How to Care for Hatching Eggs

Hatching chickens at home or in the classroom can be fun, educational and resourceful for all involved. Although some people prefer to raise hens to produce eggs unaided, others find that hatching their own eggs is a rewarding experience. Hatching eggs, sans hens, can be relatively easy with the help of an incubator, patience and a few technical details, such as how high to heat the incubator and how long to leave the newly born chicks in the heated coziness of the machine.

Things You'll Need

  • Incubator
  • Pencil or pen
  • Egg candler
  • Pan of warm water
  • Cardboard box
  • Mesh
  • Dry mash
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Instructions

    • 1
      Begin by placing a small batch of hatching eggs into a heated incubator.

      Plug the incubator into a reliable electrical socket away from direct sunlight. Bring the machine to a temperature ranging between 99 to 102 degrees. Use a thermometer to ensure a constant temperature and the safety of the eggs. Place a pan of warm water inside the incubator. Maintain a humidity level of 50 percent for the first 18 days of incubation, and increase the level between 70 and 80 percent for the final three days.

    • 2
      Incubators recreate similar conditions to those under which an egg is hatched naturally.

      Mark an X on one side of each egg and an O on the other using a pen or pencil. Take note of which side is facing up and turn the eggs three times a day, using the X or O as a guide, in order to ensure that the yolk does not stick to any one side of the shell's interior. Alternate the timing at which the eggs are turned to ensure they are not left untouched all night for several nights in a row. Move the eggs around the incubator at each turn to ensure an equal exposure to the heat and humidity inside the incubator. Do not turn the eggs for the final three days of incubation, as movement is not needed at that developmental stage.

    • 3
      The candling method allows a peek inside the developmental health of the egg.

      Monitor the fertility and development of the eggs after four or five days of incubation using the candling method. Apply an "egg candler" to the hatching egg, shining a shielded light to the egg in a darkened area. Look for a pinkish color inside the egg over the first four to 10 days of incubation, followed by a darkened mass in increased size. Dispose of any unfertilized eggs--which are those with no signs of pinkness--by the 10th day of incubation.

    • 4

      Keep the chicks inside the incubator for 24 to 48 hours after they hatch. Transfer the chicks to a small cardboard box covered with a mesh or screen and heated to around 95 degrees. Reduce the heat every week by five degrees. Feed baby chicks a dry mash. Provide fresh water, preferably in a shallow dish filled with marbles, which helps prevent chicks from drowning.