Egg incubation & poultry keeping guides

21 days, step by step: turning, candling, lockdown and hatching, with the right temperature and humidity.

The hatch rate and fertility rate formulas, with a concrete example and good benchmarks by species.

Fertility, temperature, humidity, turning, storage… the common causes of a failed hatch and how to fix them.

17 to 18 days for Japanese quail: day-by-day calendar, conditions and the quirks of small eggs.

28 days for Pekin, 35 days for Muscovy: calendar, candling, lockdown and waterfowl specifics.

28 to 30 days for geese: calendar, candling, lockdown, cooling and handling large eggs.

28 days for turkeys: day-by-day calendar, candling, lockdown and brooding poults.

Candle on day 7 then day 14 to spot fertile eggs and remove the clear ones.

37.5 °C forced-air, 45 to 55% humidity, raised to 65 to 75% at lockdown.

Under 7 days, pointy end down, 12 to 15 °C, tilted daily, never washed.

Everything to hatch under a hen in 21 days.

What to record and how to spot a laying drop.

The risks of inbreeding and practical strategies.

From incubator to chick: everything a beginner needs to know for a first successful hatch.

Molt, short days, age, stress or broodiness: the 8 causes of a laying stop and how to fix them.

Brooder, week-by-week temperature, feeding and going outside: getting the chicks' first weeks right.

Eggs per year, top breeds, colored eggs and how many hens to choose for a family.

Feed basics, safe scraps, toxic foods, calcium and daily amounts.

Southern hemisphere timing, humidity for tropical and dry climates, and how to keep an incubator steady through an Australian summer.

Can you do it without a machine? The honest answer, the one method that really works, and what an egg needs to survive 21 days.