BYC's 17th Annual New Year's Day Hatch-Along—2026

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It's that time again! Every year, members from all over the world set eggs with the goal of hatching out hundreds of cute little chicks on New Year's Day. If you are new to hatching, this is an excellent opportunity to receive a lot of help, tips, and advice. Join in the fun at BYC's 17th Annual New Year's Day Hatch-Along in 2026!

Set Chicken eggs on Saturday, December 11th, at Noon (whatever time zone you are in). Other poultry will be sooner or later depending on incubation time. Other poultry set dates are listed in the spoiler below & the picture above:

Spoiler: Set Dates - Click to Open

Type of Egg	Days to Hatch	Set Dates
Emu	49 - 55	November 7th - 13th
Muscovy duck	35	November 27th
Goose	28 - 32	November 30th - 4th
Pheasant	22 - 29	December 3rd - 10
Mallard (derived) duck, goose,	28	December 4th
Turkey, Guinea, Peafowl	28	December 4th
Call duck and other bantam ducks	26	December 6th
Bobwhite quail	23	December 9th
Chickens	21	December 11th
Seramas other small bantams	19 - 21	December 11th - 13th
Pigeons	17 - 19	December 13th - 15th
Coturnix quail	18	December 14th
Doves	14 - 16	December 16th - 18th
Button quail	16	December 16th

To join the hatch-along, simply post in this thread that you wish to enter, and we will add you! Set dates for each type of domestic fowl are listed above in the spoiler.

This is our main chat thread for the hatch-along, where you can find anything from new friends and awesome incubation help, to the most detailed educational discussions possible, and how could we forget the laughter and fun!

This post of the hatch-along will be updated as we move along with all the important information you will need, but if you find yourself with a question, just post it on the thread, everyone is helpful!

If you end up not setting any eggs, please let us know! It makes record-keeping easier, and we don't have to try to track you down!

Places to find hatching eggs:​

• Chicken Hatching Eggs
• The NEW Crazy 24hr AUCTION thread
• Just In Time Hatching Egg AUCTION and BIN Thread

Incubation, Hatching, & Baby Chick Forums​

• Incubating & Hatching Eggs
• Raising Baby Chicks

Educational hatching articles:​

• The Beginner's Guide to Incubation
• Incubation Humidity
• Development of a Chicken Embryo Day by Day
• Candling Pics Progression Through Incubation Of Chicken Eggs
• Incubating And Hatching Muscovy Eggs
• Egg failure to hatch - Diagnosing incubation problems
• Guide to Assisted Hatching for All Poultry
• How To Incubate Hatch Eggs Using The Dry Incubation Method
• Fixing Curled Toes With Tape - Picture Tutorial and Video

New Year's Day Hatch-Along Contests are listed in post #2​

All of the contests are held in separate threads. To enter each contest, you must visit each contest thread, read the rules, and enter the contest. Check back here often, as we will be adding more contests!

 

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Contest coming soon!