Hatch your own eggs — and get it right the first time.

Set a forced-air (fan) incubator to 99.5°F (37.5°C) for chicken, duck, quail, goose and turkey eggs. A still-air incubator with no fan should read 101–102°F at the top of the eggs, because air layers by temperature. Always check with a second calibrated thermometer at egg height.

Chicken eggs take 21 days, most ducks 28 days, Muscovy ducks 35 days, Coturnix quail 17–18 days, Bobwhite quail 23–24 days, turkeys 28 days and geese 28–33 days. Small eggs, warm incubators and fresh eggs hatch slightly early; cold or old eggs hatch late.

For chicken eggs, keep 40–50% relative humidity for days 1–17, then raise it to 65–70% for lockdown on day 18. Duck and goose eggs need more (about 55–60%, then 65–75%). The real goal is for each egg to lose roughly 12–14% of its weight by lockdown, which you can confirm by candling the air cell.

Turn eggs at least 3 times a day, ideally 5, and use an odd number so the eggs don't rest on the same side two nights running. Stop turning at lockdown, 3 days before the expected hatch (day 18 for chickens). An automatic turner handles this for you.

Lockdown is the final 3 days of incubation. You stop turning, raise humidity, and keep the lid closed until the chicks have hatched and fluffed up. Chicks are moving into hatching position and opening the lid can drop humidity fast enough to shrink-wrap them in their membranes.

We recommend the Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 for most first-time hatchers. It turns eggs automatically, stops turning before hatch and lets you add water without opening the lid. For a smaller budget, the APDOE 12-egg and VEVOR 12-egg incubators cover the same essentials. All were in stock when we re-checked on October 6, 2026.