How to Hatch Baby Chicks

If you are looking to increase the size of your chicken farm faster than your rooster crows, hatching the eggs yourself may be the option for you. There is a bit of a trick to obtaining a successful hatch rate, though, and the following tips will help you do just that.

Things You'll Need

• Incubator
• Eggs
• Thermometer
• Cup
• Sponge
• Calendar
• Permanent marker

Instructions

1. Buy a still-air incubator. This is the least expensive of all the incubators on the market and is still just as effective. It can hold up to 46 eggs at one time, and although it does not include an egg turner to do the work for you, one can be purchased separately.

2. Regulate the temperature and humidity levels. Before you begin, set the temperature at 102 degrees F and the humidity at 50 percent. Be sure that these settings stay consistent for at least 24 hours before placing your eggs in the incubator. They also are the recommended settings for proper development of your eggs.

3. Mark your eggs. Before placing the eggs inside the incubator, it is a good idea to take a permanent marker and place an "X" on one side and an "O" on the other. These markings will help you determine what side you had them on last when it comes time to turn them. Now you are ready to place them in your man-made nest.

4. Record your dates. Mark the date when you placed the eggs in the incubator. Then count forward 21 days and mark that day as your hatch date. Unlike human babies, chicks are right on time, and you will need to make preparations for their arrival.

5. Turn the eggs three times a day. It is imperative that the eggs be turned three times every day, at the same time. Turning them not only prevents the yolk from sticking to the side of the egg, it also exercises the embryo, both of which increases your chances of having a higher hatch rate.

6. Check for signs of life. On the seventh and fourteenth days, you need to candle your eggs. One by one, take them out of the incubator and hold them up to a light. Inside the illuminated egg, you should see a forming embryo, perhaps even a beak or an eye as they get closer to their hatch date. If all you see is empty space, then you know that egg was not fertilized and will not hatch.

7. Listen for peeps. Pull the air plug on day 18 so the arriving chicks can receive oxygen, and increase the humidity by placing tiny cups of water or soaked sponges in the incubator. You also stop turning the eggs on this day. On day 21, you will begin to hear chirping as the chicks begin breaking out of their shells.