Basics of Incubation for the Home Flock

Incubating eggs can be a rewarding experience for poultry hobbyists, science classes and 4-H club members. Most eggs hatched today are artificially incubated, requiring a person to monitor the environment inside an incubator to ensure that eggs receive the correct heat, air and moisture to hatch successfully. This guide provides information for the incubation of chicken eggs that can in general be applied to other poultry eggs. Table I provides examples of incubation parameters for various poultry species.