How to Use a Chicken Brooder

A chicken brooder, or electric incubator, is an artificial way of making chicken eggs hatch. By heating the eggs to the same temperature that a mother hen would heat them to, the chicken brooder makes the eggs hatch without any mother chicken interacting. This isn't complicated, but you have to use the correct temperatures or you'll have hard-boiled eggs instead of hatched ones.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken brooder
  • Fertilized eggs
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Instructions

    • 1

      Plug the chicken brooder into an electrical socket and raise the temperature until it's reading between 99.5 F and 103 F.

    • 2

      Mark one end of each egg with an X and the other end with an O with a marker. You have to turn the eggs three times a day, so it's important to know which side is up, for those who are turning them.

    • 3

      Place the eggs into the chicken brooder with either the O or the X side facing up. Place a small cup or tray of water into the chicken brooder, so that there is enough moisture in the air for the eggs to remain healthy.

    • 4

      Rotate the eggs three times a day.

    • 5

      Wait until the chicken eggs hatch. They should hatch in around 21 days.