggs for the first 3 days as there is some risk with the air cells becoming detached during shipment. This isn't always obvious, especially on darker eggs. But it can and does happen - speaking from our own experience.
    2. We use egg carton cut-outs (in a quad), with the sides trimmed down and a hole punched in the bottom to keep our eggs upright during this time. Again, bigger end up, pointy end down.
    3. After these 3 days, we'll check eggs again. If air cells reattached, we will set them to rotate. If not or if only some have, we will rotate by hand until at least day 10 or 14 - whenever eggs are re-candled.
  3. SHIPPED & LOCAL: ​If everything looks good, eggs should be placed in the incubator cradles or rotating disc to begin incubation.

Preparing for Incubation

  1. Make sure your incubator is clean. If it's brand new, I like to take a paper towel and do a wipe down of all the non-electrical inside components with a bleach cleaning spray (two cups of water to two teaspoons of bleach). I'll do a quick wash of the egg-contact surfaces (screens, cradles, rotating disks, etc.) with a mild antibacterial soap and warm (not hot) water and left to air dry.
    1. Always test a small, insignificant area (side of base, bottom) prior to use to ensure the cleaner doesn't damage any important parts of the incubator.
    2. BE CAREFUL not to get your motor or electrical equipment wet. While it may dry, parts may begin to rust or corrode. Over time, this could shorten the life of your incubator, cause malfunctions, or to not work completely.
  2. If the incubator is used, I recommend doing thorough cleaning mild antibacterial soap and warm (not hot) water and left to air dry.
  3. Once cleaned, set up your incubator and allow it to warm up for at least 12-24 hours. Place in a calibrated secondary thermometer, close the lid, and give it ~10 minutes for the temp to reach the set point and the thermometer to read the temp.
    1. If your incubator and thermometer are the same, you're good to go.
    2. If your incubator and thermometer are off, adjust the incubator setting temp up or down respective to what the secondary thermometer reads. 
  4.  Next is to add your calibrated secondary hygrometer into the incubator. Give it a ~10 minutes to stabilize. This part may be a little tricky as this may depend on your climate and/or the time of year. To keep it simple, target for a humidity between 40%-50%. Add water in small portions, giving the incubator a several minutes to stabilize after the water has been added. Compare the incubator reading and secondary hygrometer and adjust if needed to get the desired humidity level.
    1. ​Darker colored hatching eggs may require a lower humidity. The darker the egg, the thicker the shell due to 'layers' of color being applied. During incubation, the porous surface of the eggs allows moisture inside the egg to evaporate. The drier the air, the better the evaporation. Conversely, if too much water is in the air, evaporation is not as easy. Too much water left in the shell at hatch time and the chick may drown.
  5. After you've determined your temperature and humidity settings, your incubator should be good to go. A good practice is to run your incubator at least a full 24-48 hours prior to adding eggs.
  6. OPTIONAL: While it's not required, a small scale is useful. We light to take egg weights and number our eggs to keep track of how much water is being lost during incubation. More on this below.

Incubation Period: Day 0-17

  • Day 0:
    • ​Prior to adding to the incubator, we use a pencil to number each of the eggs. Do NOT use a marker or ink as it can penetrate the egg shell and be toxic. This is to keep track of the starting weigh-in on each of the eggs. They need to loose 11-13% of their water content during incubation. If we know the starting point, we can calculate how much water is being lost per day at next check-in.
    • Once the eggs are in, close the lid securely and leave it alone. This is the time when you just need to allow the incubator to do it's thing. Too much fussing; opening the cover, candling, adjusting temperature/humidity may compromise your hatch. Unless you smell something funny coming from the incubator, you shouldn't need to do too much from here.
  • Day 10 or Day 14: Candling and Weigh-In
    • Many people will candle again on day 10-14 - approximately halfway through. Each egg is candled first, than weighed if still developing. Undeveloped eggs are removed as they are candled and are not weighed. We prefer to candle/weigh on Day 14.
      • Because we usually have darker eggs in the incubator (Marans), we like to give the developing embryo the extra time to get bigger and for movement and the air cell to become more noticeable inside the egg. Dark eggs can be extremely difficult to assess so this method works best for us, especially if there are other lighter colored eggs in with them. This way, we don't have to open the incubator more than one time as all eggs - both lighter and darker - can all be candled and weighed during this time. 
    • Once candling and weights has been done, the water loss percentage is calculated. Your eggs should be losing about 0.6-0.7% weight per day. If too much water is being lost too quickly, the humidity is increased slightly. If too slow, humidity is brought down. It doesn't need to be excessive, think about about a 5-10% change. Do not make adjustments to temp. ALWAYS maintain temperature between 99.5-100.5°F

OPTIONAL: Weighing eggs is not necessary but very advantageous when it comes to having correct settings - especially if you don't have an expensive/professional incubator.

  • TO CALCULATE % WEIGHT LOSS/DAY: 
    • (​Day 10-14 weight / Starting weight) x 100% = % Total weight loss
    • 100 - % Total weight loss = % Change in weight
    • % Change in weight / # of Days In Incubator = % Weight Loss/Day
​
  • EXAMPLE I: A hatching egg weighs 60 grams at Day 0
    • ​At day 14, the egg is re-weighed and is at 58 grams.​
    • (58g / 60g) x 100% = 96% (loss of 4%)
    • 4% / 14 days = - 0.28%/day 
    • Conclusion: The egg should be losing ~0.6%/day. At 21 days, the egg will have only lost 5.88% when it needs to be 11-13%. The humidity is too high and we need to remove water/humidity.
​
  • EXAMPLE II: A hatching egg weighs 60 grams at Day 0
    • ​​At day 14, the egg is re-weighed and is at 55 grams.
    • (55g / 60g) x 100% = 91% (loss of 9%)
    • 9% / 14 days = -0.64%/day 
    • Conclusion: At 21 days, the egg will have lost about 13.4%. Don't change a thing - maintain your settings. This is fairly close (it doesn't need to be exact) and you're right on the mark for required moisture loss.

"Lockdown" to Hatch: Day 18 to 21, or 22, or 23..

  1. Day 18 is considered "lock-down" day in which people make the final adjustments to the clutch prior to them hatching on day 21. At this point, eggs should no longer be rotated. Be sure to unplug or disable any rotating element. You may want to candle and weigh eggs one final time before closing the lid for the next few days.
    1. I always candle at day 18 to remove any eggs that quit developing. The more you incubate, the better your eye will become at learning what is and isn't viable. 
    2. We also hatch our eggs upright. At this point, they are put into 4-egg carton cut-outs. The sides are trimmed down and the bottom has a hole punctured through so not to obstruct hatching and allow for continued air flow around the egg. 
    3. When in doubt, leave the egg in unless you smell an odor coming from it. Very dark eggs are sometimes hard to tell if there's still development. 
  2. I *HIGHLY RECOMMEND* putting down a non-slip surface mat on the floor of the incubator. This will help the chicks keep their footing instead of slipping around on a wet or moist surface. This struggle can lead to splayed legs. A non-slip drawer mat or liner that you use in your kitchen cabinets works really well.
  3. While you may be excited, resist the urge to fuss around with your eggs. Peeping chicks still within the shell are synchronizing their hatch and getting into position to begin hatching process. And not all eggs hatch on day 21. Some may hatch a little earlier or later which may indicate if your incubator settings are a tad high or low. Nature will handle what's to come, so be patient. 
    1. ​If you are candling and see what appears to be a triangular shape reflecting back, most likely accompanied by some movement, it's most likely that your chick has internally pipped into the air sac. This is known as the "internal pip". The chick should hatch within the next 24-48 hours!
  4. When chicks begin to hatch, a small crack in the shell will begin to appear - this is the "external pip". After this initial pip, what's followed is called the "unzip" where the chick will rotate in the egg in what looks like a 'can opener' effect to continue breaking the egg. Try not to interfere! This can be a tiring process for a chick and it can take a few minutes to several hours to complete. Just continue to monitor its progress. 
    1. This can be a critical time for your entire clutch. If there's several chicks that have hatched and several in process, leave the incubator closed. Chicks can spend up to 3 days inside an incubator without food/water as they are still surviving on the yolk. An open cover allows necessary moisture to escape and cause the inner membrane to dry out and stick to the chick, a problem called "shrink-wrapping". More on this is discussed below.

Caring for your Chicks Post-Hatch

When thing go wrong​..

  1. Rotten eggs:
    1. ​If you smell something "funky" or foul coming from your incubator, locate the source immediately and remove it. Chances are one of your eggs is rotting from bacteria penetrating the egg and proliferating. And as the pressure builds up inside, it can cause the egg to explode. Not only will you have to deal with a bad smell and cleaning the incubator, but your other eggs will be contaminated which may compromise the hatch.
  2. Shrink-Wrapping & Hatching Assistance: (Proceed if it's the only option left.)
    1. When chicks are in the process of hatching, it is crucial to leave the incubator closed to retain humidity. Most cases we hear about with shrink-wrapping is due to human error! 
    2. During this time, the thin inner membrane of the egg is exposed. The increased humidity helps keep this membrane remain soft and pliable. Every time the incubator is opened, moisture escapes, and that very thin membrane begins to dry out quickly - even if the external pip hole or crack tiny. The drier air can make its way in and begin "shrink-wrapping" the chick inside the egg.
    3. As the membrane dries, it (literally) shrinks in size and adheres itself to the body of the chick. It immobilizes the chick in place and prevents them from rotating around in the egg to unzip during hatch.
      1. Your best bet is just to monitor their progress. If they managed to create an external hole, they will have access to oxygen which is a huge relief as supply is limited inside the egg. We give our chicks about 24-36 hours from the first external pip to hatch on their own. If they haven't made progress to unzip, we may step in to assist if we don't run the risk of upsetting others hatching. External pip hole = good = oxygen = won't suffocate.
        1. If you have to assist, BE CAREFUL - this can go wrong VERY quickly! Take the egg out of the incubator and candle it. Check to make sure the veins inside the egg have receded and are no longer visible. This would assure you that the blood has been absorbed. SLOWLY chip off pieces of shell starting with the larger end where the chick externally pipped. (I prefer to use a tweezers.)
        2. If you remove a piece of shell and it appears to bleed - STOP IMMEDIATELY AND APPLY GENTLE PRESSURE TO THE AREA TO STOP THE BLEEDING! The chick has not finished absorbing the blood from the outside membrane, which may be part of the reason the chick didn't keep unzipping, it just wasn't entirely ready. If you continue, it's almost a guarantee you will kill the chick. Put the egg back into the incubator and come back in several hours to check on it. It would also be a good idea to use some warm water and a Q-tip or cotton ball to gently blot the membrane to "re-hydrate" it so it softens, being careful not to get excess water around the chick so that it may aspirate it.
          1. After some time has passed, try again, being careful to only take small pieces. If bleeding persists, stop and wait again. Understand that the more often the bleeding, the more likely you'll lose the chick. 
        3. If bleeding didn't occur or after some time as passed from your last attempt, it's likely your chick may not have progressed in hatching but you have allowed the blood more time to recede. If no bleeding occurs, continue to peel back more layers of shell. We do not completely take the chick out of the shell during assistance.
          1. ​The remaining part of the hatching process is the absorption of the yolk. This isn't always the easiest thing to judge. Due to the fragility of the tissues involved between egg and chick, forcefully separating the two may have fatal consequences for the chick. For this reason, we place the chick back into the incubator still sitting in the bottom half of the egg. This makes certain that the yolk is absorbed fully, the umbilical cord has separated and hole closed, and the tissues/membranes naturally detach.
        4. This process isn't easy. Don't feel too defeated if the chick doesn't survive. It's all about patience and timing. The best advice we can give is try to avoid it all together by providing the best conditions as possible for the chick to hatch on its own.
  3. Spraddle/splayed legs & Crooked Toes: Please visit this link for more guidance >> The Chicken Chick
    1. ​​Good traction on the floor of the incubator is essential to help avoid or splayed/spraddled legs on newly hatched chicks. There are other reasons that may contribute to this but good flooring is a great place to begin remedying the issue. You will want to act on this quickly, as a chick may learn that "this is the way to walk" and become trampled by other chicks and/or not be able to get access to food and water. You will need to put some sort of hobbles on your chick. There are several DIY methods or even ones you can readily buy online.
    2. ​Crooked toes is not an uncommon issue either. And again, you'll want to act quickly. Crooked toes will effect a chick's balance and mobility. But there's several ways available to help correct this issue. The goal is to get the chick's toes as straight as possible on a flat surface and secure them in that position. Simple things such as bandage cutouts, tape, cardstock paper, self-adhesive wrap .. all work 
  4. Pasty-butt: