7 Incubation Supplies for Hatching Eggs at Home
Hatching eggs at home? Our guide covers 7 essential supplies, from the incubator to the candler, to help you ensure a successful and healthy hatch.
There’s a unique quiet in the house on day 21, broken only by the faint, rhythmic peep coming from inside the incubator. It’s a sound of anticipation, signaling that the delicate process of turning eggs into living, breathing chicks is reaching its climax. Successfully hatching eggs at home isn’t about luck; it’s about having the right equipment and a solid plan from day one.
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Essential Gear for Hatching Chicks at Home
Hatching eggs is a complete process, not just a single event. It begins with creating a perfectly stable environment for development and ends with providing a safe, warm home for fragile new life. Simply buying an incubator isn’t enough. You need a full system: tools to monitor the eggs, a brooder to house the chicks, and the right supplies to keep them healthy.
Investing in a reliable set of supplies from the start prevents frantic last-minute trips to the farm store and protects your investment in fertile eggs. Each piece of gear plays a critical role, from the incubator that mimics a mother hen to the feeder that prevents life-threatening waste and contamination. Getting this right means higher hatch rates and healthier, more robust chicks.
Incubator – Nurture Right 360 Egg Incubator
The incubator is the heart of your entire operation. Its one job is to provide a consistent, reliable environment of controlled temperature and humidity for 21 days, replacing the warmth and care of a broody hen. Any fluctuation can compromise embryo development, making the choice of incubator the most critical decision you’ll make.
The Nurture Right 360 is an ideal choice for the small-scale hatcher because it automates the most difficult parts of the job. Its automatic egg turner saves you from having to manually turn eggs multiple times a day, ensuring even development. The clear, 360-degree dome provides an unparalleled view of the hatching process, which is invaluable for learning and troubleshooting. Its digital display makes setting and monitoring temperature and humidity straightforward, removing the guesswork that plagues many cheaper models.
This incubator has a capacity of 22 chicken eggs, making it perfect for backyard flock owners. Before your first use, run it for 24 hours to ensure it holds a stable temperature. While its built-in hygrometer is good, cross-referencing humidity with a separate, calibrated hygrometer is a smart practice. The Nurture Right 360 is for the hobbyist who wants reliable results and an excellent view of the magic without the complexity of a cabinet incubator.
Egg Candler – Brinsea OvaView High-Intensity Candler
An egg candler is your window into the egg. It’s a specialized, high-powered light that allows you to see inside the shell to check for embryo development, identify hairline cracks, and remove non-viable eggs. Culling "yolkers" (infertile eggs) or "quitters" (embryos that stopped developing) is crucial, as they can rot and contaminate your incubator with bacteria, threatening the entire hatch.
The Brinsea OvaView High-Intensity Candler stands out for its powerful, cool-burning LED light. The high-intensity beam is strong enough to illuminate even dark-shelled eggs, like those from Marans or Welsummers, which can be impossible to see into with a standard flashlight. Because it’s an LED, it generates very little heat, so you can inspect eggs without worrying about cooking the delicate embryo.
This candler is battery-operated, making it portable and easy to handle without a clumsy cord. Its simple, robust design means there’s little that can go wrong. While you can try to use a phone flashlight in a pinch, it often isn’t bright enough and doesn’t create the right seal against the eggshell. The OvaView is for the hatcher who is serious about maximizing their success and wants a clear, unambiguous view of what’s happening inside each egg.
Brooder Heater – Brinsea EcoGlow Safety 600 Brooder
Once chicks hatch, they are completely dependent on an external heat source for warmth. A brooder heater replaces the mother hen, providing a safe and consistent warm spot where chicks can rest and thrive. This is not optional; a chilled chick is a dead chick.
The Brinsea EcoGlow Safety 600 is a superior alternative to traditional heat lamps. Heat lamps are a notorious fire hazard, and their constant, bright light can cause stress and picking among chicks. The EcoGlow, by contrast, uses radiant heat from a flat panel. Chicks huddle underneath it just as they would a mother hen, allowing them to self-regulate their temperature by moving closer or farther away. This is a far more natural and effective way to provide warmth.
This model is rated for up to 20 chicks and is incredibly energy-efficient, using a fraction of the power of a 250-watt heat lamp. Its height is easily adjustable to accommodate growing chicks. The primary consideration is ensuring your brooder space is free from drafts, as the EcoGlow heats the chicks, not the surrounding air. It’s the right choice for anyone who prioritizes safety and wants to create a less stressful, more natural environment for their new flock.
Chick Feeder – Harris Farms Plastic Flip-Top Feeder
A proper chick feeder does more than just hold food; it keeps the feed clean, accessible, and prevents waste. Chicks are messy—they will scratch, stand in, and poop on their food if given the chance. A contaminated food source is a primary vector for disease, so the design of your feeder matters immensely.
The Harris Farms Plastic Flip-Top Feeder is a simple, effective, and time-tested design. The flip-top lid makes refilling and cleaning a breeze, while the individual feeding holes prevent chicks from kicking bedding into their food or flicking feed all over the brooder. This design significantly reduces waste, saving you money on feed.
Made of durable, non-porous plastic, this feeder is easy to scrub and sanitize between batches of chicks. This 12-inch model is a good starting size for up to 15 chicks. As they grow, you may need to add a second one or upgrade to a larger size. This feeder is a workhorse, perfect for anyone who values practicality and cleanliness in their brooder setup.
Chick Waterer – Premier 1 Supplies 1-Quart Waterer
Clean water is the most important nutrient for a newly hatched chick. A good waterer must provide constant access to fresh water while minimizing two major risks: drowning and chilling. Chicks are clumsy and can easily fall into open water dishes, get soaked, and die from hypothermia.
The Premier 1 Supplies 1-Quart Waterer is designed specifically to mitigate these risks. Its shallow, narrow drinking trough allows chicks to drink easily but makes it nearly impossible for them to fall in and get wet. The 1-quart capacity is small enough to encourage daily cleaning and refilling—a critical practice for preventing the spread of bacteria—but large enough to supply a small batch of chicks for a full day.
The simple two-part, screw-on design is reliable and easy to clean with a bottle brush. To keep the water trough free of bedding, place the waterer on a small block of wood or a non-slip tile. This is a non-negotiable piece of equipment for any brooder, providing a safe and sanitary hydration solution for the most vulnerable stage of a chick’s life.
Brooder Bedding – Manna Pro Fresh Flakes Pine Shavings
Provide a comfortable and odor-controlled environment for your small pets with Wood Smith USA Premium Pine Bedding. These soft, absorbent, and all-natural pine shavings are ideal for rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and more.
Brooder bedding serves several functions: it absorbs moisture from droppings, provides insulation from the floor, and gives chicks a textured surface for stable footing, which helps prevent leg issues like splayed leg. The wrong bedding can be slippery, dusty, or even toxic.
Manna Pro Fresh Flakes Pine Shavings are the industry standard for good reason. These shavings are kiln-dried, which minimizes dust and aromatic oils that can cause respiratory issues in young chicks. They are highly absorbent and easy to spot-clean daily. The texture of the flakes provides excellent grip for tiny feet.
Never use cedar shavings, as their oils are toxic to poultry. Avoid flat newspaper or puppy pads on their own, as the slick surface can lead to developmental leg problems. Start with a deep layer of 2-3 inches and remove wet spots daily, completely changing the bedding every few days or as needed. These pine shavings are the safe, effective, and correct choice for virtually any brooder setup.
Starter Feed – Purina Start & Grow Medicated Feed
For the first 6-8 weeks of their lives, chicks require a complete feed with a high protein content (typically 18-20%) and the right balance of vitamins and minerals to support rapid growth. A quality starter feed is the foundation of a healthy adult bird.
Purina Start & Grow Medicated Feed is a reliable, widely available, and nutritionally complete option. It comes in a "crumble" form, which is the perfect size for young chicks to eat. The key feature of the medicated version is the inclusion of amprolium, a coccidiostat that helps prevent coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a common parasitic disease that can wipe out an entire batch of chicks, and prevention is far more effective than treatment.
If your chicks have been vaccinated for coccidiosis by the hatchery, you should use an unmedicated feed, as the amprolium will interfere with the vaccine. However, for a home hatch, the medicated feed provides a crucial layer of protection. This feed is for the flock owner who wants to give their chicks a strong, healthy start using a trusted, all-in-one nutritional solution.
Setting Up Your Brooder Before the Hatch
The single biggest mistake a new hatcher can make is waiting until hatch day to prepare the brooder. Chicks are incredibly fragile when they first emerge from the shell. They need to be moved to a pre-heated, fully stocked brooder as soon as they are dry and fluffy. There is no time to be running to the store or assembling equipment while wet chicks are waiting in the incubator.
At least 48 hours before your expected hatch day (around day 19 of incubation), your brooder should be completely set up. This means the container is clean, the bedding is in, and the heater is turned on. Use a thermometer at chick level to confirm the temperature under the heater is holding steady around 95°F (35°C).
Fill the feeder and waterer and place them in the brooder. This gives the water time to reach room temperature, preventing the shock of cold water for new chicks. Having everything ready ahead of time removes stress from the process and ensures a seamless, safe transition for your new arrivals.
The 21-Day Incubation and Hatching Timeline
Chicken egg incubation is a remarkably precise 21-day process. Understanding the key milestones helps you manage the incubator correctly and know what to expect. The timeline is a guide, not a rigid schedule; some chicks may hatch on day 20, while others might straggle in on day 22.
The process begins on Day 1 when you set the eggs in your pre-heated incubator. For the first 18 days, the automatic turner will do its job. Around Day 7-10, you can perform your first candling to check for development and remove any clear, infertile eggs. You’ll see a web of blood vessels and a small, dark embryo.
The most critical date is Day 18, known as "lockdown." On this day, you must stop the egg turning, remove the turner if possible, and increase the humidity inside the incubator to around 65-70%. This higher humidity keeps the membranes inside the shell soft, preventing the chick from getting "shrink-wrapped" and stuck during hatching. From this point on, do not open the incubator until the hatch is complete.
Monitoring Temperature and Humidity Levels
Consistency is everything in incubation. The incubator’s job is to hold two numbers steady: temperature and humidity. Even small deviations can impact your hatch rate. For the first 18 days of incubation, the target temperature for chicken eggs is 99.5°F (37.5°C) with a humidity level between 45-55%.
While most modern incubators have digital displays, it’s wise to not trust them blindly. An inexpensive, calibrated digital thermometer/hygrometer placed inside the incubator acts as a crucial backup. It allows you to verify that the incubator’s reading is accurate and that the environment is truly stable.
During lockdown (days 18-21), the parameters change. The temperature should remain the same at 99.5°F, but the humidity must be increased to 65-70%. This is the most common point of failure for beginners. Insufficient humidity during hatch can dry out the internal membrane, making it tough as leather and trapping the chick inside the shell. Follow your incubator’s instructions for adding water to achieve and maintain this higher level.
From Incubator to Brooder: Your Next Steps
The transition from the sterile environment of the incubator to the brooder is a critical moment. Don’t be in a rush to move the chicks. A newly hatched chick is wet and exhausted; it needs time to dry off and absorb the remainder of its yolk sac, which serves as its first 24-48 hours of nutrition. Leave hatched chicks in the incubator for at least 12-24 hours, or until they are completely dry and fluffy.
When you’re ready to move them, do so quickly to minimize heat loss. As you place each chick in the brooder, gently dip its beak into the waterer. This simple action teaches them where the water is and encourages them to start drinking right away. They will find the food on their own.
For the first few hours, watch them closely. Chicks that are huddled directly under the heater are too cold. Chicks that are scattered far away from the heater are too hot. Content, comfortable chicks will be spread evenly throughout the brooder, with some eating, some drinking, and some sleeping peacefully under the heater. This behavior is your best indicator that you’ve set up their new home correctly.
Hatching your own chicks is one of the most rewarding experiences in small-scale farming, connecting you directly to the cycle of life on your homestead. Success hinges on preparation and the use of reliable, purpose-built tools. With the right gear in place, you can confidently turn a carton of fertile eggs into a healthy, thriving flock.
