Eggs…not just for breakfast

So you want to hatch some eggs.

Since the seventeen hundreds, people have been artificially incubating eggs, of course, the hen herself has been doing it for longer than that. On some hobby farms, the number one way for increasing their flocks is still to have the over qualified hen do it while still others utilize incubators. Through the years studies have provided some vital information as to the requirements nature has in place for egg(s) to hatch and with a little attention to detail even the true beginner can effectively hatch eggs on their little farm.

Collecting and storing eggs

We like to make sure that the nesting boxes the hens lay their eggs in are lined with clean fresh bedding material such as pine shavings. On our farm eggs are collected daily and if the weather is still cold they are collected multiple times to prevent the excessive cold from affecting the embryo. The eggs are handled with care and carried in a manner that does not shock, crack or shake them in a way that can be harmful to the embryo inside.

After gathering eggs each day we store them for up to ten days, but usually set them on or before day seven to minimize weakening the embryo with age prior to incubating. The importance of specific actions we take while the eggs are being stored is paramount in my opinion and we are constantly looking to be educated in “best practices” to improve our success rate. When our eggs are stored awaiting incubation we make certain the eggs are rotated side to side twice a day to prevent the proteins in the egg from sticking to the inner membrane which could prevent the eggs from hatching. We also provide a measured amount of temperature and humidity where the eggs are stored to prevent the eggs from losing excessive moisture and becoming too cool or warm prior to incubation which can cause the eggs not to hatch. We look to store our eggs in a temperature between 60 and 68 degrees and maintain a relative humidity of approximately 40% that seems to work for us. I encourage folks that wish to hatch some eggs in an incubator to do some reading and have an understanding of “relative” and “actual” humidity.

Setting some eggs

On the days we set eggs there are a couple of important actions I make sure are done before the eggs go into the incubators. Each egg is candled using a bright light. Eggs with odd shapes or imperfections in the shell are utilized for breakfast while the best of the best are utilized for incubation and placed in the racks with the wide end of the egg up as this is the “air cell”. It is important to remember the importance of humidity is paramount while incubating, we incubate our chicken eggs at 45 to 48% humidity for the first 17 of 21 days for chicken eggs, of course, 21 is not an absolute but rather a rule of thumb. We measure humidity with a wet bulb thermometer placed midway in the front of the unit.
The temperature is brought to 100 degrees, we always use two thermometers in a central location inside the unit and one of those is a human thermometer when in doubt I trust the human thermometer.

Humidity and heat create an atmosphere for bacteria to grow which can depress the hatchability of an egg. We sanitize our incubators and the hatching eggs prior to each batch going into the unit. We are careful not to wash eggs in detergent and remove the bloom secreted by the hen. Dirty eggs are brushed to clean them and for the stubborn dirt, I use a mild grit sand paper to clean them prior to sanitizing.

And the wait is on…

Once we have our eggs incubating we seldom open the cabinets for the first ten days, at approximately ten days we candle the eggs and remove any eggs that do not show the embryo growing. This is important to minimize the possibility of an egg exploding and contaminating the other eggs. We candle eggs again on day 17, this is the day we stop turning them and place them on their sides and the chicks inside rotate in the egg and prepare to make their grand entrance.

Incubating eggs is a science that is both an accomplishment and fun. I urge folks to do some reading about the method used as well as what nature has perfectly programmed into the hens. There are lots of possibilities but it is my opinion that nature has it right and the closer we can mimic nature the more successful our hatches will be.

As always if you have questions I can assist with please contact me here or join us on the “Maine Poultry Connection” on Facebook.
For our followers in Maine, 4D’s Farm will be at Bangor Blue Seal on February 20th at 5:00 pm for a question and answer period as it relates to raising fowl if we don’t have the answer we will be happy to assist you in finding it.

Scott DeMoranville

About Scott DeMoranville

Along with his wife Nickie, son Nolan and daughter Maddigan, Scott runs are 4Dʼs Farm, located in Bradford, Maine. Both Nickie and Scott are independent NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Program) testers for the state of Maine. Scott runs the Maine Poultry Connection of Facebook.