Have you ever wondered if you could hatch a chicken from an egg you bought at the grocery store? While it may seem impossible with some knowledge and effort you actually can hatch a healthy baby chick from a store-bought egg! In this article, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process and provide tips to increase your chances of success.
Can Store-Bought Eggs Be Hatched?
The short answer is yes, it is possible to hatch chicks from store-bought eggs. However, there are a few important caveats
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Store-bought eggs are not fertilized, so you would first need to acquire fertilized eggs. This can be done by purchasing freshly laid fertilized eggs from local farms or breeders.
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The storage and transportation conditions of store-bought eggs are not ideal for embryo development. The eggs have been refrigerated, which can damage embryos.
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Store-bought eggs have been washed, removing the protective cuticle layer. This makes the shells more porous and embryos more susceptible to bacteria.
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The breed and quality of store-bought eggs is uncertain. Hatchability is improved when using eggs from known, healthy breeder flocks.
So while it’s not impossible, the odds of successfully hatching healthy chicks from supermarket eggs are low. It’s best to acquire quality fertilized eggs from reputable sources.
How to Hatch Chicks from Store-Bought Eggs
If you’re able to source viable fertilized eggs, follow these steps for the best hatching success:
1. Choose an Incubator
You’ll need an incubator to hatch the eggs. There are two main types:
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Still-air incubators: These maintain temperature and humidity but don’t circulate air. They’re more affordable but require diligent monitoring.
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Forced-air incubators: These actively circulate warm air around the eggs and regulate temperature, humidity, and ventilation. They’re more expensive but offer better hatch rates.
For beginners, a still-air incubator like a Hova Bator is a good option. Make sure to get an accurate thermometer and hygrometer to monitor conditions.
2. Incubate the Eggs
Create the optimal incubating environment:
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Temperature: 99.5°F for most breeds
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Humidity: Around 50% for the first 18 days, then increased to 65%
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Ventilation: Circulation is needed to provide oxygen and expel waste gases
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Egg rotation: Tip eggs at least 3 times per day up to day 18
Maintain these conditions consistently throughout incubation for best results. Monitor and adjust as needed.
3. Candle the Eggs
Around day 7 of incubation, candle the eggs by shining a bright light through them. This allows you to see inside and identify any infertile or non-viable eggs. Remove any eggs that are not developing.
Candle again around day 14 to monitor embryo growth. Look for a network of veins and a dark mass that is the chick.
4. Prepare for Hatching
On day 18 of incubation:
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Increase humidity to around 65%
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Stop turning the eggs
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Make a “hatching tray” by lining an incubator tray with paper towels
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Move the eggs to the hatching tray, flat end up
This signals to the chicks that it’s time to hatch. Keep humidity high and leave the incubator closed until hatching finishes.
5. Assist Chicks if Needed
Most chicks hatch unassisted after 21 days of incubation. But some may need help, especially if incubating store-bought eggs.
Signs a chick needs help:
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Pipping but hasn’t progressed in 24 hours
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Distressed sounds or bleeding
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Still partially in shell after 48 hours
Refer to detailed hatching assistance guides before assisting chicks. Only intervene if absolutely necessary.
6. Care for Newly Hatched Chicks
Once hatched, move chicks to a brooder with food, water, and heat. Monitor chicks closely and address any issues like pasty vent or splayed legs right away. Maintain a brooder temperature of 95°F for the first week.
With diligent incubation, assistance if needed, and proper brooder care, you can raise healthy chicks from store-bought eggs! It takes time and dedication, but can be a fun and rewarding experience.
Tips for Hatching Success
Here are some additional tips to help improve your odds:
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Start with quality fertilized eggs from proven breeders
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Use an incubator/hatcher designed for hatching eggs
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Maintain proper temperature, humidity, ventilation
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Sanitize equipment and wash hands before handling eggs
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Candle eggs regularly to monitor development
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Don’t intervene too soon if help is needed
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Follow best practices for hatching egg care
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Make sure to properly brood and care for chicks post-hatch
It may take a few tries to get the process right. Don’t get discouraged if your first attempts are unsuccessful. With practice and fine-tuning your methods, you’ll be hatching healthy chicks in no time!
While hatching store-bought eggs takes effort and perfect conditions, it is possible for even first-timers with the right approach. Do your research, invest in quality equipment, closely follow proven hatching techniques, and be prepared to assist struggling chicks if needed. The reward of seeing fluffy new life emerge is well worth it. With dedication and care, you can beat the odds and hatch healthy chicks from grocery store eggs.
Poor air cell position
If the air cell is not at the blunt end of the egg, a chick has too little room to turn its head and break the shell all the way around. Causes for poor air cell position include improper turning or positioning eggs on the hatching tray with the blunt end lower than the pointed end.
Opening the incubator during a hatch affects both temperature and humidity. Chicks that get chilled may stop attempting to hatch until they warm back up. Reduced humidity can dry out shell membranes, causing them to bind and limit movement.
Before we get to how to help a chick hatch, let’s recap what we know about incubation humidity.
During incubation, the drier the air inside the incubator, the quicker moisture will evaporate from eggs through their shells. The moister the air, the more slowly moisture evaporates from the eggs. For a successful hatch, moisture must evaporate from eggs at just the right rate.
At a too-low incubation humidity, embryos in the early incubation stage may stick to the shell membrane and die. Those that continue to grow may be small and too weak to pip, may pip and not hatch, or may crack the shell all the way around but be unable to free themselves before the membrane dries out. Low humidity will result if the surface area of the water container is too small, or the water gets coated with fluff, preventing evaporation and causing humidity to plummet.
At too-high humidity, the air cell may remain too small to provide enough oxygen, suffocating the chick. Or the shell membrane may be too rubbery for the chick to punch through. In both cases, the chick has no chance to pip. High incubator humidity can be caused by high ambient humidity or poor incubator ventilation.
Dont worry about short term variations in humidity; its the average humidity over the incubation period that needs to be right to achieve a successful hatch. The Incubation humidity guide provides more details.
The ‘Help Out’ Guide
The consensus among backyard chicken keepers is that you should not assist a chick hatching, but many people do if incubation hasn’t been optimal.
In this guide, Gail Damerow will help us to understand why a chick can’t always make it out on its own, why it’s not usually a good idea to intervene, and if you do decide to assist, how to help a chick hatch.
Help-out is a term used to describe an about-to-hatch incubated chick that can’t get free of the shell without assistance. A chick may fail to free itself of the shell for many reasons. They include chick strength, chick position, air cell position, disrupted hatch, and improper incubation humidity.
A chick that successfully frees itself from the shell becomes exhausted from the effort. Sometimes a chick is simply not strong enough, getting exhausted before it completes the task.
An about-to-hatch chick should have its head under its right wing, ready to break through the shell membrane into the air cell. A chick with its head under its left wing or between its legs cannot turn its head to break around the shell. Reasons for malpositioning include high incubation humidity, pointy end of the egg higher than the blunt end during incubation, or eggs still being turned while the bird tries to reposition before hatching.
What Exactly Is An Egg Yolk?
FAQ
How to make a baby chicken from an egg?
In order for an egg to hatch into a chick, it must have been fertilized and either been incubated or had a hen lay on the eggs to grow the embryo from cells to a chick. As an aside, even if an egg has been fertilized, it must stay at a temperature of 99-101 for 21 days in order to develop from cells into a chick.
Can you make a chick from a store-bought egg?
It’s not impossible to hatch fertilized eggs from Trader Joe’s — it’s just very unlikely, even with a proper incubator. People who have posted videos of themselves hatching eggs from the grocery store may be the rare success story, or they could be faking it.
Can you help a baby chicken out of its egg?
Should I Help a Chick Hatch? If at all possible, NO! Healthy chicks will be able to hatch all by themselves. It may take time, and it will be hard to be patient and watch the chick struggle, but the hatching process is essential for healthy, strong hatchlings. Chicks don’t need help hatching.
How to make a baby chick from an egg without an incubator?
What are alternative methods to incubate bird eggs? Use a small plastic bottle. Make small holes at regular intervals. Add some chopped wood. Mark the exterior of each eggshell with a marker. Place them at suitable intervals and screw the lid. Place it in a sunny spot. Rotate the eggs every few hours.