Incubating Chicken Egg Instructions

Date sort Score sort
DuckLover555

DuckLover555

In the Brooder
6 Years
Jun 9, 2013
16
0
22
Oak Ridge, NJ
Hello All:

I've been wanting to hatch chicken eggs for a while but have had no clue how. I watched videos and read article's and no one could help. I just want to know the basics. Like temperature, humidity, how many rotations per day, and how often to fill up a one cup tray of water to keep the humidity steady. I could not find any of them, that is all I need to know, the rest I was able to find.

-Thanks,
DuckLover555
 
I used a still air incubator which was like $40. Set the thermometer on top of the eggs and have it at 102 degrees. This way the bottom of the egg will still be at like 99-100 degrees. Turn the eggs 3 times a day every 3 hours or so, just try to make it even like turn every 12 hours or every 8 hours. Pretty simple. oh and after 2 weeks use a flashlight to see which eggs don't have chicks in them and chuck them before they smell bad!
 
Well, first you'll need an incubator of course! Once you get that out of the way, it's pretty simple to hatch chicken eggs. Please keep in mind that everyone has different methods to their madness, so you will get varied instructions regarding temperature and/or humidity. I keep my eggs at a toasty 99.5º F and their humidity at 50-55%. I have an automatic egg turner in my incubator that turns the egg every hour. If you don't have a turner, you will need to turn your eggs at least three times a day.

Three days before the eggs are scheduled to hatch, I stop turning my eggs, and bump the humidity up to 60-65%. This keeps is to ensure the embryos settle and position themselves for hatching, and keeps them from shrink wrapping once they pip. With this method, I get anywhere from a 75-85% hatch rate.

Protip: Instead of constantly pouring water in the tray of the incubator, I simply leave a damp (not wet!) paper towel in there. This keeps the humidity up longer so you don't have to open the incubator as often, and ultimately prevents the temp/humidity from fluctuating.

Good luck with your hatch!
 
Cheyen said:
Well, first you'll need an incubator of course! Once you get that out of the way, it's pretty simple to hatch chicken eggs. Please keep in mind that everyone has different methods to their madness, so you will get varied instructions regarding temperature and/or humidity. I keep my eggs at a toasty 99.5º F and their humidity at 50-55%. I have an automatic egg turner in my incubator that turns the egg every hour. If you don't have a turner, you will need to turn your eggs at least three times a day.

Three days before the eggs are scheduled to hatch, I stop turning my eggs, and bump the humidity up to 60-65%. This keeps is to ensure the embryos settle and position themselves for hatching, and keeps them from shrink wrapping once they pip. With this method, I get anywhere from a 75-85% hatch rate.

Protip: Instead of constantly pouring water in the tray of the incubator, I simply leave a damp (not wet!) paper towel in there. This keeps the humidity up longer so you don't have to open the incubator as often, and ultimately prevents the temp/humidity from fluctuating.

Good luck with your hatch!
Click to expand...

hi,
just wondering if you keep the temp of you incubator at 99.5 degrees for the whole 21 days of incubating?
I just got my first incubator and I'm not experienced with these thingys! on the instructions of my incubator is says to raise the temp up a few degrees, do you really think this is necessary?? thanks for any help!!
 
Chloe Adler said:
hi,
just wondering if you keep the temp of you incubator at 99.5 degrees for the whole 21 days of incubating?
I just got my first incubator and I'm not experienced with these thingys! on the instructions of my incubator is says to raise the temp up a few degrees, do you really think this is necessary?? thanks for any help!!
Click to expand...
You keep the incubator at whatever the required temperature for hatching is for the entire incubation process. In most cases, this is 99.5-99.9 degrees. Some species some species require more or less heat, so it's important to research before you try and hatch. That being said, the only thing you should be changing is the humidity. You need to increase the humidity during the final stages of incubation (the last three days). Do not change the temperature during incubation! Keep it constant, even after your chicks hatch!
 
I have a home made styrobator. I made a small hole with a tube in the Styrofoam that allows you to fill the water pan without opening the bator
 

Similar threads

C
Humidity Control for incubating Silkie Eggs
Replies
3
Views
566
2ndTink
2ndTink
C
Advice on building DIY incubator
2 3
Replies
28
Views
1K
BantyChooks
BantyChooks
talkinboutchickens
    • Like
Egg turning and humidity/temp questions in incubator
Replies
9
Views
680
talkinboutchickens
talkinboutchickens
friednotscrambled
    • Informative
    • Like
Matticoopx Incubator
Replies
8
Views
2K
The Moonshiner
The Moonshiner
M
    • Like
First time Hatcher needing Help!
2
Replies
11
Views
1K
UrbanHomesteadTX
UrbanHomesteadTX

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom