How to Hatch Baby Chickens

Hatching baby chickens from eggs is both a learning experience and a way to increase your own flock. It's not difficult with some basic equipment and a little patience. The best way is to let the chickens handle it themselves if they will. Unfortunately, though, egg-setting behavior and maternal instincts have been bred out of chickens for many generations because it reduces their egg production. The next best choice is to incubate, hatch and brood the chicks yourself.

Chicken Egg Incubator Basics

The first thing you need is an incubator. The incubator should maintain a constant temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and about 50 percent relative humidity for the first 18 days of incubation, and 60 to 70 percent for the final three days. If the temperature varies, then the development of the chicks may be at risk, causing delayed hatching, physical defects or even death. Temperatures above 102 degrees can kill the developing embryo. Temperatures below 99 degrees may slow the chick's development in the egg and extend the incubation period beyond the usual 21 days. If the temperature falls to 95 degrees or lower, the embryo will likely die. Any variance from 100 degrees will tend to decrease the hatch rate. Humidity variances can also prevent eggs from developing and hatching. Most incubators will provide clear instructions on their use and maintaining proper humidity levels. Follow the directions from the manufacturer of your incubator in deference to other sources.

Do I Need a Rooster to Get Eggs?

The incubator should be set up and brought up to temperature a day before you plan to add the eggs. That gives you time to monitor the temperature and make sure that it is holding steady. Once you've confirmed the temperature of your chicken egg incubator, you can add the fertilized eggs. Fertilized eggs, of course, require that the hens that laid them be kept with a rooster. While hens will lay eggs if there is no rooster present, these are infertile and will not hatch. One rooster can handle egg fertilization for about eight hens. Bantams can handle up to 12 with good fertility rates.

Storing Fertilized Eggs

Fertilized eggs, once they are laid, go into a dormant state and do not begin developing immediately. They remain viable in this dormant state for about six to 10 days, with some decreased hatchability toward the upper end of that scale. In nature, that would let one hen fill her nest before she began sitting on the eggs to incubate them. During this time, the eggs should be stored between 55 and 65 degrees and kept in an area of moderate humidity. The hatching eggs need not be refrigerated. They should be prevented from direct sunlight, heating, drying out and colder temperatures. Hatching eggs should always be stored with the big end up. The air sac is on the big end and you want it to stay there. Remember, if they reach temperatures approaching 90 degrees or higher for any period of time they may set and begin active development.

Old or Dirty Eggs may Explode During Incubation

Dirty eggs should be gently cleaned when collected to clear the shell of bacteria, which can infiltrate the egg and prevent or interfere with hatching a healthy chick. Excessively dirty eggs should not be used for hatching because they are more likely to be contaminated. Bacteria will also incubate in your chicken egg and can build up explosive pressure inside the egg. If it does burst, it can contaminate the entire batch. Eggs can be gently washed, if necessary, using water that is slightly warmer than the egg. Cold water causes the inside of the egg to contract,, sucking bacteria through the pores in the shell. Eggs may also be cleaned with a gentle sanding using a fine sandpaper, being careful not to sand so much that the shell is weakened. Do not shake the eggs. The eggs should also be turned at least daily during the dormant phase to prevent the yolk from settling to one side and sticking to the shell. Whenever possible, use eggs that were clean from the nest and don't require cleaning, as one study from the University of Arkansas suggested that the hatching rate of dirty eggs does not improve with casual cleaning attempts.

Automatic Egg Turners

When you have the eggs and incubator ready, you can gently place them inside. An automatic egg turner is highly recommended. An automatic turner will very slowly rock the eggs from side to side to make sure the chick develops in the center of the egg and doesn't get stuck to the shell. The egg turner may take several hours to move the egg from one side to the other so you may not be able to see it moving. If the developing chick sticks to the shell it may fail to hatch or may hatch with physical deformities. If your incubator does not have an automatic egg turner, then you'll need to manually turn each egg several times a day.

Turning the Eggs by Hand During Incubation

To facilitate proper turning, you can mark two opposite sides of the egg with an ordinary pencil. Don't use a marker or ink pen. Make marks that let you identify which side is up so you can easily determine which eggs have been turned. To turn the eggs just rotate them by hand. Rotate them slowly end over end for one half revolution, so that the opposite pencil mark is now facing up. As you rotate them, rotate them with the small end down and the large end up. They should be rotated about 3 times per day. There are several downsides to hand turning. First, you'll need to open the incubator several times a day which can result in temperature fluctuations. Second, repeated handling of the eggs may contaminate them with any bacteria on your hands. Third, it's very easy to forget to turn them; if you are not diligent, they may not be turned often enough to prevent problems. For these reasons, and to reduce the amount of work required, an automatic egg turner is a wise choice.

Avoid Opening the Incubator

Except for the purpose of turning the eggs by hand, you should avoid opening the incubator. If you need to open it to replenish water for humidity control remember to use water that is pre-heated to about 100 degrees. Using cold tap water will suck heat out of the air in the incubator and may chill the eggs beyond their tolerance. The incubator may also be opened to allow candling of the eggs in order to monitor their development, but these events should be kept to a minimum and should be of short duration.

What is Candling an Egg?

Candling is using a bright light behind the egg to render the shell translucent so that you can see what is going on inside the egg. You can either buy a candling device or build one of your own. Essentially all you need is a bright light shining through a hole of about 1 inch in diameter. Hold the egg against the hole and look through the egg. The visible stages of development that you should see by candling a hatching egg can be viewed at this link from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. When candling, take care to handle the eggs gently, and do not let the light overheat the egg. With practice, you'll be able to check the development of your eggs and remove eggs that have either failed to develop or have stopped developing. If you're not sure about an egg's progress, leave it in the incubator until hatching time or until you candle again and see a definite result.

Preparing the Incubator for the Hatch

On the 18th day of incubation, stop turning the eggs and increase the humidity in the incubator to about 65-70% (or as directed by the manufacturer of your incubator). The chick will need the final three days to position itself correctly inside the egg for hatching. The chick has developed an egg tooth, a small, hard protuberance from the top of its beak which it will use to break a hole in the upper side of the egg. You may hear a light tapping or even chirping coming from inside the egg before it hatches. Eventually, a crack will develop on the egg, followed by a small hole. The chick will slowly enlarge the hole until the egg shell weakens enough to fall apart. The chick will scramble out of the shell and spend the next couple of hours figuring out how to stand up and walk. Be patient, it may take a day for the chick to hatch completely. It's important to maintain the temperature during the hatching period so, once again, avoid opening the incubator except when absolutely necessary.

How Long Does it Take to Hatch a Chicken Egg?

It takes 21 days of incubation for a chicken egg to hatch. This does not include any time spent in a dormant state prior to incubation. Remember, if the temperature in the incubator was a little low for any period of time, development of the embryo may be slowed. If the eggs fail to hatch on day 21, leave them until day 24 or 25 to make sure they are not just a little behind schedule. When chicks hatch, their feathers or down is wet and matted. It offers little or no protection from cold air. Leave them in the incubator until they start to fluff up. After that, they may be removed in batches and placed in a pre-heated brooder. A brooder should have a temperature of 95 degrees for the first week, 90 degrees for the second week and then can decrease by 5 degrees per week until the chicks are able to withstand normal ambient temperatures.

Moving Chicks from the Incubator to the Brooder

Although they can go a couple days after hatching before they need to eat, baby chicks should have access to food and especially water as soon as they go into the brooder box. When introducing the first few chicks to the brooder box, dip their beaks gently into the water and the food so that they learn what it is and where it is. The rest will follow their lead. The brooder box should be lined with litter. Pine shaving work great. Do not use cedar shavings as they have some toxicity and can be harmful to newly hatched chicks. If you're planning to vaccinate your chicks for infectious diseases common in poultry such as Marek's Disease or the Newcastle virus, then be aware that many vaccinations should be done when the chicks are one day old. A complete list of poultry diseases, symptoms, treatment and prevention are available from The Poultry Site.

Problems Hatching Chicken Eggs

If chicks are malformed, or a significant number fail to hatch, then see this trouble shooting guide from the University of California, Davis, which provides a comprehensive list of hatching problems, their causes and remedies.

Sources:

D.E. Yoho, J.R. Moyle, A.D. Swaffar, and R.K. Bramwell. Effect of Incubating Poor Quality Broiler Breeder Hatching Eggs on Overall Hatchability and Hatch of Fertile. University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Center of Excellence for Poultry Science. Winter 2008. Retrieved from www.uark.edu/depts/posc/pdfs/avianadvice_wi08.pdf on February 26th, 2008.

R. A. Ernst, F.A. Bradley, M.E. Delany, U.K. Abbott and R.M. Craig. Common Incubation Problems: Causes and Remedies. Animal Science Department, University of California, Davis. July, 1999. Retrieved from animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs33.htm on February 26th, 2010.

4-H Embryology. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Retrieved from lancaster.unl.edu/4H/embryology/candlingphotos.shtml on February 26th, 2010.

Quick Disease Guide. The Poultry Site. Retrieved from www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/ on February 26th, 2010.