This guide draws on our ebook "From Egg to Hen" (latest edition), free with every incubator: choosing your eggs, the 21 days of incubation, hatching, then the chick's first weeks all the way to the coop.
Enter your species, your incubator and the date you set the eggs: Dural's works out your key dates (candling, moving to the hatcher, hatching) and the settings for each stage. You can then download your schedule.
Indicative dates based on the settings in our ebook. Your incubator's manual remains the reference. Remember: one incubator, one species at a time.
Even the best incubator can't rescue a poorly chosen egg. Three criteria, no exceptions: the egg must have been fertilised by a cockerel (which rules out almost all supermarket eggs), be less than 10 days old (ideally 3 to 7 days after laying), and have a sound, smooth shell.
Where do you find fertile eggs? From a local farmer (the safest and cheapest option), from breed-specific specialist sites, through classified ads (watch out for scams), or by keeping your own cockerel. If your eggs arrive by post, let them rest for 24 hours at room temperature, point-down, before setting them in the incubator.
Hold each egg up to the light: overly long, calcified, pierced, misshapen, hairline-cracked, soiled, too round, stained or wrinkled. A soiled egg should be brushed dry with a toothbrush: never wash it with water, as that destroys the cuticle that protects it from bacteria.
Choose a stable room between 18 and 20 °C (64 to 68 °F), out of direct sun and draughts. Clean the incubator with clean water (never bleach or a harsh detergent), then plug it in several hours before setting the eggs: they should arrive in an environment that has already settled.
When should you start a hatch? It's possible all year round, but your first hatches are best in spring, from March to May: that's easy mode. Mild temperatures, long days, and a move outdoors in the warmer months. Allow roughly 6 months between the fertile egg and the first eggs laid: a hatch started in mid-March gives pullets that come into lay around mid-September.
Each day, three quick checks are enough: the temperature and humidity on the display, the turning working (a faint sound every 1 to 2 hours), and the water level, topped up through the filling port with lukewarm water.
Strictly avoid: opening the lid fully, moving or shaking the incubator, changing settings "just to see", or candling before D6. In a power cut, keep the incubator closed: an embryo can survive several hours of gradual cooling. Beyond 12 hours, the hatch is probably compromised.
Hygiene makes the difference. A simple routine (washing with lukewarm water and mild soap, disinfecting with white vinegar diluted 50/50, never neat bleach, leaving the incubator open for 24 hours after each cycle) is, over time, what separates a 30% hatch rate from an 80% one.
The egg candler, built into our incubators, lights up the inside of the egg. On the 8th day, keep it brief: 5 minutes at most for the whole clutch.
On the 14th day (optional), a live egg has turned mostly dark, with a clear air cell of around 20% of the volume. Signs of death: a floating red ring, a tiny embryo surrounded by clear areas, or a dark "soup" look that signals contamination — remove it at once.
On the 18th day, the incubator becomes a hatcher. Three quick moves, lid open for under 2 minutes: stop the turning, take out the rollers and lay the eggs loose, lower the temperature to 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) and raise the humidity to 65-75% by filling every reservoir.
Hatching spreads over 24 to 48 hours, sometimes as late as the 23rd day for the stragglers. The chick pips the shell with its egg tooth, turns a full 360°, then works its way out: this can take up to 12 hours, and that's normal.
Once hatched, the chicks dry off for 12 to 18 hours in the incubator. They can happily stay there for up to 72 hours thanks to the yolk reserves absorbed before hatching. Move them to a brooder preheated to 35 °C (95 °F) as soon as they're dry and lively, then leave the incubator open for 24 hours before a thorough clean.
Ebook bonus: wing (feather) sexing can be attempted in the first 48 hours (80 to 90% reliable on suitable breeds): in females, the covert feathers are shorter than the primaries, forming two distinct rows.
Get the brooder ready by the 18th day: a closed, draught-free pen in a room above 15 °C (59 °F), about 1 m² for 20 chicks, a thick bedding of untreated wood shavings (never fine sawdust), changed twice a week. Preheat it 24 hours before they arrive.
| Week | Under the heat source | Minimum room temp |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 35 °C (95 °F) | 20 °C (68 °F) |
| Week 2 | 32 °C (90 °F) | 18 °C (64 °F) |
| Week 3 | 29 °C (84 °F) | 16 °C (61 °F) |
| Week 4 | 26 °C (79 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) |
| Weeks 5-6 | 22-24 °C (72-75 °F) | 15 °C (59 °F) |
The principle: around 3 °C lower each week, until the heat comes off at about 4-5 weeks. And the best thermometer isn't the device, it's the chicks' behaviour: spread out and calm, all is well; huddled under the source, too cold; bunched away from it and panting, too hot; packed to one side, a draught.
A chick doubles its weight in seven days. Give a "starter" feed at 18-20% protein up to 6 weeks, then a "grower" at 16% up to 18 weeks, before a calcium-rich layer feed. Never bread, leftovers or raw meat before 2 months. For water: a suitable drinker (nipple or inverted-bell type), at room temperature, changed every day. On the first day, gently dip each chick's beak in the water: a chick that doesn't drink dies within 24 to 48 hours.
At around 4 to 6 weeks, once fully feathered, the young birds move to a rearing pen: two zones (sheltered and wire-fenced), a top mesh of 50 mm maximum against birds of prey, side mesh of 10 mm against rats and weasels. First outings on dry, windless days, building up gradually. Take predators seriously: a stone marten can get through a 4 cm gap and kill 20 chicks in a single night.
Integrating them into the adult coop happens between 8 and 12 weeks, in three steps over one to two weeks: first a wire pen inside the coop so everyone gets used to each other (4 to 7 days), then supervised outings with a refuge reserved for the young birds, and finally full cohabitation, doubling up every resource (one feeder and one drinker per 6 hens maximum). The right moment for the final release: at nightfall, straight onto the perch.
Settings from the latest edition of the ebook. Golden rule: one incubator, one species at a time, because the durations and hatching conditions differ.
| Species | Duration | Incubation temp | Humidity | Move to hatcher | Hatch temp | Hatch humidity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hen | 21 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 45-55% | D18 | 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) | 65-75% |
| Quail | 17-18 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 45-55% | D14-15 | 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) | 65-75% |
| Duck | 28 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 55-60% | D25 | 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) | 70-80% |
| Muscovy duck | 35 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 55-60% | D32 | 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) | 70-80% |
| Goose | 28-34 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 55-65% | D25-30 | 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) | 75-80% |
| Guinea fowl | 26-28 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 45-55% | D24 | 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) | 65-75% |
| Turkey | 28 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 50-55% | D25 | 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) | 65-75% |
| Pheasant | 24-25 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 45-55% | D22 | 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) | 65-75% |
| Partridge | 23-25 days | 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) | 45-55% | D21 | 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) | 65-75% |
→ Swipe the table to see every column.
Ducks and geese: more porous eggs, higher humidity and daily misting from D7. Quail: small, fragile eggs, tricky to candle.
"From Egg to Hen", latest edition: 54 pages, 12 breeds compared, 15 problems solved, 20 questions answered, a printable checklist and calendar. In 6 languages, supplied with our incubators.
