In these articles, I guide you through the process on all twenty-one days of the incubation cycle.
Following along, you'll know exactly what should be happening, what to do, and what you need to look out for at every stage.
Do you feel like this?
Are you excited – and at the same time terrified?
I'll let you into a secret: I was more nervous incubating chicken eggs for the first time than at almost any other time of my life. I fussed about like the proverbial mother hen, worrying about anything and everything that could go wrong.
Occasionally, when I thought I'd done everything wrong, I cried.
If you feel a bit like that, you need to know - it doesn't have to be that way!
There are very definite patterns from the start of incubation right through to hatching time. Recognising them will help you identify whether your eggs are following the right path.
Even if you're not hatching eggs yourself, it's a fascinating journey to see.
Once you've done it you'll feel euphoric, satisfied, elated, proud – and confident enough to do it all over again. I guarantee, you'll be hooked!
So join with me here and let the journey begin!
The same patterns happen no matter which chicken breeds or what size of egg you incubate. This article covers the first seven days of incubation: what's happening inside the egg, what you can expect to see from the outside looking in, and how a mother hen can act as our role model as we go through the process. |
This is a detailed page about day 21 of incubation, including information about what's happening in the egg, the different stages of a chick hatching, what can go wrong and whether it's ever right to help a struggling hatchling.
Part of my short email course on navigating the critical stages of incubating.
The most popular, frequently asked questions from the basics of what incubating is to the technicalities of temperature and humidity levels, using broody hens and the equipment you'll need.
Whether you're intending to incubate and hatch your own chicks, or you've already started, these questions are bound to be those you'd want to ask, too.
If you're thinking of hatching your own chicks you might like to join my more detailed 28-day "hatching club". It's a day-by-day guide to how to plan and what to expect. It explains the process with text, videos, images - and there's a private Facebook group where you can ask questions and post pics of your own brood. |