How to Incubate Eggs at Home

Schools and agricultural clubs across the country often teach students about animal life cycles by incubating chicken or duck eggs. Eggs can also be successfully hatched at home with the proper care and equipment. Even with a quality incubator, hatching eggs is not always successful. Professional hatcheries often only have a success rate of 80 percent, according to the University of Minnesota.

Things You'll Need

  • Incubator
  • Hatching eggs
  • Thermometer
  • Shallow pan
  • Pencil
  • Cheesecloth
  • Cardboard box
  • Paper scraps
  • 2 small dishes
  • Marbles
  • Chicken feed (or other bird feed)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Store fertilized eggs in an area with a constant temperature between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit before incubating. Turn eggs daily during storage to prevent the yolks from sticking to the shells.

    • 2

      Place the incubator in an area where the temperature does not fluctuate throughout the day. Place a pan underneath the incubator for models that do not come equipped with a humidity pan. Fill the humidity pan with warm water and set the incubators temperature to 100 degrees F. Monitor the temperature for 24 hours to ensure it stays stable between 99 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity levels should remain between 50 to 55 percent.

    • 3

      Place eggs into the incubator and monitor temperature and humidity throughout the incubation period. Keep in mind the temperature may drop slightly when eggs are initially introduced. This is a normal process and the temperature should return to normal within 24 hours. Add more water to the humidity pan, as necessary.

    • 4

      Turn eggs three times daily, marking the eggs with an X to remember which side faced up originally. This will help embryos develop properly. For the last three days of incubation, do not turn the eggs.

    • 5

      Place cheesecloth in the incubator for the last three days of incubation. This step will make it easier to clean out the shells and remains once the chicks hatch. All eggs should hatch within 24 hours of one another. Lower the temperature to 95 degrees F once eggs are hatched.

    • 6

      Transfer hatched chicks to a large cardboard box after one to two days in the incubator. Place 1 to 2 inches of torn-up paper in the bottom of the box to give chicks footing. Place a small dish of water in the box. Place marbles in the dish to discourage chicks from climbing inside. Place a small dish of chick food in the box as well. Contact a local bird-supply store to determine the best feed for the type of birds you are hatching.