Selecting your Hatching Eggs
Choose your hatching eggs from breeders that are well established. They should have healthy
birds that are mature and produce a high percentage of fertile eggs. You want their rate to be
at least 75-80%.
Avoid really large or small eggs. Large eggs seem to hatch poorly and small eggs produce
small chicks.
Never use eggs that have cracks in them. Cracked eggs cannot keep the moisture they need
to hatch and are supceptible for obtaining diseases.
If you have only 1 incubator- Do Not pick eggs that have different hatching incubation periods.
This almost always results in poor hatches. Too much of the humidity and moisture is released
when the first eggs start to hatch and this is important to all the eggs and will take from the eggs
that are not yet hatching and causes critical damage to both breeds of eggs.
Use only clean eggs that are layed. You do not want to wash your eggs as this removes the
oils from the shell that protects the egg and may allow disease and bacteria to enter the egg.
Egg Storage and Care
I collect my eggs twice a day. If you can collect them more often, this is even better. The longer
the eggs stay in the pen, the bigger chance you take of course of the hens or roosters breaking
them. But more importantly, if it is real cold or really hot, you dont want to leave the eggs out
in that no longer than you have to.
Eggs should be kept in a cool place around 55-60 degrees until you are ready to place them in
your incubator.
Do not store you eggs for any longer than 10 days. The sooner you can place them in the
incubator the better the hatch rate will be. The hatch ratio drops every day that you lose without
getting those eggs to the incubator. That seems funny, dont it considering that a hen lays for
days before she starts setting on her eggs!
I store my eggs in an egg flat with the small end of the egg facing down. You always want the
large end up because this is where your air cell is at. Keep the eggs in a room that stays cool,
preferably around 60 degrees, and you need to rotate the flat of eggs back and forth at least once
a day. I put a block board under one side of the flat, and then every morning I rotate to the other
end. Its kind of like a rocking back and forth motion so that you keep the embryo moving until
incubation. Eggs are beginning to form an embryo even before you put them in the incubator
and this rotation will prevent the egg from settling to one side of the shell thus causing suffocation.
The Incubator
There are many makes and models of incubators. They all are made to do the same thing...to
hatch out our baby chicks for us, so pick the one that best fits your accomadations and based
on the amount of eggs you want to hatch at one given time.
You want to keep your incubator out of the outside weather conditions. It is also important that
the room you keep your incubator in has good ventilation to supply plenty of fresh air to the
incubator.
Though there are many makes and models of sizes and shapes to the incubators...there are
basically 2 types of incubators: Forced Air incubators and Still Air incubators.
Forced Air -- These incubators have fans that provide internal air circulation. The capacity of
these incubators do vary and may be very large.
Still Air -- These incubators are most of the time small without fans for air circulation. Air is
attained by the rise and escape of warm, stale air and the entry of cooler fresh air near the base
of the incubator.
So pick out the best one for your venture in hatching eggs, and be sure to keep it in that room
that has good ventilation and stays one temp. My room stays at about 65-70 degrees at all times.
I would never recommend placing incubators outside or places like house cellars because the
temperatures change to often and drastically, and this makes the incubator work extremely hard.
The temp of the incubator would rise and fall to quick, and changing so much will interfere with
the growth of the egg, therefore resulting in a lower hatch rate.
Incubator Temperature and Humidity
As I mentioned before, there are many models of incubators and you should always read the
manual and follow the instructions for that particular machine for the settings of your temperature
and humidity. The incubators do vary, so I would strongly suggest in reading that manual and
apply those factors to that machine. The temperature I think is the most important part of the
hatching process.
In all my experience, I have found that the best temperature for all incubation is 99.5 to 100
degrees. You never want to let the temperature drop or rise more than 1 degree and stay there
for a great length of time. Prolonged periods of too high temps or to low temps will reduce you
hatching rates.
Eggs incubated at temps to high will cause early drying of the chicks when they start to hatch
and will cause them to stick to the shell, and usually prevents the chick from completely hatching.
Eggs incubated at temps to low will cause late hatching and the chick will possibly start to hatch
but never finish. Low temps can cause deformities in the chicks also. So you can see that the
temperature is a Vital part of your incubation. The development of the embryo greatly depends
on the correct heat at all times. This will work together for a correct time of your hatch and what
quality of chick you will have. Make sure you also read your manual to make sure that the vent
holes on your incubator are open and shut at the proper times to insure that oxygen is flowing
through the incubator properly.
Humidity in the incubator varies with the different makes and models of the incubator. Read
your manual for the specific setup for your incubator. Most incubators recommend 58-60% or
84-86 degrees between setting the eggs and 3 days prior to hatching. Then you would increase
to 65% during the hatching process.
The embryo must have the proper amount of heat and humidity at all times. Incubator temperatures
not only regulate and determine time of hatch, but also plays a very important part in the quality
of the chick you will produce. Humidity should be carefully controlled to prevent unnecessary
loss of egg moisture. Ive added a picture to show the normal size of the air cell, which is located
in the large end of the egg, after the 7th, 14th and 18th day of incubation. You can check this
by candling the hatching eggs. There is a product called a candler that you can purchase to
correctly candle your hatching eggs. Also, always remember to keep the water trays in the
incubator full. This plays the most important part of your humidity.
Turning and Postioning of the Eggs
Turning the eggs keeps the embryo from sticking to the shell membranes. Frequent turning of
the eggs very much increases your hatching rates.
Some incubators are equipped with automatic turners which take the worry out of remembering
to turn your hatching eggs each day. But if you dont have the automatic turners, your hatching
eggs should be turned at least 3 times a day. (If you can, turn them 5 times a day) And always
do an odd number of turning to insure that the position overnight will be staggered from day to
day.
In the automatic turners, youll place the eggs in a tray making sure that the small end of the egg
faces down. The incubator will do the rest as far as turning the hatching eggs on a regular basis.
If turning the hatching eggs by hand, you may want to mark the eggs so that they are turned the
same each time. You can do this by putting a X on one side of the egg and an O on the other
side. That way, you will have all the Xs showing at one time or all the Os at one time.
Always try to keep the same schedule for turning your eggs, and keep a log to stay on track.
Always be very careful in the handling of the eggs when turning them. Shock to the eggs from
rough handling or dropping them (especially in the first 24 hrs) may cause damage to the blood
vessels thus causing poor hatch rates.
DO NOT TURN THE EGS DURING THE LAST 3 DAYS OF INCUBATION.
At this time, the embryos are getting into the hatching position and do not require turning by
you. Keep your incubator closed as much as possible during the hatching of the eggs to maintain
proper temperature and humidity.
Again, remember to follow the manufacture instructions for your model of incubator for the
settings of temp and humidity to make sure you get the best hatching results. Pay close attention
to what your model calls for on placing of the eggs during the hatching process and the position
of the air vents on the incubator during the last stages of incubation.
BABY CHICKS!
Once the baby chicks are out of their shell, try to not handle them to much in the first few hours.
Let them dry completely before removing them from the incuabtor. Then place them in a brooder
or box with a light above them to keep them warm.
You want to make sure that the baby chicks stay DRY and WARM! This is very important as the
baby chicks need to be dry and stay warm to survive their first hours. I always keep my baby
chicks under a light for at least 2 weeks to insure the healthiest baby chicks!
Give the baby chicks feed and water as soon as you move them out of the incubator as they will
start eating and drinking right away. Just make sure you dont put a water that is oversized for
baby chicks as they will sometimes get in the water and drown. I prefer the smaller jars and the
plastic screw on tops that are actually made for the baby chicks because they have small
openings.
Author: Darlene Douglas
Choose your hatching eggs from breeders that are well established. They should have healthy
birds that are mature and produce a high percentage of fertile eggs. You want their rate to be
at least 75-80%.
Avoid really large or small eggs. Large eggs seem to hatch poorly and small eggs produce
small chicks.
Never use eggs that have cracks in them. Cracked eggs cannot keep the moisture they need
to hatch and are supceptible for obtaining diseases.
If you have only 1 incubator- Do Not pick eggs that have different hatching incubation periods.
This almost always results in poor hatches. Too much of the humidity and moisture is released
when the first eggs start to hatch and this is important to all the eggs and will take from the eggs
that are not yet hatching and causes critical damage to both breeds of eggs.
Use only clean eggs that are layed. You do not want to wash your eggs as this removes the
oils from the shell that protects the egg and may allow disease and bacteria to enter the egg.
Egg Storage and Care
I collect my eggs twice a day. If you can collect them more often, this is even better. The longer
the eggs stay in the pen, the bigger chance you take of course of the hens or roosters breaking
them. But more importantly, if it is real cold or really hot, you dont want to leave the eggs out
in that no longer than you have to.
Eggs should be kept in a cool place around 55-60 degrees until you are ready to place them in
your incubator.
Do not store you eggs for any longer than 10 days. The sooner you can place them in the
incubator the better the hatch rate will be. The hatch ratio drops every day that you lose without
getting those eggs to the incubator. That seems funny, dont it considering that a hen lays for
days before she starts setting on her eggs!
I store my eggs in an egg flat with the small end of the egg facing down. You always want the
large end up because this is where your air cell is at. Keep the eggs in a room that stays cool,
preferably around 60 degrees, and you need to rotate the flat of eggs back and forth at least once
a day. I put a block board under one side of the flat, and then every morning I rotate to the other
end. Its kind of like a rocking back and forth motion so that you keep the embryo moving until
incubation. Eggs are beginning to form an embryo even before you put them in the incubator
and this rotation will prevent the egg from settling to one side of the shell thus causing suffocation.
The Incubator
There are many makes and models of incubators. They all are made to do the same thing...to
hatch out our baby chicks for us, so pick the one that best fits your accomadations and based
on the amount of eggs you want to hatch at one given time.
You want to keep your incubator out of the outside weather conditions. It is also important that
the room you keep your incubator in has good ventilation to supply plenty of fresh air to the
incubator.
Though there are many makes and models of sizes and shapes to the incubators...there are
basically 2 types of incubators: Forced Air incubators and Still Air incubators.
Forced Air -- These incubators have fans that provide internal air circulation. The capacity of
these incubators do vary and may be very large.
Still Air -- These incubators are most of the time small without fans for air circulation. Air is
attained by the rise and escape of warm, stale air and the entry of cooler fresh air near the base
of the incubator.
So pick out the best one for your venture in hatching eggs, and be sure to keep it in that room
that has good ventilation and stays one temp. My room stays at about 65-70 degrees at all times.
I would never recommend placing incubators outside or places like house cellars because the
temperatures change to often and drastically, and this makes the incubator work extremely hard.
The temp of the incubator would rise and fall to quick, and changing so much will interfere with
the growth of the egg, therefore resulting in a lower hatch rate.
Incubator Temperature and Humidity
As I mentioned before, there are many models of incubators and you should always read the
manual and follow the instructions for that particular machine for the settings of your temperature
and humidity. The incubators do vary, so I would strongly suggest in reading that manual and
apply those factors to that machine. The temperature I think is the most important part of the
hatching process.
In all my experience, I have found that the best temperature for all incubation is 99.5 to 100
degrees. You never want to let the temperature drop or rise more than 1 degree and stay there
for a great length of time. Prolonged periods of too high temps or to low temps will reduce you
hatching rates.
Eggs incubated at temps to high will cause early drying of the chicks when they start to hatch
and will cause them to stick to the shell, and usually prevents the chick from completely hatching.
Eggs incubated at temps to low will cause late hatching and the chick will possibly start to hatch
but never finish. Low temps can cause deformities in the chicks also. So you can see that the
temperature is a Vital part of your incubation. The development of the embryo greatly depends
on the correct heat at all times. This will work together for a correct time of your hatch and what
quality of chick you will have. Make sure you also read your manual to make sure that the vent
holes on your incubator are open and shut at the proper times to insure that oxygen is flowing
through the incubator properly.
Humidity in the incubator varies with the different makes and models of the incubator. Read
your manual for the specific setup for your incubator. Most incubators recommend 58-60% or
84-86 degrees between setting the eggs and 3 days prior to hatching. Then you would increase
to 65% during the hatching process.
The embryo must have the proper amount of heat and humidity at all times. Incubator temperatures
not only regulate and determine time of hatch, but also plays a very important part in the quality
of the chick you will produce. Humidity should be carefully controlled to prevent unnecessary
loss of egg moisture. Ive added a picture to show the normal size of the air cell, which is located
in the large end of the egg, after the 7th, 14th and 18th day of incubation. You can check this
by candling the hatching eggs. There is a product called a candler that you can purchase to
correctly candle your hatching eggs. Also, always remember to keep the water trays in the
incubator full. This plays the most important part of your humidity.
Turning and Postioning of the Eggs
Turning the eggs keeps the embryo from sticking to the shell membranes. Frequent turning of
the eggs very much increases your hatching rates.
Some incubators are equipped with automatic turners which take the worry out of remembering
to turn your hatching eggs each day. But if you dont have the automatic turners, your hatching
eggs should be turned at least 3 times a day. (If you can, turn them 5 times a day) And always
do an odd number of turning to insure that the position overnight will be staggered from day to
day.
In the automatic turners, youll place the eggs in a tray making sure that the small end of the egg
faces down. The incubator will do the rest as far as turning the hatching eggs on a regular basis.
If turning the hatching eggs by hand, you may want to mark the eggs so that they are turned the
same each time. You can do this by putting a X on one side of the egg and an O on the other
side. That way, you will have all the Xs showing at one time or all the Os at one time.
Always try to keep the same schedule for turning your eggs, and keep a log to stay on track.
Always be very careful in the handling of the eggs when turning them. Shock to the eggs from
rough handling or dropping them (especially in the first 24 hrs) may cause damage to the blood
vessels thus causing poor hatch rates.
DO NOT TURN THE EGS DURING THE LAST 3 DAYS OF INCUBATION.
At this time, the embryos are getting into the hatching position and do not require turning by
you. Keep your incubator closed as much as possible during the hatching of the eggs to maintain
proper temperature and humidity.
Again, remember to follow the manufacture instructions for your model of incubator for the
settings of temp and humidity to make sure you get the best hatching results. Pay close attention
to what your model calls for on placing of the eggs during the hatching process and the position
of the air vents on the incubator during the last stages of incubation.
BABY CHICKS!
Once the baby chicks are out of their shell, try to not handle them to much in the first few hours.
Let them dry completely before removing them from the incuabtor. Then place them in a brooder
or box with a light above them to keep them warm.
You want to make sure that the baby chicks stay DRY and WARM! This is very important as the
baby chicks need to be dry and stay warm to survive their first hours. I always keep my baby
chicks under a light for at least 2 weeks to insure the healthiest baby chicks!
Give the baby chicks feed and water as soon as you move them out of the incubator as they will
start eating and drinking right away. Just make sure you dont put a water that is oversized for
baby chicks as they will sometimes get in the water and drown. I prefer the smaller jars and the
plastic screw on tops that are actually made for the baby chicks because they have small
openings.
Author: Darlene Douglas
