A Guide to Hatching Eggs

A successful hating is 50 to 75 percent of hatched eggs.

Do not expect 100 percent of any group of eggs to hatch. So many different factors affect an egg hatching, including the fertility of an egg. On average, if 50 to 75 percent of the eggs hatch, it is a good hatching. Even birds in the wild do not have 100 percent success. Keeping a close eye on temperature and humidity, and following the turning instructions will help increase the number of successful egg hatching with any group of eggs.

Things You'll Need

• Incubator
• Eggs
• Brooder
• Pan or egg carton
• Flashlight or other bright light
• Dark room

Instructions

Preparing the Incubator

1. Place the incubator on a flat surface away from any possible breeze and out of direct sunlight.

2. Fill the water tray in the incubator. This will provide the proper humidity for incubation.

3. Plug in the incubator and allow it to heat to the proper temperature for the eggs. Bobwhite quail, ducks, guinea, pheasant, peafowl, chickens, partridge, grouse and pigeons require 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Ostrich, emu and rheas need between 96.5 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Geese and turkey eggs incubate at 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

Preparing the Eggs

1. Check each egg thoroughly for cracks. A cracked egg will not hatch.

2. Mark one side of each egg with an X and one side with an O, using a pencil. This will help keep track of the egg turning during incubation.

3. 

   Place the eggs in an egg carton to warm to room temperature.

   Place the eggs in an egg carton or pan to warm slowly to room temperature.

Incubation

1. Remove the warmed eggs from the carton and place them into the heated incubator with the X side facing up and the large end slightly elevated.

2. Turn the eggs over every three hours and rotate them around the incubator approximately an egg's width from their original position.

3. Face up, at the end of each day, the side of the egg that faced down throughout the previous night.

Candling the Eggs

1. Turn on a bright light in the room, turn off all other lights and cover the windows after two to three days.

2. Take each egg and hold it in front of the bright light. This illuminates the embryo inside the egg. If the light passes through the egg without illuminating any dark spots or cloudy areas, dispose of the egg. These eggs will not hatch.

3. Return the egg to the incubator if a cloudy or dark area is present. The cloudy or dark area indicates a growing embryo.

Final Incubation Period

1. Continue turning and rotating the eggs up to three days prior to the designated hatching. Incubator instructions contain a chart with the number of days for incubating different species of eggs.

2. Reduce the incubator temperature to 99 degrees Fahrenheit three days prior to hatching for bobwhite quail, geese, pheasant, chickens and pigeons. Reduce it to 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit for rheas, ducks, guinea, peafowl and turkeys, and between 96 and 96.5 degrees Fahrenheit for ostrich and emu. Geese and turkey eggs incubate the last three days at 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Reduce the humidity during the last three days according to the chart supplied with the incubator.

4. 

   After the eggs have hatched, place the chicks in a brooder.

   Allow the eggs to hatch for a minimum of 24 hours after the first egg hatches before opening the incubator. When the chicks have all hatched, place them in the brooder.

Tips & Warnings

• On a calendar, mark which side of the eggs faced down each night. Make sure a different side faces down each night to prevent overheating any one side.

• Check the humidity regularly. Improper humidity will cause an egg to dry out and prevent hatching.

• Breeze and direct sunlight will cause the incubator temperature to fluctuate, which will inhibit the proper development of the embryos.

• Follow the humidity charts provided with the incubator carefully. Incorrect humidity will prevent the eggs from developing properly.

• Irregular egg turning will allow the embryo to stick to the side of the egg and impede proper growth.

• Turning the eggs during the last three days could put the chick in an incorrect position for hatching.

References

• Hatching Eggs: Guide to Hatching Eggs
• Can Teach: Hatching Eggs: A Step by Step Guide
• GQF Manufacturing: Egg Hatch Guide
• University of Minnesota: Hatching and Brooding Small Numbers of Chicks

Resources

• University of Nebraska - Lincoln: Candling Eggs