How To Incubate and Hatch Chicken Eggs At Home

[MsMackenzie2]

how many chicks actually hatched, and how many fertile eggs did you have in the incubator to start out with?

[GloVermont2]

@MsMackenzie2 We started with 24 fertile eggs and hatched 21.

[MsMackenzie2]

@GloVermont2 You already answered this before but i was wondering, do you fill every reservoir, because there are two long ones, and then there is a big one?

[GloVermont2]

@MsMackenzie2 Usually I try to fill all the reservoirs. It's not critical that they all be full,.... just that you try to make sure there is some water in there each time you turn the eggs and put the lid back on.

[caliherbs]

about how deep of water to you put in there like 1/4 inch ? and did you maintain that all 21 days ?

[GloVermont2]

@caliherbs I keep the water depth just short of the top of each reservoir. Yes I maintain the humidty with water full term - 21 days.

[neil219315]

whens breaki ready

[Ramon90003]

It is hard to keep the temparature stable, I have a little giant incubator and the temparature keeps changing, in the afternoon when the day starts to warm up the temparature goes up too 102.5 and in the mornings sometimes it drops down to 96.0 any advise?

[Zeroes123]

I have a question @GloVermont2 i like your style keep up the good work, but what do you do with the multiple chicks you hatch?

[RealJeffonline]

You can buy fertilized chicken eggs on eBay

[FunnyGuy8890]

The ones you eat will NOT work they are not fertile.

[yugiohmariox]

hey where do u get the eggs? do you buy them at supermarket(the ones you eat put them on an incubator)

[anthacdc]

hi, my light sussex just started laying eggs they are fertile, should i wait till the hen is fully grown, will it effects the chicks size?

[anthacdc]

hi, my light sussex just started laying eggs they are fertile, should i wait till the hen is fully grown, will it effects the chicks size?

[UltimateOptimus]

what if u dont have a incubator

[GloVermont2]

@UltimateOptimus - There are videos detailing how to make your own incubator from common materials around many homes. Or the old fashioned method - a brooding hen needs to sit on the eggs to incubate them naturally.

[FuntomArtist666]

do u have the still air fan in there?

[GloVermont2]

@FuntomArtist666 It is a good feature. The chicken eggs don't require it - so I don't have one.

[tomoyovanessa9]

are mum chickens noisy?

[tomoyovanessa9]

are the eggs normal eggs you buy from the market ?

[GloVermont2]

@tomoyovanessa9 None of the eggs are store bought. Most store bought eggs will not be fertile. Plus they will be refrigerated - even if they were fertile before display in stores, they won't be for long. We started by buying little chicks and getting a free rooster later from a local farm. Roosters are easy to find for free in rural communities.

Ideally one rooster to 12 hens maximum is a good ratio.

[AreYouBoredShow]

@tomoyovanessa9 im not trying to be mean but DUHHH THEY ARE NOT

[Corbin12162000]

What thats my eggebatoer

[74wichita]

Hey I got a question: I turn my eggs 4 times a day every 4 hours is that alright?

I wrote X, O in each sides with a PEN is that alright?

[GloVermont2]

@74wichita X on onw side O on the other. If you turn them every 4 hours that would be 6 turns per day. It is recommended to turn the eggs every 8 hours (3Xper day).

[BrianOneill246]

where do ye get one i a, looking around ever where



[BrianOneill246]

can u put any chicken eeg in an incubater 

[BrianOneill246]

will u sell me that incubater for 50 euros 

[fluffyfan07]

How much does it cost to get started?

[badslabber]

how can i tell which eggs are going to hatch , i mean the stuff you get from a supermarket ,i doubt it ,but sometimes i buy from a farmers market , this is completely new to me ,i would like to learn a bit about it before trying :)

[sonyacookie3050]

i was wondering if i get a free range egg from the fridge how much of a possibility is there it will hatch if i keep it incubated

[trooperx666]

@sonyacookie3050 if its from the store 0% i can tell you that

[2KLEEN123]

HEY IT WAS JUST ABOUT TO HATCH!!! :(

[GloVermont2]

I sent you the next video in the series of 3 - A Chicken Egg Hatching!

[GloVermont2]

@2KLEEN123 You can watch it hatch because that is the next video in the series of 3.

[cakey527]

what about free range eggs

[GloVermont2]

If the hens have a healthy rooster in charge, then usually the eggs will be fine to hatch if you can find them within a day or so of being laid. Our hens are true pasture raised and often a few lay their eggs outside of the laying boxes in the field. We've hatched those ones too.

[GloVermont2]

Around $45....

[dufusrunescape]

eggs that you buy at the store have been refridgerated , and that makes the embreo cold enough to die

[iRunWithLife]

I had 8 chicken eggs but 1 was a dud and at the momment they are in an incubator! They are suppose to hatch on Friday I am so excited.

[MoodyMooMoo1]

I have a manual incubator and put thermometer in it before I put the eggs in it was 100oF now it's dropped after putting the eggs in to 97oF is this ok?

[19eddie2]

yea it okay the temperature should regulate in about 48 hours

[NMHSCosmo]

How long can you keep fertile eggs before you place them in the incubator? If you have some eggs in there and you get more eggs can you add them in there too? Please reply.......

[GloVermont2]

Good questions. The eggs should be no older than two or three days. You can add eggs to any batch - but the eggs added later will obviously hatch later. I usually do one batch of eggs at a time so I can clean the incubator really well after a hatching day.

[deedeesabc]

@GloVermont2

You can keep them for 7 days you need to keep them at 45 to 65 F and you need to turn them once a day when you store them. a hen lays untell she has a cluch then she will sit this will take at lease 3 or 4 days so just keep in mind store them small end down and turn once a day and keep them in a cool place tell you are ready to incubate them. good luck 

[NMHSCosmo]

How long can you keep fertile eggs before you place them in the incubator? If you have some eggs in there and you get more eggs can you add them in there too?

[Organicchickenlady]

You can order fertilized eggs from a hatchery. Try Murry McMurry hatchery, or do a search on chicken hatchery.

[scorgeluver323]

i have 2 questions one how do you tell if the egg is fertille and 2 can you hatch healthy chicks in a incubator that is set to about 84 degrees farinheit? please reply soon its important!!!!!

[presa1200]

some supermarkets sell free range chicken eggs, do you think they are fertile? what about quail eggs?

[Organicchickenlady]

@presa1200 no eggs in the store are not fertilized.

[JessicaDelcina]

im plannning on trying to hatch an egg or two because i've recently found out that our hen is laying twins. I have a couple question i can't seem to find on the internet though. My first question is, how often do you turn the egg ?and lastly , how many times approximetly a day do your turn them? Please let me know as soon as possible. Thanks :)

[jonhdoe1395]

wow people are fucking idiots when they have to ask "CAN U GIT AN EGG FRUM DA STUR???? OR IZ IT SUM SPESHIL EGGG?". HOLY shit people

[ssy777]

but if u get i from any store could it work? reply plez

[GloVermont2]

@ssy777 Eggs in most stores are NOT fertile.

[taylormcmullen5]

@ssy777 no because there not fertile and they have been cooled which has killed the embryo if somehow they were fertile

[rimah100]

can i use the eggs that u can buy from shops n u can eat those eggs

[rimah100]

can u use the eggs that u buy n not from the farm?

please reply!

[GloVermont2]

@rimah100 not usually

[boolykbol]

@rimah100 you can't. Eggs are not fertile when bought from stores.

[rimah100]

CAN U USE NORMAL EGGS INSTEAD OF GETTING THEM FROM THE FARM

[davemanshoultz]

what is the humidity supposed to be?

[rimah100]

were did u get that egg from is that a normal egg from the shops?

please reply!

[GloVermont2]

@rimah100 We bought a few chicks at the local farm store. Then we used their eggs to hatch more....and so on

[McDoniel]

@rimah100 the eggs at the store where not fertalized from the roster

[gokory]

so you just put warm water in there? and it mantains the humisty my itself? no adjusting?

[GloVermont2]

@gokory

Yes. Check the water level each day and add when needed.

[619DABEAST]

Can u tell me where i could possibly buy a incubater plz reply thanks :)

[GloVermont2]

@619DABEAST

Bought mine from the local farm store. Easy to find on google too. Ours is called The Little Giant.

[Coins4Cheese]

Will it hurt the chick if you crack open the shell when it's trying to get out?

[GloVermont2]

@Coins4Cheese

Yes. The chick is still attached to the yolk sack by the embilical cord. We made that mistake twice. My wife did it once, and so did I. Both times the chick was weakened and stunted.

[jammingm8plegirl]

Was it me or did I hear a chick cheerp in there??

[YOVILLELala123]

How much is the incubater

[JogBird]

what happens if you dont turn the eggs?

[CandyBabeRaye]

@JogBird then the unborn chick inside the egg will not develop properly :P

[ukurbanfarmer]

great vid all the questions i was looking for were just answered thanks

[bogtownboy5626]

So instead of the water at the bottom for moisture, we spray them with warm water once in morning and afternoon. Does that serve the same purpose? Should I keep a towel over mine? It is the same incubator..

[GloVermont2]

Yah sounds like that should work just fine. One reason I like using the water reservoir is that if for some reason I don't get to the incubator on schedule, the eggs won't suffer. The reason I have the towel over the incubator is to protect them from direct light (direct sunlight in particular is harmful). Of course I keep a one of the red plugged vent holes open and uncovered to allow the humidty and air to circulate. Essentially we are simulating the hen atop her eggs.

[bogtownboy5626]

@GloVermont2 Great! Sounds like I'm doing good then. 18 more days left and hopefully I'll have 2 dozen chicks! A rotator does the same as turning the eggs correct?

[annejilli]

Thank you so much for putting up this video. We are trying to hatch some eggs for the first time.

[HirokoManzaku]

4 of my eggs hatched to far... they fight

[beetlejuice171]

well only once i over heated them i dont no if its living

[Edel99]

I found a pigeon egg today laying on the grass! It fell from a rather hight billboard sign and it didn't break! I held it up to my projector's lite and didn't see any signs of life. I put the egg in glass with cotton 'on the floor behind my refrigerator (it's rather warm there)! Don't know if it will hatch but I had to try...

[Limelight143]

may i please ask, what the marks or x's on the eggs are for? thank you sir :)

[bogtownboy5626]

@Limelight143 You have to turn the eggs every 8 hours or so. Unless you have a rotator. It keeps the egg from settling in one spot...or something like that.. But you leave them on "x" side for 8 hours or so then turn over on "o" side :)

[DchickenLa]

tats gayyy

[rhode74]

I have the exact same incubator. I got my eggs on April 23rd, but I have missed turning them twice a day just a few times. (My kids helped me forget). I was wondering if you think there is still a chance for them to hatch. Some of the eggs no longer let the light from the flashlight pass thru so something must be growing. But some of the eggs seem to have a dark side, like everything sunk to one end. Thanks for any help. And If I fail this time, I'll try to hatch more next.

[GloVermont2]

You should be ok. I wouldn't give up on any of the eggs just for missing a couple of turns. Keep the temp and humidity steady and see what happens.

[rhode74]

I forgot to say, you were right. Some of the eggs did hatch. Thanks for your help. :)

[GloVermont2]

Awesome! You have achieved success. WTG TY

[camcam135]

is light bad for the eggs?

[GloVermont2]

Direct sunlight is bad for the eggs. They won't develop if exposed to light for long.

[camcam135]

@GloVermont2 i made an incubator by using a cardboard box and a lightbulb (my dad made it for me but not very well because we werent expecting to get an egg- i just wanted one) i kept the egg close to the lightbulb for about three or four days.. now just in case im covering it with a cloth the prevent too much light..

[camcam135]

@GloVermont2

[camcam135]

@GloVermont2 i kept the egg close to the lightbulb because i didnt have enough heat. would the egg have died?

[krocodial]

i am planing on hatching eggs by using a broody hen - my cusen did this and only 4-7 out of the 14 hatched and only 4 survived - is it safer for the chicks to be incubated by a incubator or a hen ?

[GloVermont2]

I think you answered your own question. half hatched. Congratulations. I think that is a good result. Hatching them in the incubator or artificially definately yields a higher hatch rate as I average 2/3 of our eggs hatching. All our chicks survive. We still have all of last years brood. We hatched out 16 of 24 eggs this season. They're 4 days old now.

[bahamalesster]

in set eggs to day. the thermopmtre says 97.8 so that should be ok.Wish me luck.

[TheZingesh]

Im about to start incubating and i hope it all goes well, so wish me luck and a good : ratio

[GloVermont2]

Best of luck for a successful hatching and favorable ratio TheZingesh!

[azeemtariq640]

ive just set my eggs in the incubator for hatching at 9pm last night. do i leave turning for at least 24 hours or do i start the turning process now?????

[GloVermont2]

I'm sure you've truned them by now. Turn them every 8 hours or so. If it takes a little longer to turn them now and again that's OK. It's most important to maintain the temp and humidity while keeping the eggs in the dark.

[GloVermont2]

We started incubating 24 eggs today. Hatching day is April 1.

[Stormclouds777]

Great video! I started incubating today, and I didnt know to put water in the incubator. Thanks! Im doing that now. I have the same incubator, with a turner. (I work 12 hour shifts, and wouldnt be home able to turn them properly) Thanks again! :)

[GloVermont2]

Cool, TY. We're glad you liked this video. Good luck with your brood. It really is rewarding. We're receiving 16 eggs each day now. And through selling eggs we've made new friends and closer neighbors.

[Stormclouds777]

Thats great! I raise my chickens for eggs only. We dont eat the birds. (they are like pets to us) but I was wondering...What do you do if you hatch a bunch of roosters out? Simply sell them?

[GloVermont2]

Good question. It'm researching if there is a scientific answer to that. What I know is that I've been hatching eggs since childhood and there always seems to be way more hens than roosters hatched.

The French chefs refer to a young rooster using the term capon. There are recipes specifically for preparing capon.

[Stormclouds777]

Ok good. I hope I have a good Hen/Rooster Ratio. I dont care to keep a couple. I just dont want all roosters. lol! I already have 2, and they are huge. Thanks again for your help. Im not as worried now about the turnout. :)

[GloVermont2]

Right on. Hey I did learn that 12-14 hens per rooster is a real good ratio for a productive brood. I didn't know that before. No wonder my hens are the most productive ever. 24 hens 2 roosters!

[9899245699]

wow

[URAbunnylover2]

whoa whoa........ the egg you showed is pipping at the wrong end!!! ???? im soo confused i thought it pips at the air cell at the large end. lol at least my eggs did!!

[AlexDevoy]

i noticed that the egg that you showed us was hatching on the wrong end. it is supposed to hatch on the bigger end.  ~alexdevoy

[artidellob]

how can i tell when my eggs i have from our ckns are fertile i have tried many timesbut still see blood when i crack to eat them which of course we then dont does the dark circle when i candle it mean it is fertile or what pls help .. i would love to incubate babies thanks

[GloVermont2]

When you candle the eggs you'll see the yolk circle and a small dark area near the perimeter of the yolk will indicate a fertile egg. The best way to know for us is that we see the rooster taking care of business!

[pendulumerulez]

you have some of your facts wrong.

im sure you've had a good hatch but i have found out that 101.5 degrees and at 21 days will hatch pretty good.

[SouthWestCoast]

Thanks for the video, i used to do this with my pops back when i was like in kinder or so, but i still forgot some tips tough.

when you put the X and the O you gotta go back to the X one day and the O the next? o do you just turn it differently??

thanks and good vid.

respect always

[GloVermont2]

Right on. Actually it is recommended the eggs be turned about every 8 hours. The X's and O's just give you a visual refernce to make sure all the eggs get truned over evenly each time.

I'm sure your Pops lessons will serve you well. Good luck.

[SouthWestCoast]

Thank You

[tvshowuploader3]

HI can I buy a chicken egg from a store and use a regular light to warm the egg so it hatch is it possible? is it possible to turn back a chicken short tail like a long dinosaur tail that will be so cool can u try it please when u got another live egg? did u bought does chicken eggs from a store or farm?

[GloVermont2]

There are plenty of places to buy fertile eggs online. Also at your local farm store.

Typically eggs from the store are mass produced and NOT fertile. The chickens are kept in tight space without being able to interact naturally.

I don't think you can devolve the chicken either. Maybe some genetic engineering would be more likely.

The chicks in our videos are from eggs our chickens produced.

[HayOma14]

oooooo can u answer some of my questions?

well ok i JUST bought the exact same incubator so how well does it work and how many time did you exactly turn them a day. My incubator is in my Bathroom in a room temp area. Also will all the eggs hatch and will the water ruin my eggs also im hatching twle so how much water do you recommend i put in there ok to long thnx for listening plzzzzzzzzz write back to me im getting my eggs tommorow but by the time you read it it will be today k draggin on bye

[GloVermont2]

The little giant incubator works great. I tried to turn them 3 times a day.. Often times they got turned only two times each day. If the eggs are fertile then most should hatch. It is important to have a bit of water in the incubator. I just tried to keep the litle resevoirs in the base of the incubator filled. Usually about a half cup of water every 3 days or so.

Good luck my friend. Take care.

[HayOma14]

Thank you

[mujahid123123]

@GloVermont2 what is the size of ur incubator

and i hav a switch sys to sontroll temp but i hav no source to note humidity doest it matters i used to place abt one glass of water under base the capacity of my inc is 100 eggs

[sweetlucy241]

thanks for this vid, been the most informative Ive seen yet :)

[scalptaker]

i live in the city, and i want to hatch chicks.were do i buy the fetilized eggs?

[GloVermont2]

There are many egg brokers online. I did a google search.

We started our chickens when we first bought 20 little chciks from our local farm feed store. The chicks we hatched from their eggs,

Hope the info helps.

[dillonyosten]

Cool! One last question, did some chickens of your's lay these, or did you purchase the eggs fertilized?

Thanks!

[GloVermont2]

Hi dillonyosten,

Yes, all the eggs were laid by our chickens, Our rooster crowing video shows Leon the ladies man with some of his hens. Take care. We appreciate your interest and sincere questions.

[dillonyosten]

Awesome! Out of all the eggs in the incubator, how many of them actually hatched?

[GloVermont2]

11 of the 16 eggs hatched. You can see them in our follow up videos to this one. Take care. We'll check your channel out.

[shalifm1995]

it takes 5 mintutes to complete bufferig..

[GloVermont2]

Yah - maybe on dial-up at 14.4 bps lol.

I test this stuff on my fred flintstone pc :)

It statrs playing on my system in less than 10 seconds. Furthermore. I'm using a satellite broadband connection on my ol gateway pc purchased 5 years ago that buffers this video in 2 minutes 46 seconds. The duration of the video is 3:13 thus within ten seconds of access it plays through unabated.

[willmanhi1]

aah i want to do this really baad, chicken eggs arent too exspensive either, also i can get an incubate rfor quite cheap considering its my 1st time:D

i cant wait to see them hatch!:D

[richardclaxtoncni]

Interesting and informative

Best wishes Richard

[Thomidnight19]

Awe he's still not strong enough to break out, but hes conscious that hes in the egg, must be scary.

[yinghonghaohan319]

cool!

could you do a video on varmit prevention?

I've been having problems with racoons and weasels lately.

really po'd about it

thanks.

[GloVermont2]

The best way to protect them is to have a secure place for them to roost at night. We have a steel cargo container for ours. We were leaving them out at night until we lost one to a predator this summer.

The new chicks needed to be shooed inside a few nights. After a couple of nights they become conditioned. Now they all go inside at about 8 pm. Then we close the doors till morning. Now if a fox wants a free meal he'll need a cutting torch haha!

[yinghonghaohan319]

I lost at least 6 hens this summer to a weasels and racoons ;-(

such a shame...

I have only one surviving hen which I bring back in the house before sunset .. (I put her in the same cage that she grew up in as a chick )

I need to varmit proof the coop, when I have time, before raising a new group of chickens