Incubation schedule for chicken eggs. Incubation of chicken eggs and raising chickens

Many novice poultry farmers are faced with the acute problem of incubating eggs at home. They do not have enough experience, so they make a lot of mistakes. For this reason, their chick hatchability is very low.

To get good results, every poultry farmer must not only know about the conditions for hatching chicks, but also follow the incubation regimes for chicken eggs, which vary from period to period.

This article will tell you how to properly store breeding material for incubation, what conditions need to be created in the incubator, and how many days it takes for chickens to hatch at home.

The success of incubating chicken eggs depends on how correctly the poultry farmer selects breeding material. Therefore, special attention should be paid to this point.

When selecting chicken eggs for the incubator, the following parameters should be taken into account:

The quality of the chickens from which the eggs were obtained. Breeding material must be taken from birds that differ good health and productivity. These characteristics are almost always inherited.
Eggs weighing less than 52 g should not be selected for incubation. Breeding material weighing from 56 to 63 g is considered optimal. Eggs that are too large should not be taken. The fact is that every extra gram of their weight increases the maturation time of the chicken by 40 minutes. That is, if you load eggs into one incubator different sizes with a weight range from 53 to 70 g, that is, there is a high probability that due to the mismatch of maturation periods, most of the chicks will die without being born.
When selecting eggs for the incubator, you should take into account the age of the bird that laid them. The safest age is from 1.5 to 2 years.
Eggs obtained from chickens that have been given various drugs to increase egg production should not be placed in the incubator. It is better to take eggs from birds that fed on natural food.
The shape of the eggs should be correct, with clearly defined sharp and blunt ends. There should be no obvious transition between the latter. The shell should be smooth, without holes or growths.

And now a little about why Large eggs should not be placed in the incubator:

This breeding material has too thin a shell.
The larger the egg, the lower the chances of the chick hatching successfully.
When loading the incubator with large eggs, there is little left between them. free space. This leads to impaired ventilation, which also negatively affects hatchability.

Before collecting eggs from nests, you should wash your hands thoroughly. You should pick them up with your fingers at opposite ends.

It is best to select breeding material that was laid before 18:00. It is believed that all eggs laid after this time hatch worse.

You should also ensure the cleanliness of the shell. Dirt on it can prevent air from entering the breeding material or even corrode the shell.

For novice poultry farmers, the task of selecting eggs for incubation can be greatly facilitated by a special table of parameters of incubation material. It can be found on the Internet.

Final inspection of breeding material before loading into the incubator

Visual inspection when selecting incubation material for incubation is not enough to be sure of its quality. After collection, breeding material must be examined with an ovoscope. This is a device that you can easily make with your own hands. To do this you need to take a regular cardboard box. Cut holes in its lid of such a size that the incubation material can be placed in it, but it should not fall through. Inside the box you need to place a regular incandescent lamp with a power of no more than 60 watts. It is better to use the device to inspect breeding material In the dark.

When using this device, you need to pay attention to the following points:

Availability hidden defects or shell microcracks. If they exist, then the breeding material is discarded.
The air chamber should be at the blunt end of the material. Its thickness should not exceed 4 mm. If it is more, then this means that the egg is not fresh and is not suitable for incubation.
The yolk should be located exactly in the center. The poultry farmer should turn the egg several times to ensure that the yolk has little movement. Breeding material with a highly mobile yolk is discarded.
There should be no dark spots or inclusions on the surface or inside the breeding material.

There is still no consensus among poultry farmers on how to properly store breeding material.

Some experts say that after just a few days of storage it becomes unusable, others claim that at the right temperature they can easily be stored for about a week and a half.

Based on this information, we can conclude that a storage period of 5-6 days can be considered optimal. Then, the hatchability rate of chicks will decrease significantly.

In the case when the breeding material will be stored for no more than 3 days, then it can be kept at temperatures up to 18 ° C. For longer storage, the temperature should be lowered to 12 ° C.

Air humidity in both cases should not exceed 80%. If it is lower, the eggs will begin to lose weight.

At a humidity of 80%, the incubation material will become 0.8% lighter.
At a humidity of 60%, losses will be 2.5%.

When storing breeding material for a long time, it must be turned over at least once a day.

All eggs selected for incubation should be stored in a well-ventilated area. The fact is that the shell is capable of absorbing various microelements from the air. Therefore, the cleaner it is, the better.

And again, a novice poultry farmer will be helped in the correct storage of material by the table depending on the hatchability of chicks on the shelf life of the incubation material. It can also be found on the Internet.

Disinfection

It is unlikely to be successful if dirty breeding material is placed in the incubator. This means that it needs to be disinfected. Purity- the main condition for successful hatching of chicks.

For disinfection, it is best to use a weak solution of potassium permanganate or a one and a half percent solution of hydrogen peroxide.

There is no need to bathe breeding material in these solutions. They need to moisten a soft cloth, which then wipe the shell.

Some experienced poultry farmers use bleach to clean shells. One must have concentration of 25%. Approximately 20 g of this powder is added to 1 liter of water, then each egg is given a bath in this solution for 3-4 minutes.

This procedure should be carried out no earlier than 2 hours before placing the breeding material into the incubator.

Experienced poultry farmers recommend that beginners not try to make an incubator themselves, but rather buy a ready-made solution from a specialized store.

It should be remembered that these devices differ in both price and functionality. Therefore, before making a bookmark, you need to carefully read the instructions for the device and carry out several test runs.

When choosing an incubator, you need to consider the following parameters:

Device capacity.
Possibility of automatic reversal of trays.
Presence or absence automatic control temperature and humidity.
Case material.
Quality and level of insulation.
The ability of the incubator to operate on backup power.

Before adding breeding material, all elements of the incubator must be thoroughly washed and disinfected.

The device itself is best installed in a room free from drafts, but well ventilated. Do not place it near windows and doors.

The incubator must be placed on a solid and stable base. Using the adjusting wheels on the legs, you need to level it.

After the first launch, the device must operate in test mode for at least a day. Only after this can it be used to incubate chicken eggs. Immediately before placing them inside the device, you must remember to set required parameters microclimate.

Before laying, the incubation material should be kept for some time in a room with an air temperature of 19-22 ° C.

Before you start incubating eggs, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with the temperature table. It indicates the temperature parameters of the incubator for each period of egg incubation. You can find the table on the Internet.

First of all, the poultry farmer must find out exactly what day to expect the chicks to appear. Once they hatch, they should be immediately moved into the brooder.

The average incubation time of eggs does not exceed 22 days from the moment they are laid. If the temperature in the incubator is 1-2 degrees below normal, the hatching time of the chicks will increase by a couple of days. What temperature should be in the incubator during each period will be described below.

If the chicks have not appeared on the 25th day, then there is no point in waiting further for their appearance.

Before placing the eggs in the incubator, you need to make marks in the form of a zero and a cross on their shells on opposite sides with a marker. These marks will help you determine which side to turn the trays on.

Incubation of eggs at home can be divided into 4 main periods:

Incubation of chicken eggs in the first 6 days. During this period, the humidity inside the device should not exceed 70 and fall below 60%. The temperature in the incubator for chicken eggs should be set at 38 °C. Breeding material needs to be turned over every 3-4 hours. Devices with automatic rotation using a timer can eliminate this routine work. On the 4th day, the temperature should be set to 37.5°C, and the humidity should be reduced to 55%.
This incubation period for chicken eggs lasts from 7 to 11 days. During this period, the humidity inside the incubator drops to 40%, and the temperature remains at 37.5°C.
The third period of egg incubation at home lasts from 12 to 20 days. The temperature regime is set at 37.3°C, but the humidity, on the contrary, rises to 80%. At about day 15, you can check the correct development of the eggs using an ovoscope. To quickly increase the humidity to the desired level, you can moisten the shell of the breeding material with water. For 18 days, ventilation should be turned off. maximum level. In addition, an incubator is needed 2 times a day ventilate. To do this, you need to open its doors for 10 minutes.
This period of egg incubation is characterized by the hatching and emergence of chicks. The first chicks to appear should not be taken away. They should have time to dry. For this reason chicks are taken from the incubator all at once.

If the poultry farmer made no mistakes, then all the chickens will be born within one day. This completes the incubation of chicken eggs.

As you can see, incubating eggs is not an easy process. It's not surprising that new bird keepers make a lot of mistakes. However, sometimes experienced poultry farmers also make them.

The following are considered the most common egg incubation errors:

The poultry farmer does not know the full functionality of the device.
The beginner does not store breeding material correctly.
Incubation material is not placed in the incubator correctly.
During each chick hatching period, temperature and humidity conditions are not observed.
Incorrect installation incubator.
The beginner forgets to turn the eggs.

To successfully incubate eggs at home, it is enough not to make the mistakes described above.

Incubation of chicken eggs - difficult process. It includes constant observation, knowledge of the rules for storing and disinfecting eggs, as well as the ability to use an ovoscope to select material. The incubation process consists of four stages. Each of them requires a certain air humidity and temperature regime. Often, novice poultry farmers make mistakes that subsequently lead to unhealthy and few offspring.

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Preparing eggs and equipment for incubation
To successfully breed offspring, it is necessary to prepare the starting material for incubation. To do this, you need to be able to disinfect and store eggs, know the temperature conditions and the required humidity levels.
The ability to select starting material for incubation will greatly facilitate preparation for it. For error-free selection, you should use an ovoscope.
1. 1. The first period lasts 6 days after laying. The optimal temperature is 38 degrees. Air humidity is 65 percent. On the 4th day, the temperature decreases to 37 degrees and humidity to 55 percent. Eggs should be turned every 6 hours.
2. 2. The second period lasts from the 7th to the 11th day after laying. The humidity can be reduced to 40 percent, the temperature is still 37 degrees. At this time, the chick's skeleton is formed.
3. 3. The third period lasts from the 12th to the 20th day. The temperature in the incubator is 37 degrees. Humidity must be increased to 75 percent. If necessary, you can spray the eggs with water to increase humidity. On the 15th–16th day, the development of the embryo is checked using an ovoscope. From the 18th day, ventilation should be increased; the chicken incubator is opened for 10–15 minutes once a day for ventilation.
4. 4. During the final stage, pecking occurs, followed by hatching of the chicks. First you need to wait until all the chicks have completely hatched and dried out, and only then should you open the chamber.
The hatching process lasts about a day, after which the incubation is considered complete. A chick can be considered healthy if it is active, responds to sounds, and has neat fur.

Incubation of chicken eggs in the photo

Every novice poultry farmer is interested in knowing whether microbes get into the egg? Usually, germs do not get into the egg. Eggshell has many pores, but they are reliably protected by a special shell (membrane). This is what prevents microbes from getting inside the egg.

However, if the integrity of the shell is damaged (notches, cracks, etc.), when storing eggs in unfavorable conditions (high humidity, high temperature, etc.) pathogens of various diseases penetrate into the egg.

In this regard, it is very important to select chicken eggs for incubation correctly. It is necessary to select for reproduction completely “blown” testicles, without damage to the shell.

An egg can be infected with viral or bacterial infections already in the ovary, as well as in the reproductive tract. Among the diseases, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, etc. are especially dangerous.

For proper incubation, only fertilized chicken eggs are used and only from healthy birds. Hatching eggs must be freshly laid (no later than 3-5 days after laying).

When exposed to light, a fertilized egg has a small round spot of a whitish hue on the yolk. But in an unfertilized egg, the embryo looks like an oblong spot.

The best hatching egg is considered to be an egg laid by a hen at the age of 20-24 months.

For incubation, eggs with intact, undamaged, clean, smooth, and matte shells are selected.

Hatching eggs must be examined for nutritional value. Eggs suitable for incubation contain in 1 g of yolk: vitamin A - 6-9 mcg, carotenoids - at least 15 mcg and vitamin B1 - 3-5 mcg.

The egg white should be transparent, without foreign inclusions, dense, with faintly visible hailstones.

When selecting eggs for incubation, immediately discard:

eggs obtained from young chickens;
eggs of irregular shape (elongated, round, pear-shaped, etc.);
eggs with shell defects (notches, cracks, limescale build-ups, etc.);
eggs with an air chamber located on the side or at the sharp end of the egg;
double yolk eggs.

Eggs with visible defects are not allowed for the reproduction of chickens.

Look at the photos of chicken eggs suitable for incubation:

Storing and disinfecting eggs before incubation

Storing chicken eggs for incubation has very great importance for hatching chickens. Before incubation, eggs are stored indoors at a temperature not exceeding 22 ° C for 5-6 days, no longer. The fact is that over time, biological processes occur in the egg (changes in acidity, density, etc.). These changes impair the nutritional properties and, most importantly, the hatchability of eggs.

According to the rules of incubation, if eggs are stored for more than 15 days, they are unsuitable for chicken reproduction.

Store eggs only in a horizontal position. It is recommended to turn the eggs several times during storage. Humidity during egg storage is 80%.

In order to prevent infection of embryos by pathogens of various diseases, as well as to increase the hatching of chickens, hatching eggs must be disinfected. Eggs for incubation are disinfected in separate room(disinfection chamber) at a temperature of 25-27 ° C and a relative air humidity of 70-90%.

To disinfect eggs before incubation, use 30-45 ml of formalin, 30-40 ml of water and 20-35 g of potassium permanganate per 1 m3 of chamber. The formaldehyde solution along with water is poured into a clay or enamel dishes and placed in a disinfection chamber, and then, with caution, potassium permanganate is poured into this solution. As a result of mixing these components, formaldehyde is released.

The disinfection time for chicken eggs is 30-35 minutes.

Duration embryonic development chicken life is on average 20-21 days. Believe me, this is a very important time - this is the period of formation of the health of an adult chicken.

Incubation can be natural (brooding by a hen) or artificial (using an incubator). In any case, you should not rely on a mother hen or an incubator. Without human control, chickens may be born underdeveloped, with a delayed reaction to food, sound, etc. It is recommended to cull such chickens - raising them to the size of an adult chicken is unprofitable, since such a growing chicken will soon develop diseases.

Incubation of eggs and maintenance of hatched chickens (with video)

While feeding, watering, and walking, brood hens inspect the nest. Crushed eggs and “cuff” eggs are removed from the nest and the litter is changed.

All this is done quickly: We must remember that eggs need warmth. If it is not time to return the hen, the nest should be covered with cloth.

According to the rules of incubation, the first inspection of chicken eggs under the hen is carried out on the 6-7th day, the second - on the 18-19th day. If, upon first inspection, a transparent egg is detected - a “babbler”, such an egg is unfertilized.

Eggs with visible blood vessels (fertilized eggs) are left behind for reproduction.

The eggs are placed in the incubator with the blunt end facing up.

A factor in the successful hatching of chickens is compliance with the temperature regime for incubating chicken eggs and air humidity.

From the first to the eleventh day, the incubation temperature of chicken eggs should be at 37.5 ° C with a relative humidity of 50-60%. But from the 12th day before the chicks begin to peck, the air temperature should be 37.4 °C with a humidity of about 70%.

During the incubation process, eggs in the incubator are checked using an ovoscope on the 6th, 11th and 18th days.

Check out the video “Incubating Chicken Eggs” to better understand the technology of the process:

Don't waste precious minutes when raising young animals! Conscientious management of hatched chicks is the basis for the health of adult chickens.

Be persistent, do not waste precious minutes when raising young animals, and then your adult chickens will be healthy.

We must immediately make a reservation: raising chickens after incubation from one day of age is not such a simple matter. The hassle here is through the roof. Imagine, for the first two or three days the chicken is not capable of independent life. Environment may have undesirable effects on the chick.

There is such an expression:“Know how to survive that moment when it seems that everything is already lost.” Only a self-respecting owner can survive this moment - a strong-willed, focused, patient, persistent owner who has special knowledge of poultry farming. At this moment you must firmly believe in victory. And if you have such confidence, everything will definitely work out.

In the first days, the chickens are placed in a box. At this time, the “saving straw” for them is the temperature regime: in the first six days - 35 ° C; in the second week - 30-32 °C; on the third - 25-26 °C; on the fourth - 22-23 °C.

This temperature regime is necessary for the normal growth and development of chickens. Heat depresses chickens. They drink a lot of water, they lose their appetite, and their growth slows down. At low temperatures, chickens begin to crowd together, climb on top of each other, eat food poorly and quickly weaken.

Chicks should be fed 10-12 hours after hatching. From this time on, the chickens are given water. It is very useful to feed chickens a hard-boiled and finely chopped egg, as well as fresh, non-acidic cottage cheese.

In the first 4-10 days, chickens are fed at least 8 times a day. Then the mash is fed 3-4 times a day, and at the age of more than 30 days - 3 times a day.

You need to watch your food intake. Chicks should eat the feed within 30-35 minutes. From the 5th day, gravel (particle size - 2-5 mm) is introduced into the chickens' diet.

Indicator good growth and the correct development of chickens is their live weight.

Focus on the numbers presented in the table.

Table “Chicken weight depending on age”:

Remember!
Normal healthy chicks become pullets and eventually develop into healthy layers.

The video “Incubating Chicks” shows how to care for a brood:

This process involves transilluminating the eggs with a beam of directed light, which allows the contents to be seen.

It often happens that an apparently ideal testicle has pathology. Ovoscoping minimizes the laying of eggs with internal pathology. Experienced farmers examine eggs with an ovoscope. If this special device is not available, you can use a candle, lantern or any lamp.

The eggs are ovoscoped for the first time before they are placed in the incubator. At this stage, fertilization and the presence of microcracks in the shell are determined.

Important! Eggs with cracks in the shell should not be placed in the incubator.

Signs of quality eggs:

Rejected eggs are removed, and suitable eggs are carefully disinfected and placed in the incubator. The eggs are ovoscoped again a week after laying and a third time on days 11-14.

Read more about the rules for selecting and testing eggs for incubation.

Checking the serviceability of the device

The device is run empty for the first time to identify possible defects. The incubator is running Idling within 3 days. Next, the device is washed, dried, and inspected for external damage. The doors of the device should fit snugly to the body, but at the same time open easily.

Check the operation of the fan, humidifier, heating elements, and lights of the incubator. The operation of the fan is checked by manually rotating the impeller.

Before starting the incubator, make sure that the grounding contacts are intact and that there are no foreign objects near the moving elements. The device is installed on a horizontal surface so that it does not wobble, avoiding drafts.

We talked about what types of incubators exist and how to make this device with your own hands in.

How to bookmark?

Selected eggs must be kept indoors before being placed in the incubator. Otherwise, when immersing them in a heated chamber, condensation will form. This will lead to climate disruption and the appearance of mold, which is fatal for the embryo.

Therefore, 8-12 hours before incubation, eggs are kept at a temperature of 25 ° C, avoiding drafts. It is advisable to lay chicken eggs horizontally (you can find out more about the incubation period of chicken eggs and what its duration depends on).

Then they heat up evenly. Although vertical installation is acceptable. The eggs are placed on trays in groups at regular intervals (4 hours): first large, then medium, and finally small.

Bookmark algorithm:

Warm up the incubator to the set temperature.
Treat eggs with an antiseptic or disinfect with ultraviolet light.
Distribute the eggs on the tray.
Place the tray into the incubator.
Close the device doors tightly.

Many incubator models provide automatic coup eggs If there is no such function, the eggs are turned manually 10 to 12 times a day.

Temperature, humidity and other parameters in different periods and types of incubators (tables)

The air in the device should not warm up more than 43°C. Short-term hypothermia (not lower than 27°C) or overheating of eggs (no longer than a couple of minutes) is allowed. Read more about what temperature conditions should be when incubating chicken eggs.

If the heat source is localized from above, then it is optimal to maintain 40°C at the top cover. If heating elements from all sides, then 38.5°C. The lower norm of air humidity is 45%, the upper norm is 82%. Humidity levels vary relative to the incubation period.

Important! Fluctuations in temperature and humidity slow down ontogenesis and are fraught with diseases in future chicks.

Table optimal temperature and the number of turns when incubating chicken eggs

Days	Temperature, °C	Turning over, once a day
1-7	37,8 – 38	Minimum 6
8-14	37,8 – 38	5 – 6
15-18	37,8	4 – 5
19-21	37,5 – 37,7	—

Table of correspondence between humidity and temperature during incubation

Days	Temperature, °C	Humidity, %
1-7	37,8 – 38	50-55
8-14	37,8 – 38	45-50
15-18	37,8	50
19-21	37,5 – 37,7	65-70

Standards for incubation in a foam incubator (Blitz type). The foam device differs from mechanical ones. And the technology is great too.

Day	Temperature	Humidity	Flipping	*Cooling (times minutes)**
1-3	37,8-38	65-70	At least 2-3 times a day	–
4-13	37,5-37,8	55		1 * 5
14-17	37,5-37,8	70-75		2 * 5
18-19	37,2-37,5	70-75	Shifting only	3 * 10
20	37,2-37,5	70-75	–	3 * 10
21	37,2-37,5	70-75	–	–

Watch a video about the incubation modes of chicken eggs, temperature and humidity in the incubator:

Stages of hatching by day and optimal temperature values

The entire process of incubation of chicken eggs takes an average of 20-22 days. Sometimes it takes 1-2 days longer due to the low temperature in the incubator. But you shouldn't wait more than 25 days. Conventionally, these 22 days can be divided into 4 stages:

From 1 to 7 days.
From 8 to 14 days.
From 15 to 18 days.
From 19 to 21 days.

Below are important points in different periods that you need to know.

How to maintain the necessary conditions in the device?

Temperature and humidity are monitored at least every 8 hours. If the power goes out, you need to provide another power source for the device. If this is not possible, then warm with heating pads hot water. Do not overdo it with ventilation, otherwise the shell will dry out and it will be more difficult for the chicks to hatch.

Attention! It is important to monitor ventilation, which removes the fetal respiration products and fills the air with oxygen. If the device has automatic egg turning, you must turn it off 2 days before the bite.

Common mistakes

Using an incubator without instructions.
There is no diary of observations.
Violated before laying (for details about what the storage temperature for hatching eggs should be, read, and you can find out what the storage period for raw chicken eggs is).
The size of the eggs is not taken into account when laying.
Poor quality sampling of eggs on an ovoscope.
Lack of disinfection of eggs before laying.
Contamination in the incubator.
Incorrect choice of temperature and humidity operating mode for the incubator.
Frequent and prolonged fluctuations in temperature and air humidity.
The eggs don't turn over.
Installing the device on uneven surface, in a draft.

To obtain good result It is important to follow the basic rules. And writing in diaries will help you remember to turn the eggs or ventilate the incubator. In the future, based on the records, repeated errors can be avoided. This is a troublesome business, but very entertaining.

Kira Stoletova

If you are planning to set up a business for raising broiler birds, incubating chicken eggs is the only possible way receive monthly required amount young animals Hens are not required for artificial hatching of chicks. The farmer's main task is to create the correct microclimate in the incubator.

What you need to know for successful incubation

Many novice poultry farmers think that it is enough to buy it, bring it into the house, put eggs there, and after some time the chicks will hatch, grow into healthy and beautiful chickens, as a result, it will be enough to just sell them and enjoy the wealth.

But this does not happen; in order to raise viable young animals, you need certain skills and a theoretical knowledge base. At each stage of incubation (there are four in total), unforeseen problems may arise, as a result of which the embryos die before they have time to turn into birds.

Raising chickens even in a household incubator is difficult technological process, in which the key role is given to the temperature regime:

If the incubation climate is warmer than expected, the embryos will begin to develop faster than usual, and all the chicks in the brood will turn out unnaturally small size In addition, many will experience the presence of an umbilical cord that has not yet had time to grow. By managing to reduce the heat supply in time, the situation can be saved.
If the incubator is too cold, the chicks will be born the next day after the planned date. The mobility of frozen chicks will be significantly lower than that characteristic of their relatives hatched at normal conditions content. But once they warm up, everything will return to normal.

Very strong overheating or cooling of eggs can lead to the death of embryos, so you must constantly monitor the temperature in the container and adjust it if necessary.

Humidity is also important:

If the air in the chamber is dry, pipping will occur earlier than expected, causing the chicks to weigh less than usual.
If the humidity is high, the birth of chicks, on the contrary, will be slightly delayed. And if it is also cold in the chamber, there is a risk that the hatched chicks will be glued to the shell with their skin and beaks.

When artificially hatching chickens at home, it should be taken into account that household incubators cannot always maintain the same temperature in all parts of the container, even if the instructions for the device contain different information. To ensure that all embryos develop evenly, the order of the eggs in the tray is periodically changed.

To provide in the incubator required humidity, you can install baths with water in it room temperature. If the incubation air becomes humid enough, simply covering the vessel will be enough to lower this setting when needed, so you can always move the lid a little to the side or remove it completely.

The optimal humidity for small appliances used at home is 50-65%. Its excessive increase is often accompanied by low air temperature, and when this indicator decreases, the air in the container, on the contrary, becomes excessively warm.

Requirements for incubated eggs

Incubation of goose or chicken eggs should be done only from the best samples, which should be selected and stored following special recommendations.

Weight and appearance of the shell

At home you need to take a scale and find out the mass of each egg. When breeding broiler chickens, this indicator is not the most important, but, if possible, these features should also be taken into account.

But you need to look very carefully at the shell. It will not be possible to hatch healthy chickens in an incubator if the eggs are initially big amount light and dark stains on the outer surface. As a rule, this happens if laying hens are fed with a low-quality product.

Defects identified after ovoscopy

A universal way to check chicken eggs is to illuminate them with an ovoscope. If you don’t want to spend money on purchasing a device, you can easily make it yourself using improvised materials. There are many articles, photos and videos on the Internet that show the technology.

Using a directed light beam, you can see where in the egg there is a growth, depression, crack and unwanted inclusions. Even one identified defect indicates that the starting material cannot be incubated:

If you place a cracked egg in a container, it will not be possible to raise a bird from it, since the material will lose all moisture and the embryo will die very quickly.
Specimens with a notch on the shell will lead to approximately the same thing, but there is no need to rush to reject them: you can try to get rid of the defect using starch glue.
The embryo develops incompletely and in an egg with a deformed shell.

An ovoscope can show the condition of the air chamber, indicating the freshness of the original product. When held up to light, the chamber looks like a dark spot near the blunt side of the egg; it stands out strongly against the background of the rest of the contents:

if the chamber is small, the product is fresh,
if the stain is large, the product is stale.

In the second case, the eggs are not suitable for incubation, since the embryos in them will develop very slowly.

While candling, the eggs need to be twisted on all sides. If it becomes noticeable that the yolk sharply shifts either to the blunt or to the sharp end, it means that the cord (chalaz) holding it has broken and this specimen is not suitable.

INCUBATION OF CHICKEN EGGS. STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR BEGINNING POULTRY KEEPERS.

SECRETS OF EGGG INCUBATION! Incubation modes for chicken eggs. Temperature and humidity in the incubator

INCUBATION OF CHICKEN EGGS//19-22 days. BREEDING CHICKENS

How to disinfect

Before placing the product in a container, it should be thoroughly cleaned of dirt using a rag soaked in a manganese solution. Then the eggs must be disinfected.

Industrial processing is usually carried out with formaldehyde fumes. To do this, mix formaldehyde, water and potassium permanganate in equal proportions. To process one cubic meter, it is enough to take 30 ml of each substance.

The container with the solution is quickly placed in a special chamber, where the selected eggs should already be lying. After a few seconds, as a result of a violent reaction, a caustic gas - formaldehyde - will begin to be released from the vessel. You can use a regular camera as a camera. wooden box, which has no gaps and closes very tightly. The procedure lasts approximately 30 minutes.

This method is suitable if the farmer has a large production of young animals. If the farm uses a small household incubator, you can do without formaldehyde by carrying out wet disinfection using a 30 percent aqueous solution of bleach. Immediately before placing eggs in the incubator, you need to place them in the prepared disinfectant liquid for a few minutes.

How to save eggs for incubation

For storage, you need to place the material in the cells with the blunt side up. The room where the product is planned to be stored must be clean and cool (optimal t - 18°C). In this case, air humidity should be constantly maintained in the range of 80-85%. If it is needed long-term storage, it is better to lower the temperature a little.

The maximum duration of storage of the starting material is 6 days after the hen lays it. But the fruits develop best in specimens whose age is no more than 2 days.

How to properly lay eggs in an incubator

Each incubation always begins with the placement of starting material in the trays. It can be done at any time of the day, although most farmers prefer to do it in the late afternoon.

Having taken the eggs out of cool storage, you must place them in a warm place for 1-2 hours and only then transfer them to the incubator.

Scheme of laying and chicken eggs:

Very large specimens are laid first, since the chicks hatch from them later.
after 6 hours a medium-sized product is added.
After another 6 hours there will be a turn of small eggs.

If everything is done correctly, the chicks will hatch at the same time. To simplify the process, it is better to immediately select all medium-sized eggs as starting material.

Incubation stages and temperature conditions

Before placing the product, each incubator tray must be warmed to room temperature (25-27°C).

Incubation should take place in four stages:

Stage 1 - period from 1 to 7 days,
Stage 2 - period from 8 to 11 days,
Stage 3 - the period from 12 days until the first squeak of the chicks that have not yet been born.
Stage 4 - the period from the first squeak to the peck.

Table of incubation modes for chicken eggs at home.

The table clearly shows under what conditions eggs must be incubated in order for the embryos to develop correctly. If you are afraid of forgetting something or missing an important deadline, you can create an electronic calendar on your phone and mark the time and days there to carry out the necessary procedures.

First stage

For the first 3 stages, it is necessary to keep the eggs at a temperature of 37.7 ° C and a humidity of 50% or slightly more. These days, you need to turn the eggs every 60 minutes (hens do this all the time in natural conditions).

It’s very good if your incubator model has a built-in turning function; if not, you need to open the container and carefully turn each egg over. We must always try to comply with these simple rules and the scrolling schedule in a timely manner. It is necessary to change the position of the eggs so that the embryos do not adhere to the walls of the eggs and die.

Periodically throughout the incubation period it is necessary to understand whether the embryo is developing correctly. During the first transillumination, a developed vascular network should be clearly visible, covering more than half of the surface of the yolk. The embryo itself is still hidden inside the plasma. If abnormally developing eggs or those in which the embryo is missing become noticeable, they need to be removed from the tray.

Second and third stages

From the second week, the next stage of incubation begins; these days the embryo needs the maximum amount of water. Too dry air has a detrimental effect on the development of future chicks. When exposed to light, the embryo is already visible in the egg, and the allantois has closed at the blunt end.

On the days of the third stage, good air circulation should be ensured, which will promote active gas exchange and metabolism. We must continue to monitor the progress of fetal development.

By this time, the embryo will fill almost the entire space, with the exception of the air chamber, under which (under normal conditions) a third of the egg should be allocated. At the end of the third period, the chicks will begin to squeak inside the egg and reach towards its sharp end, trying first to break through the film of the air chamber, and then the shell itself.

Fourth stage

And finally, the last, fourth stage. At this time, the chicks are ready to be born and your task is to help them with this. For easy biting, it is important to ensure that the temperature in the chamber is constantly maintained around 37.2°C, and the humidity is at least 78%. If the device has a ventilation function, you should turn it on twice a day; if not, you need to ventilate the incubator yourself (the process should last about 20 minutes). From day 18, the eggs do not need to be turned; they should always lie on their sides at a good distance from each other.

Among other things, it is important to pay attention to how the chicks squeak. With normal development of the fetus, the sound from the shell should come out even, gentle, and not too loud. If the chickens start screaming with all their might, it means they are cold.

Before hatching, the chick begins to turn clockwise and peck at the shell. For healthy young animals, this work does not amount to special labor, the shell breaks off in large pieces and after 3-4 pecks a break forms in the egg and the chick is born. If you have never seen how chickens hatch, you can watch videos on this topic, of which you can find as many as you like on the Internet.

Incubation lasts an average of 3 weeks (21 days). Chicks from eggs loaded into the device at the same time should all hatch on the same day, with a difference of several minutes to several hours. After the chicks have hatched, you need to carefully examine and select the bird.

In healthy chicks:

strong strong legs,
shiny fluff,
bulging eyes,
clear look,
short beaks.

Pets must actively move and respond to extraneous sounds. It is important to carefully examine the bellies of the chicks and check the umbilical cord for softness. If there is a noticeable slight increase in the abdomen, on which there are small dried blood clots near the umbilical cord, there is no need to rush to cull the broiler chick; in the future the situation may return to normal. The same applies to babies whose feather color is not very ideal (pale, dull).

If the chickens are very weak, they must be killed immediately. You should not waste precious time on a bad brood; it is better to pay more attention to viable individuals. The hatched lumps should be kept in the incubator until they dry, then you need to move them into a box (a box or cardboard box is suitable for these purposes).

The main mistakes of poultry farmers during incubation, which can cause high mortality of young animals, are as follows:

low quality of selected chicken eggs,
incorrect incubation mode,
too long storage of the starting material.

The main task of incubation is, taking into account all the subtleties, to create the right microclimate in which the development of embryos will occur in a timely and harmonious manner. Any device, even a fully automated one, requires constant monitoring at least 3 times a day. It should be remembered that even if you set all the parameters correctly, no one is immune from equipment malfunctions.