There's a reason they say don't count your chickens before they hatch. A chicken egg incubator helps increase your chances by ensuring optimal conditions for hatching baby chicks from eggs. Egg incubators offer control over temperature and humidity, and they often produce higher hatch rates than naturally hen-brooded eggs. Modern incubators for eggs range from simple models to high-tech automated and programmable designs. Choose egg incubators equipped with a variety of features to suit your needs, including:
Temperature control: Some come with a factory-preset temperature, while others are adjustable to suit different egg types or hatch stages
Humidity control: Monitors and adjusts the humidity to keep it within optimal range
Automated egg turning: Turns the eggs automatically, so you don't have to
Fans: Help ensure even heat distribution and good airflow
Alerts: Let you know if temperature or humidity are out of the desired range
Most chicken egg incubators include a digital display that shows the temperature and humidity, and some allow you to program them for automated egg turning, as well. Many can be used to incubate other types of bird eggs, too, including eggs from ducks, geese, turkeys, and more.
Chicken eggs need to be in incubator for approximately 21 days. You should start to see signs of hatching around day 21, but it may take a few more days for all your chicks to emerge. Most experts recommend leaving chicks in the incubator until they are fully hatched, fluffy, and dry.
Chicken egg incubators are temperature- and humidity-controlled enclosures that create an ideal hatching environment. Using an incubator to hatch eggs can result in healthier development and higher hatch rates. Many models feature helpful features like automatic egg turning, advanced environmental monitoring, and failsafe alerts to optimize the entire process, too.
Egg incubators really do work for hatching, resulting in high hatch success rates when properly used. Designed to simulate the conditions of a mother hen, they offer more predictability and control over the process. Just be sure to follow all the instructions for your particular incubator and check on your incubating eggs often.
Eggs should be turned often during incubation, but only for the first 18 days. Most experts recommend turning chicken eggs three to five times a day for healthy development. You can set a timer to alert you every 5-8 hours, or choose an incubator that turns the eggs automatically.