How to Make Money Hatching Eggs

Egg hatching may appear difficult, but in fact, it all depends on timing and a tiny little bit of discipline. Most of us don't realize that waiting for a paycheck takes one month but we do realize that waiting for an egg may take only 21 days etc. In other words, difficult roads lead to a beautiful destinations. Hatching eggs is not a highway and needs a certain degree of patience as well as passion! 

If you have been collecting eggs for eating you might be used to collecting them once a day. However, if collecting eggs for breeding, it is a good idea to collect your eggs twice or even three times a day. This ensures that the eggs don’t get dirty and that the hen doesn’t accidentally start them developing by sitting on them.

When you collect the eggs from the nest box you should be very careful not to jar, bang or crack them. This can damage the membrane and internal parts within the egg itself. You should also take care not to leave them in the sun or in the cold. It might sound quaint but collecting your eggs in a basket with some straw in the bottom will help keep them safe and stop them from rolling around or cracking. You should also make sure that your hands are clean when handling the eggs so that you don’t pass on any bacteria. The best way to do this is to use anti-bacterial wipes.

You can store fertile eggs for up to 7-10 days before incubating them. You should try to keep them between 12 degrees C and 15 degrees C in a drought-free place. This slows down the cell division and ensures that the eggs don’t lose too much moisture through their shells. Regardless of how keen you are to get started, you must wait at least 24 hours before starting to incubate an egg because otherwise, it might not hatch. While you store them you should ensure that the eggs are turned every day. The easiest way of doing this is to store your eggs in an egg box or egg tray with the sharp end of the egg pointing downwards. You ‘turn’ them by tilting the tray or box to one side using a block of wood under one side. Simply move the block of wood to the opposite side each day and it will keep the eggs in good condition.

The temperature inside an incubator is the perfect temperature for breeding chicks but unfortunately, it is also the perfect temperature for breeding bacteria too. However, you should avoid over-cleaning your eggs because this tends to remove both the dirt and the outer cuticle from the egg as well. This can leave the egg at greater risk from bacterial contamination in the future.

How to choose the right egg incubator for your needs

Let's face it, buying an egg incubator is not something you do every day! Most of our clients are first-time buyers and many questions are usually asked regarding what they should look out for and what size incubator they should buy. Below is some important information you need to take into account when making your decision.

How many eggs do you want to hatch at a time or per month?

It's important to decide how many eggs you would want to hatch at a time or per month. This will determine what size incubator will be suitable for your needs. It's also important to take into account that you will more than likely need more incubation space as you grow your flock - so don't buy too small at the beginning. 

Some examples of Egg Incubators: 
(Link to full description on Amazon)

Homdox Egg Incubator; Fully Automatic Egg Incubators 12 Eggs Poultry Hatching with Egg Turning

Mini 7 Egg Incubator; One of the smallest and cheapest incubators on the market. The success hatching rate is around 50%

72 Eggs Incubator; Larger scale incubator, Suitable for chickens, ducks, geese, and other poultry, quail, parrot, pigeons and other birds.

Estinl brand egg incubator; Although made in China, it's one of the best egg incubators. Steady temperature keeper for 56 eggs. 

24 Eggs mid size incubator; Equipped with candler, LED, and high precision temperature controller. One of my favorites. 

R-Com MX 20 egg incubator; Let's say this, this incubator is the Ferrari among incubators. The price is like a Ferrari too by the way. However, just push the button and this incubator will take care of the rest. 

What is the ideal temperature for hatching chicken eggs? 

The temperature should be kept between 100-102° throughout the entirety of the incubation period. Keep in mind that as the chicks grow, and the larger they become inside the egg, the more heat they will produce. After day 17, it is important to keep an eye out for surges in temperature and quickly respond. Quickly turn the temperature down and spray the eggs with water to cool them. Temperature spikes can be detrimental to the chicks.

Turning Eggs During Incubation

If the incubator does not have an automatic egg turner, and the turning is done by hand, then they ideally should be turned at least 4 times a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bed. It is an easy process to turn them: the X is up one turn and the next turn the X is down. This is done to prevent the developing chick from sticking to the side of the egg.

But the moment the egg is set in the incubator or under a hen…life begins. (This is just an example for hens, it works for Ducks, Turkeys, Guineas, etc. The only difference is the length of the entire incubation process)

FIRST DAY

16 Hours: First sign of resemblance to a chick embryo

18 Hours: Appearance of the alimentary tract

20 Hours: Appearance of the vertebral column

21 Hours: Beginning of formation of the nervous system

22 Hours: Beginning of formation of the head

23 Hours: Appearance of blood islands–vitelline circulation

24 Hours: Beginning of formation of eye

SECOND DAY:

25 Hours: Beginning of formation of the heart

35 Hours: Beginning of formation of ear

42 Hours: Heart begins to beat (TWO days and the heart is beating! WOW!)

THIRD DAY

50 Hours: Beginning of Formation of amnion

60 Hours: Beginning of formation of nose

62 Hours: Beginning of formation of legs

64 Hours: Beginning of formation of wings

70 Hours: Beginning of formation of allantois

FOURTH DAY Beginning of formation of tongue

FIFTH DAY Beginning of formation of reproductive organs and differentiation of sex

SIXTH DAY Beginning of formation of beak and egg-tooth

EIGHTH DAY Beginning of formation of feathers

TENTH DAY Beginning of hardening of the beak

THIRTEENTH DAY Appearance of scales and claws

FOURTEENTH DAY Embryo turns its head toward the blunt end of the egg

SIXTEENTH DAY Scales, claws, and beak becoming firm

SEVENTEENTH DAY Beak turns toward air cell

NINETEENTH DAY Yolk sac begins to enter the body cavity

The TWENTIETH DAY Yolk sac is completely drawn into the body cavity; embryo occupies practically all the space within the egg except the air cell!

TWENTY-FIRST DAY Hatching of chick!

And during this whole process of development, you are instrumental in keeping the proper humidity and temperature and the eggs turned throughout each day.

Please always remember to ship your eggs timely

Use a fast shipping time for optimal hatch rate. When shipping hatching eggs, keep in mind that the more egg ages the less likely it is to hatch successfully. For best results, gather the eggs from the nests and have them shipped within a couple of days. I have had some success with eggs held longer, but the fresher the better.

Conclusion of hatching eggs for profit

Breeding chickens for-profit and hatching eggs to sell day-old chicks may not be all it’s cracked up to be for everyone or every situation, but it may be something you will love and it may be a great fit for your situation!

The most important aspect of expanding any business or looking into new markets of profit is to do the important and necessary research before jumping in. There have been many ideas that I thought were brilliant and I thought they would help us expand and save money, but when I did the legwork and research, I found out that in reality, it was a horrible idea and would have cost much more than it would have saved us in both time and money.

The good news is that starting a hatching business doesn’t require a large investment and it could be started small to get a feel for the market in the area. And if it doesn’t work out, it can easily be stopped without any repercussions.