Article Archive

Before you ever get your first eggs you should know what comes next. There are three methods to choose from when it comes to incubating eggs and raising chicks: Natural incubation by the hen, incubation by a foster hen, and artificial incubation in an incubator.

Most pheasant species will hatch their own eggs if given proper care and an environment that makes them feel comfortable. I have had Golden, Lady Amherst, and Gray Junglefowl successfully hatch their own eggs. Allowing the hen to incubate her own eggs is the most natural method of incubation, and high hatches of excellent chicks can be the result if everything goes well. Natural incubation is not the best method for everyone, though, because it requires a properly designed aviary and hen will stop laying eggs as soon as she develops a large enough clutch to start sitting on.

In order to have a hen successfully incubate her own eggs a number of factors must be controlled. First, she has to have an area to nest where she and her eggs will not be hurt by bad weather, predators, or an aggressive cock bird. I have been successful giving hens nesting boxes that are 12" tall, 12" wide, and 18" long. The opening is on a 12"x12" side, and a 3" lip is added on the bottom to keep the straw bedding from falling out.

The second thing that needs to be done is to make the aviary chick proof. Day old chicks can run right through 1" chicken wire. When the hen is startled, she will scatter her chicks everywhere and they will escape if the pen isn't built appropriately. The bottom 18" or more of the pen should be 1/2" hardware cloth or a solid barrier. There should also be adequate shelter to protect the hen and her chicks from rain and cold weather. One rainstorm can kill newborn chicks if they don’t have a place to get dry.

Allowing the hen to hatch her eggs can be a lot of work, but if successful it will produce excellent hatch rates and healthy chicks. All nine of the eggs I let my Gray Junglefowl incubate last year hatched, but I had to brood the chicks myself because the pen wasn't build with natural incubation in mind.

Foster hens can be used to incubate game bird eggs. Most bantam chickens, especially silkies and cochins, make excellent broodies. The advantages of using foster broodies include getting the high hatch rates and healthy chicks associated with natural incubation while getting more eggs from breeder hens.

Do not wait until the first eggs have been laid to get your foster hens in shape. Foster hens must be in very good health so that they can sit on the eggs during the entire incubation process and so they won't pass any parasites or diseases on to the chicks. Foster hens are also reluctant to go broody without any eggs to sit on. Only older hens that are laying should be used. Allow a few eggs to accumulate in their nest and observe which hens stay on the nest. If a hen spends most of her time on the nest, carefully move her to a separate location. It may be a good idea to use the same nest with the hens for laying that will be used for sitting so that the whole nest with the hen and eggs can be moved. If the hen continues to spend her time on the nest for a few days she is probably serious and her eggs can be replaced with the new game bird eggs. Allow her a few minutes every day to get off the nest to eat, drink, and defecate.

With careful management, foster hens will produce excellent hatches. The hen can be left to hatch the eggs herself, or they can be transferred to an incubator for the last few days. If the hen hatches them herself she can also be allowed to brood the chicks, or they can be artificially brooded.

Using a modern incubator is the most common way to hatch eggs. Incubators are designed to simulate the environment underneath a hen. Whether the incubator will hold four eggs or forty thousand, it must be able to supply, either by itself or with your help, heat, humidity, air circulation, and turning.

Heat is produced by a heat element and is regulated by a thermostat. Thermostats are either the wafer type or an electric thermostat, which is more accurate and reliable. A backup thermostat should be included to keep the eggs from getting too hot if the main thermostat fails. Eggs should be incubated at 99.5-99.75 degrees Fahrenheit. A couple days before the eggs are due to hatch, the temperature should be dropped around a degree because the chicks in the eggs are producing heat on their own.

Putting pans of water in the incubator controls humidity and adjusting the surface area of the water to control the rate of evaporation or adjusting vents in the incubator to control the rate humidity escapes. There are a few electric devises that will automatically control the humidity.

Smaller incubators are what are known as "still air" machines because they rely on the convection of hot air to bring in fresh air. "Forced air" incubators have a fan that circulates air through the incubator and keeps the temperature even throughout the machine. Whether you are using a still air or forced air machine, there should be vents to allow fresh air to enter the machine because the developing embryo inside the egg needs oxygen.

Eggs need to be turned a minimum of three times a day to keep the yoke from sticking to the eggshell. Automatic turning devises come with some incubators, but others will need to be turned by hand. To turn eggs by hand, mark one side with a pencil and put a different mark of the other side (ex: a + on one side and a - on the other). Open the incubator three times a day and turn the eggs 180 degrees. Eggs being incubated with an automatic egg turner should be placed in with the small end down. Stop turning eggs a couple days before they are due to hatch.

Incubators allow a breeder or hobbyist to hatch a lot of eggs with out having to take care for a large flock of foster hens. They probably won't give as good of a hatch as natural incubation and incubators are subject to power outages and mechanical failure, but they generally provide easy use and good results. Always follow the incubator manufacturer's instructions.

Terms:
Brood: raising chicks and keeping them warm.
Broody: when a hen decides to incubate her eggs or brood chicks.
Clutch: the number of eggs a hen can incubate at one time.
Forced air: an incubator with a fan to circulate air and regulate temperature.
Incubation: the process of an egg developing into a chick.
Still air: an incubator without a fan that relies on convection for air circulation.

Article submission is super-easy and is a great way to show off your writing skills. When you submit an article we will add it to our newsletter circulation; the newsletter archive on our site, and possibly other sites as well!

The article will always be published with your information (your name and site address if submitted)  so you get all the credit.

Please note that we  cannot compensate you in any way other than giving you some exposure.