There are a variety of ways to hatch eggs. The two most common options are hatching and brooding.
Brooding
The most common and natural way of hatching a chicken egg is called brooding. This involves letting the mother hen sit on the eggs in the nest until they hatch.
Mother hens will naturally and instinctively care for her chicks after. If for any reason the hen doesn’t have the instinct to hatch, broody hens may be used. Through the brooding method, a hen can hatch around 10-12 eggs at a time.
If you don't have a broody hen, brooders (including electric hover brooders, gas brooders, radiant brooders, and battery brooders) can be used as a substitute.
A brooder generates heat that's similar to the levels of a mother hen to simulate and encourage the natural hatching process.
Incubation
If your mother hen is not feeling motherly or you don’t have a broody hen or a brooder, an incubator may be used. An incubator keeps the eggs warm until they are ready to hatch.
While there are a lot of ways you can improvise this method such as using a DIY heat lamp with a cardboard box, using a proper incubator will increase your chances of hatching most (if not all) of your eggs.
There are many types of incubators available for use at home from small incubators that hold a small batch, to large rack-based incubators for larger batches. Talk to an expert to find the best one for your needs.
Will all of your eggs hatch?
It is important to know that despite following the right methods and providing the right care, only fertilised eggs will hatch into chicks. There are many factors to consider if you're trying to improve your hatch rate. Some of those include:
- Good nutrition for the parents
- Ensuring controlled and consistent temperatures if using an incubator
- Keeping the eggs and surrounding areas clean
Understanding the conditions that are needed will increase your chances of fertilised eggs being hatched into healthy chicks.
