Incubating and Hatching

Cocktails and Hens Methods

Your Eggs Are On Their Way!-

You just received your tracking number and your hatching eggs are en route to you. This is when you are going to want to make certain your incubator is sanitary, fired up and calibrated correctly. While you are waiting for your eggs, check your temperature and humidity several times per day to make certain your incubator is functioning properly.

Temperature-

Ideal chicken incubation temperature is 99.5 F. Incubators can have factory settings that can be off a half of a degree to a full degree. I highly recommend a second calibrated thermometer inside your incubator to ensure your temperature is stable and correct. Make certain your incubator is placed in a draft free location and safe from direct sunlight.

Humidity-

Humidity is one of the most important factors for having a successful hatch rate. Humidity is what allows your embryo to receive oxygen and develop properly. Ideal humidity is 45% during day 1 through 18 and 65% day 19 through 21. It is imperative to know your ambient humidity and adjust your incubator accordingly. Some people successfully "dry hatch" meaning they do not add water to their incubator if their ambient humidity is 50% or higher. In an extremely humid environment increasing your humidity can in fact drown your embryo. The same caution needs to also be taken into consideration for very dry and arid locations. Your incubator can lose moisture quickly and your embryo will not have the proper oxygen exchange to grow. As for my last note of consideration for humidity: it is important to take into account the location, elevation and humidity that your eggs have been laid in and consider a comparison to the elevation and humidity they are going to be hatched in. A hen "builds" her egg for a successful hatch according to her current living environment. For example: An egg laid in an arid environment is going to have a thin shell and bloom to allow for maximum oxygen exchange. An egg laid in an extremely humid environment is going to have a thicker shell and bloom to slow down the oxygen exchange Receiving Eggs- Your eggs can spend between 3 and 5 days in transit. During that time they have endured lots of trauma. Temperature fluctuations, being shaken, dropped, kicked and tossed. It's important to take care and caution when unboxing. Your eggs will be safely and securely inside their foam shipper. Gently remove the eggs from the shipper and place them pointed end down in an egg carton and place in a safe location to "rest" for 6-12 hours. It is ideal to allow your hatching eggs to reach room temperature before setting in the incubator.

Setting Eggs-

After your eggs have reached room temperature and they're ready to be placed in your incubator, I do recommend a first candling to check for any hairline fractures or breaks. In the event you do find a fracture or break, it's in your best interest to toss that egg/s to prevent any bacteria contamination.

Day 1 through 7-

Once you have set your hatching eggs DO NOT DISTURB them! *write down the date and time and keep the information in a safe place!*. You will want to have this information as a reference for day 21. It is recommended to not turn your shipped eggs for the first 3 days. This allows for better "settling". In the event your eggs have a detached air cell, keeping the eggs upright and stationary can help your embryo to get the best start possible. The less you handle your hatching eggs, the better chance you have for a successful hatch rate. Each time you open your incubator or physically touch the egg you are transferring bacteria. I know, I know many people will say, "but a hen is dirty so how can I personally hurt the embryo"? One must remember that hatching eggs shipped across the country are in no way the same as a fresh laid egg in your backyard that your hen decided to hatch.

Day 7-

Today is safe to peek inside and candle your eggs, but not necessary. *Please do not prematurely toss eggs, wait until day 14 candling as that will be the day to give you your most accurate determination of development. You'll want to make certain you are in a dark room and have a high powered pen light. Your best view is to shine the light up close on the fat end of the egg. At this stage of development you will see a heartbeat and small spider veins. Please note: *My Marans and Olive Eggers are most often too dark to candle*

Day 7 through 14-

You're on your way and by the end of this week you will have made it past the halfway mark! Still no touching, looking or disturbing of your eggs until day 14!

Day 14-

This is an important candle day. You will be able to definitively determine the viability of your embryos. Healthy development on day 14 is seeing what looks like an intricate road map of veining that surrounds the outside of the egg. And embraced by those healthy veins will be a darling baby chick doing somersaults and backflips. Do not panic if you fail to see movement. What's most important on this day is clear and crisp veins. If you fail to see movement and the veins/albumen looks "murky" that would be an egg to note and check for any changes upon your next candling.

Blood Rings, Quitters and No Development-

If an embryo has stopped developing you will notice a "blood ring" around the egg upon candling. This happens when the veins collapse and the embryo dies. A blood ring can present to be a perfect circle, half circle or a dark spot. You will no longer see healthy veining, a heartbeat or movement. An embryo that has failed to develop by day 14 will be very bright and/or opaque. There are a lot of factors that can go into an embryo failing to develop or quitting. If you encounter a quitter or an embryo that failed to develop on day 14 this is the day to toss those eggs to avoid contamination.

Day 14 through 19-

So many big things are happening in this final week of incubation! Your embryos have almost filled up the inside of their egg and are starting to absorb their yolk to prepare for life outside of the egg. Candling on day 19 will show you very little. You are going to see a dark egg, with a bright air cell. You also may be able to see your embryo do one of those somersaults and press against the air cell.

Lock Down Day 19-

This is the day you are going to need to remove your eggs from any turning mechanism or turn off your egg turner. Increase your humidity by 15%. This aids in your chick having enough moisture to properly hatch.

Day 19 through 21-

This is the absolute WORST part of the incubation wait! You are ready to meet your new chicks, but they're taking their sweet, tortuous, agonizingly slow time to break out and meet you. This is also a time for more of DO NOT DISTURB! No matter how badly you want to open your incubator when you see the first pip, zip or chick, DO NOT. This creates the potential for a chick failing to hatch. If you do open your incubator before all your chicks have properly hatched you will introduce the risk of "shrink wrapping" chicks. Shrink wrapping happens when you open an incubator and all of the humidity is quickly taken away. Without the necessary moisture the membrane will change composition, making it very difficult for the chick to break the shell during the hatch time. The membrane surrounding the chick needs to stay moist until the end!

Hatch Time!-

Noting the time of day you initially set your hatching eggs will help you to know what time of day your chicks will start hatching. If you set your eggs at 8:00 pm on day 1 your chicks should start hatching close to 8:00 pm on day 21. If all of your settings have been correct, your hatch should complete within a 24 hour period. Your newly hatched chicks can survive on the yolk they absorbed during their final days of incubation. Do not get into a rush to open your incubator and pull those darling babies out. WAIT until there are no pips or zips on ANY eggs to transfer your new babies into their brooder. Chicks are safe to stay hatched and in an incubator for up to 36 hours.