How to Hatch Chicks at Home

Hatching chicks at home can be an educational experience, whether you want to hatch chicks for your own farm or your children's classroom project. Hatching chicks at home will require a few standard pieces of equipment, patience and time. You also must learn how to obtain fertilized eggs, how to properly work an incubator and what to do once the chicks are born in 21 days.

Things You'll Need

  • Fertilized eggs
  • Incubator
  • Thermometer
  • Cheese cloth
  • Pencil
  • Small cage
  • Chick-starting mash
  • Water and food dishes
  • Soap and water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Obtain fertilized eggs from a hatchery or poultry farm by contacting them and placing an order in person or online for the amount of eggs you want to hatch. Make your order five to 10 days in advance to prevent shipping delays because eggs lose the ability to hatch within seven to 10 days of being laid.

    • 2

      Place your incubator in a clean dry area indoors away from direct sunlight and plug it into an outlet. Pour a small amount of water into the humidity tray. Check the thermometer until it reaches a temperature between 99 and 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Monitor the thermometer to keep temperatures constant for one day before introducing eggs.

    • 3

      Line the incubator with cheesecloth to make a soft bed for the eggs. Use a pencil to draw an "O" on one end of each fertilized egg, and an "X" on the other end. Place each egg onto the cheesecloth so that the small end of the egg is slightly lower than the large end to prevent the chick from drowning. Close the incubator's lid.

    • 4

      Turn each egg three times each day, using your "X" and "O" on each egg as a guide to how they were last turned until the last three days of 21 days before hatching. Increase air flow ventilation a little more every day by opening one or two ventilation shafts on the incubator per day until the chicks hatch.

    • 5

      Allow hatched chicks to dry fully before removing them from the incubator and placing them into a small cage. Place a bowl of chick-starting mash and water into the cage. Remove the cheesecloth, shell fragments and other debris. Wash the inside of the incubator with warm soapy water and allow it to air dry.