Care and incubation of hatching eggs (2024)

FAQs

What is the incubation of hatching eggs? ›

The incubation period for chicken eggs is 20 to 21 days, and increases up to 30 days for other poultry. After sitting for some days, a broody hen can be given some newly hatched chicks and, if they are accepted, the original eggs can be removed and replaced with more chicks.

Incubation means maintaining conditions favorable for developing and hatching fertile eggs. Four factors are of major importance in incubating eggs artificially: temperature, humidity, ventilation, and turning.

They are temperature, humidity, ventilation, egg turning, and sanitation. Temperature – Ideal operating temperature is 99° – 100°F. Use of a fan kit helps to maintain constant temperature.

Then you can spray the eggs with room temperature water and return them to the incubator. The incubator should be able to warm up in about the same amount of time it took to cool the eggs. Do not spray and cool after day 25.

Chicks don't need feed and water until about 24 hours after hatching. Baby chickens are precocial – this means that they are born with feathers and are able to walk within a few hours of hatching. In the egg, chicks absorb the egg yolk which provides them with nutrients for 24-72 hours.

Make sure your incubator is set to the correct temperature. Forced air incubators should maintain a temperature of 99.5 – 100.5° F and still air incubators should hold a temperature of 100.5 - 101.5°F. The incubator should also have at least 60% humidity.

Temperature: 99.5°F (forced air), 102°F (still air). Humidity: 56-60% (forced air), 58-61% (still air). Turning: every 1-2 hours, able to turn 'automatic turning' on or off. Turn Angle: dependent on the size of the eggs you are incubating, eggs should never be turned in a complete 180° rotation.

A live embryo is spider-like in appearance, with the embryo representing a spider's body and the large blood vessels spreading out much like a spider's legs. A "dead germ" can be distinguished by the presence of a blood ring around the embryo. This is caused by the movement of blood away from the embryo after death.

On the last three days of the 21 days, when the hatching phase begins, the temperature should be lowered to around 36.9 degrees, while the humidity should be raised to around 70%.

Humidity During Hatching

High humidity is necessary because of the membrane that the chicks must break through in order to hatch. If the membrane is allowed to dry out (due to low humidity), then it becomes too tough for the chicks to tear.

Can I put a cracked egg in incubator? ›

Not all cracked eggs can be saved. If the crack is too severe or extends into the inner membrane, it may be best to discard the egg. Monitor the egg closely. Check for any signs of infection or further damage, and remove the egg from the incubator if necessary.

Temperature too low and rela- tive humidity too high during incubation period. Check thermometer; 1ºF (0.6ºC) below 99.5ºF (37.5ºC) will cause late hatch. Old eggs. Set only fresh eggs; allow extra time for hatch by setting old eggs early.

Last but not least, the embryo needs oxygen (O2) and produces carbon dioxide (CO2), so the machines need to exchange the air to provide this. In all these three components of the incubation process (temperature control, RH modifications and O2/CO2 balance) the ventilation of the machines plays an important role.

The most important aspect of airflow in an incubator is to ensure the proper mixing of temperature and humidity throughout the incubator cabinet while bringing in fresh air for oxygen and exhausting used air to reduce carbon dioxide, excess moisture, and temperature.

Eggs incubated in the presence of light have been shown to have accelerated embryo development (Shafey and Al-mohsen, 2002; Cooper et al., 2011), increased hatchability (Shafey and Al-mohsen, 2002; Archer, 2017; Archer et al., 2017), and improvements in the quality of chicks at hatch (Archer, 2017; Archer et al., 2017) ...

Embryos have survived at temperatures below 90°F for up to 18 hours. You should continue to incubate the eggs after the outage; then candle them 4 to 6 days later to check for further development or signs of life. If, after 6 days, you do not see life or development in any of the eggs, then terminate incubation.

It's best to add water to one trough from day 1 till 3 days before your eggs are due to hatch. Doing this will - and should - give you the correct humidity as long as the incubator is in the correct environment. A room who's temperature is in the range of 18°C-22°C will give you the required humidity level.