Can a chicken hatch from an ordinary egg? Features of hatching chickens from eggs. Stages of chick emergence

Buying chicks is more expensive than breeding them yourself. When breeding, you need to know what it is like to hatch chickens, whether birds require human help, and what are the features of this process. Knowing the intricacies of the process will allow you to promptly identify problems and eliminate them.

Incubation period

It takes 21 days from laying the eggs to hatching. It does not matter where the eggs are - under the hen or in the incubator. During this time you should not perform any actions. When the eggs are taken out from under the chicken, they become cold, which leads to the death of the embryo. The same applies to opening the incubator. When buying an incubator, it is better to choose automatic model, which performs all the necessary actions independently: turns the eggs, monitors the norm temperature regime and humidity level.

The process of development of the chick inside the shell is divided into 4 stages:

1. The first lasts for 7 days. At this time, the formation of the heart muscle occurs and circulatory system. Also at this time, all internal organs begin to form.
2. The second stage lasts from 8 to 14 days. At this time, the chick’s skeleton develops and its beak is formed.
3. The third stage is only 3 days and lasts from 15 to 18 days. At this time, motor activity of the chicks appears, they begin to make sounds. The chick squeaks, but the sound is weak.
4. The last stage lasts from 19 to 21 days. During this time, the final formation of the chick occurs, the shell becomes fragile.

Often when breeding chickens by incubation, chicks appear on day 22 or later. Such a deviation from the norm indicates non-compliance with the required temperature regime. At low temperatures, the embryo develops more slowly. Chicks born late are weak. At elevated temperatures, birds are born a little earlier. If the chicks are hatched by a chicken, they hatch on time.

The chicken always knows in which eggs the embryo is alive and in which it is dead. She throws the egg with a dead embryo out of the nest. To detect the presence of a living embryo inside the hatching egg, an ovoscopy procedure is performed on the 6th day after laying.

Signs of Hatching

There are several signs that your chicks are nearing hatching time. Already on the 19th day, sounds similar to knocking can be heard in the egg. They are quiet but distinct. This indicates that the chick is slowly beginning to peck at the shell. He also begins to make a soft squeak. To hear it, you need to put the egg to your ear. Appearance of voice good sign, which indicates that all systems and organs are fully formed. The last sign indicating that the birds will hatch in the near future is the movement of the egg, which is clearly visible on a flat surface. The formed chick moves, so the egg sways a little from side to side.

From day 19, the function of turning eggs in incubators is turned off. This is done so that the chick inside the shell takes the position from which it will be most comfortable for it to hatch. Some chicks are characterized by quiet behavior until the very moment of hatching. Some begin to behave especially actively even 5 days before they are born. Because of this, it is better to focus not on the signs, but on the timeline.

Chicks hatching

There are 5 stages in the process of hatching a chicken; it lasts about 2.5 hours, in rare cases it takes more than 3-4 hours:

1. First, a crack appears on the shell. A soft knocking sound is heard through this crack, which indicates that the chick is pecking at the shell.
2. At the next stage, a small hole appears in the shell, from which a beige beak can be seen.
3. Then the resulting hole enlarges. The hole is shaped like a belt.
4. At stage 4, the eggshell breaks. This moment is considered the moment of birth of birds.
5. On final stage After hatching, the flagellum separates from the shell.

Small chicks hatch quickly. It is not advisable to interfere in this process. If it lasts for 6-8 hours or more, do not panic. If throughout this time the chick’s motor activity remains and it squeaks, then there are no problems. Often attempts to help lead to the death of newborns.

If breeding at home occurs by incubating chicks with a brood hen, there is no need to keep the process under control. The birds independently control the process and provide assistance if necessary. If birds are bred through incubation, then from the moment the chicks begin to be born, the process is controlled. All chicks do not hatch at the same time. One chick hatches within 2 hours, while the other takes 3-4 hours. As a result of the motor activity of those chicks that have already hatched, other chicken eggs are displaced, which makes birth difficult. The chicks are carefully transferred to the brooder.

It is impossible to predict the time of birth of chicks. This happens both at night and during the day.

Assisting with hatching

It is not advisable to rush to help hatching chicks under a hen or in an incubator. If the chicks have not begun to hatch on time, it is forbidden to make a hole in the chicken egg and look at the condition of the individual. If activity does not appear on day 25, the embryos are dead. The reason for this lies in non-compliance with the temperature regime during incubation.

Sometimes poultry farmers begin to help the chicks free themselves from the shell. During the hatching process, the chick's vessels are still connected to the shell. Their disconnection occurs already at last stage. If a person begins to provide assistance, he damages the blood vessels of the newborn bird, as a result of which it begins to lose blood. As a result of blood loss, the bird is born weak or dies.

Help is provided to the chicks if they are too weak and unable to peck through the shell. In this case, use gentle movements to make a small hole at the peck site. If blood appears, they stop helping the chick. If within several hours the chick is still not born, the hole is carefully enlarged. As soon as its size becomes sufficient for the chick to come out, it will break through the pouch and break the shell. No other actions can be performed.

You can't help a mother hen. She instinctively understands what to do and, if necessary, will provide help much better than a human.

First actions

After all the chickens have hatched, they are dried. To do this, use a brooder or a special garden, which is easy to make at home. Newborns need warmth for the first 5-10 days, which is why the brooder or kindergarten is equipped with a lamp. It is better to use a red lamp. Place it at such a distance that the birds do not get burned. The temperature is maintained at 30 °C.

Everything is in the egg nutrients, which the chicks need, so there is no rush to feed them. After the fluff has dried, the first food is given. Newborns' appetite is sometimes good and sometimes absent. You cannot force feed them. It is better to offer food after 30-40 minutes. For the first feeding, crushed yolk or corn grits. To ensure proper development of the chicks, the first feeding is carried out no later than 12 hours after hatching. Lack of food during the first 12 hours after birth will have a bad effect on the further development of the chick. If he does not receive food within 16-18 hours, then most likely he will die. Starting from day 2, cottage cheese is added to the diet, and mash is made from small cereals. Starter feed is created at home. IN regulatory documents It is written down by day what the temperature and humidity in the chicken coop should be and what the amount of feed should be.

Anyone will tell you that eggs in stores are sold unfertilized. But a fairly famous video blogger took quail eggs and succeeded. Naturally, he filmed how it happened in detail on video, while also clearly showing how to make a simple incubator for this experiment.

It turns out that store-bought chicken eggs can also work! All the details are below...

First, a fresh experiment from one of the Pikabu users:

Today I will write on a topic that is not traditional for me - poultry farming. Today there will be nothing about Smarts, or chip tuning, or anything related to cars.

Today I will tell you about an experiment that I conducted with my wife. The essence of the experiment is to check whether chickens can hatch from quail eggs purchased from a chain store.

A little theory - quails are unpretentious birds, but they have this peculiarity: in order for them to lay eggs, girls and boys must be kept together, so most of the eggs will be fertilized. This is different from chicken eggs. Chickens are kept separately from roosters, so purchased eggs will not be fertilized.

Now to the point, we go to Auchan and buy eggs there. We bought 3 packages of eggs, 2 for 20 and 1 for 10. We chose them based on expiration date, the fresher the better.

about 10 eggs were rejected - they were chipped or cracked. In smart books they write that you need to look at the eggs through the light in order to see the embryo. But it was not possible to see anything in these eggs, since they were spotted.

After culling, we load them into the incubator. In our case, this is a “Cinderella” incubator, bought as a birthday gift for my mother-in-law for just over 4 thousand rubles.

put eggs in it, set the temperature. In this incubator, the temperature has to be set manually; more advanced ones have automatic temperature control depending on the day. But there is automatic egg rotation.

But the reality was different, on the evening of March 27th, squeaking began to be heard from the incubator, and chicks began to hatch. The first chick just hatched and didn’t even have time to dry out yet.

From the first hours of life, he already begins to crawl around the incubator. We leave it in the incubator for an hour, after which we transfer a little dried chicken into a box where it is already heated. After 4 hours he already looks like this

and the next day it’s like this

and this is what the eggs from which the chicks hatch look like

By the next morning we already had 19 chicks.

But, somewhere, a quarter of the chicks were defective - they could not stand up. Their legs were spread out different sides and they crawled on their bellies. In slang terms, such prets are called “helicopters.” I had to fix them. for this wool thread They tied their paws to bring them together. The chickens didn't like it, but the next day they were all on their feet.

In the video, the wife is trying to find mutual language with chickens.

The chickens are all very active. From the 4th day they already began to jump and try to take off, despite the wings that had not yet fledged. But when they run up, they sleep without their hind legs)

3 days after hatching, I had a question: how much does a newborn chick weigh? For some reason I thought it was 25 grams, but it turned out that it weighs only 8-9 grams! I had to look for scales, but the problem was how to get an active chicken to sit on the scales? A wine glass came to the rescue; the chicken clearly did not expect such a turn.

On this moment(after 2 weeks) only one chicken died for unknown reasons. We found it in a box this morning. Another chicken managed to dislocate its leg in the box. He has been disabled for a week now, and his future fate is not yet clear.

Now all the birds have already replaced almost all their down with feathers. Similar in size to a sparrow

Next weekend all the chicks will go to live with their mother-in-law in a country house.

As a result, the hatchability from purchased eggs was approximately 50%. I think if the eggs were fresher, greater results could be achieved.

That's all, thanks for your attention!

And that's what the channel is National Geographic filmed about chicken eggs from the shop:

Newly hatched chicks are tender and cute little ones. But for these yellow lumps to hatch, it takes a lot of effort.

Most often, hens lay eggs in the spring; the instinct to raise offspring awakens in them. The chicken makes a nest out of hay and lays 1 egg in it every day, this happens until there are 12 eggs in the nest. After this, the hen incubates the clutch for 21 days. At this time, she leaves the eggs only to eat and drink. But the chicken always returns to the eggs while they still retain the heat accumulated from her. At times, the mother turns the eggs over with her beak to heat the egg on the other side, otherwise the contents of the egg may stick to the walls.

Chickens grow inside the egg, and the moment comes when it’s time for them to get out. At this time, the mother is ready to receive them, warm them up and help them get comfortable.

The process of hatching chicks can occur without the participation of a hen, in an incubator. By using of this device supported optimal temperature for the development of eggs, and the device independently turns them over just like a hen.

Stages of chick development inside an egg

1. The first day is a small dot in the yolk, which is the chick embryo;
2. Fifth day – the embryo is actively growing, feeding on the elements of the yolk;
3. Day nineteen – there is no yolk left, it’s time for the chicken to hatch.

Tiny friend

Small chickens are completely tame. They do not shy away from people at all and instantly become attached to the first living creature they meet. A person can become such a creature.

After 7 weeks, the chick changes its yellow fluffy plumage and begins to develop real feathers, like an adult chicken.

How to Help Chicks Hatch

Preparing the Chick Incubator

Initially, you should pour water into the bottom tray of the incubator; water is necessary to create humid air, otherwise the eggs may dry out. The eggs should be separated from each other so that they do not touch or roll around the incubator.

The temperature in the incubator must be set to 57.5 degrees. The pan should move slowly so that the eggs turn and heat evenly. Check the incubator daily and record the temperature. You can find out if the incubator is working correctly by marking dots on the eggs with a pencil. If the mark gradually moves, it means that the eggs in the incubator are turning over.

On the 10th day, the turner must be turned off, and from this time the eggs should be sprayed with warm water 2 times a day. This will make the shell less hard and make it easier for the chicks to get out.

On the 21st day, the chicks will begin to hatch. Some eggs may appear lifeless, but don't worry, they most likely weren't fertilized. If none of these eggs emerge on day 25, you can throw them away.

Chicks must break out of their shells on their own. As a rule, they are all born with a slight difference in time. Newborns are sticky and wet, so it's best to leave them in the incubator until they dry out.

Once their yellow coat is fluffy, the chicks can be placed in a box. In order for chickens to learn to eat and drink, you just need to dip their beaks in food or water.

Kira Stoletova

Success in breeding any bird depends on how well the process of breeding young animals is carried out. And this is also true for domestic chickens, whether the chicks are hatched in an incubator or brooded by a hen. And in this matter, much depends on the quality of the eggs, heredity and incubation conditions. The success of hatching can be influenced both through preliminary preparations and during the hatching process. In this case, the effect on the hatching of chickens can be not only positive, but also negative.

What factors influence the successful hatching of chicks from eggs?

There are a number of factors that affect how chicks hatch and whether they are born at all. They should be taken into account when breeding chicks, so as not to waste eggs and not waste time and effort. Most of these factors can influence both positively and negatively, it all depends on specific situation. It is worth considering that it is more difficult for chicks in an incubator to hatch than those hatched by a hen. Therefore, the farmer who uses it must pay special attention to the hatching process.

It is worth dividing all factors into two main groups. AND we're talking about not about positive and negative influences and reasons. They are divided according to another criterion, namely, whether they were bred in an incubator or by a hen. There are a number of factors that apply in both cases. All of them will be listed separately. We should start with those factors that influence both artificial hatching and natural hatching. Here is a list of these influences, and the possible results of their influence:

• The first factor that always affects the quality of eggs is what hens and laying hens receive. The process of hatching a little chick will not even begin if the embryo lacks nutrients. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the quality and quantity of the food that the chicks’ parents receive.
• The second factor, which is sometimes combined with the first, is the amount of vitamins and minerals in bird food. There must be a balance here. As an example, it is worth citing the amount of calcium that a laying hen receives. If there is little calcium, then the shell is too fragile, and the embryo is weak and has thin bones. If there is a lot of calcium, then the shell becomes hard, and the chicks usually do not hatch without outside help.
• The third factor, which, of course, always affects the hatch rate from eggs, is the breeding stock of chickens. If the birds are sick, or inbreeding is allowed, then many chicks do not hatch or are unable to break through the shell. Sometimes they don’t even squeak inside, but silently suffocate in the shell.
• Eggs that have been in storage for a long time. So-called old eggs are the reason why chickens hatch poorly in an incubator or under a hen. There is even a separate table that shows how the storage period affects the overall percentage of chicks hatched. And in order for the chickens to hatch on time, it is better to use a fresh egg.
• Too much large eggs. The embryos in them always hatch worse, and larger chicks turn out weaker than their counterparts, and often die without hatching. When they are more sensitive to humidity and temperature, they heat up more. Therefore, owners of these cabinets usually have to place the larger egg separately from the rest of the clutch.

What exactly affects hatching in the incubator and under the hen?

The group of factors described below affects exclusively hatchery hatching and should only be considered by those who prefer to use artificial rearing. But owners of laying hens may also find this information useful if they decide to purchase or make an incubator. They are also worth considering because sometimes good layer may turn out to be a bad broody hen, and the egg will have to be urgently transferred to the incubator. Here is a list of factors that affect chicks hatching in an incubator:

• Indoor humidity level. Due to low humidity, there is often no hatching, and the egg is already dead by the time it hatches. And in high humidity, the baby may die after the bite has appeared. Or the shell may crack ahead of time and the allotted time.
• Temperature conditions. For example, at high temperatures the egg may not even hatch. And if the temperature was elevated in the last day before hatching, the chick may die after hatching. Well, at low temperatures the embryo may not even develop.
• Egg flips. If they are not turned over correctly, or left with the sharp end up, the embryo may die. Therefore, it is worth watching the available video on how to properly turn the masonry in the incubator. The help of a more experienced farmer would also be helpful.
• Quality of ventilation. If ventilation is done poorly, then this has a very negative effect on the percentage of chicks born. Too much or too little ventilation leads to sad consequences. Possible options– lack of pecking, death of already hatched babies, and their sticking to the shell.

The reasons that exclusively influence the hatching under the hen are somewhat smaller. The greatest influence in this case is exerted by the maternal qualities of the hen. Many egg-laying hens do not have a developed maternal instinct, and the clutch has to be shifted to other birds, or artificially incubated. And if the laying hen honestly hatches the clutch, much depends on its owner. You need to make sure that she leaves for food and drink, and also check that she sits back on her nest on time.

How does the process of hatching a chicken from an egg proceed?

Every novice farmer should know exactly how the process of a chick’s birth takes place. Chicks hatch three weeks after brooding or artificial incubation begins. And you can watch the video to see exactly how the babies hatch, so that you can reinforce your theoretical knowledge with observations. And incubator owners should remember that what better care per egg, the higher the hatch rate. And no matter what good model incubator, you need to keep the clutch in a healthy condition.

The chicks are born on the 21st day of incubation, but the first signs can be noticed already on the 18-19th day after the start of hatching. And even if you watch the chicks hatching on good video, you won’t be able to see this moment there. By this time, the babies are already sufficiently formed, and within 1-2 days you can hear some kind of movement happening in the egg. And if you look at it through, you will be able to see the chick itself. But ovoscopy should not be carried out without a really important reason.

And on days 19-21, the chickens begin to move more actively. Usually at this time the first holes appear on the shell. But you shouldn’t rush right away and try to help the baby get out. If the shell of an egg is broken prematurely, it may die. But if new holes do not appear in the future, then you need to help the chick and break the egg manually. According to some farmers, hatching may take a day or two. And if the baby moves, but does not crawl out, then he definitely needs help.

Pecking a chicken from an egg

If you choose the right time, the owners can watch the whole process from the very beginning to the end. It resolves within a few hours and varies depending on the quality of the eggs and the breed of chicken. On days 19-21, the first crack appears on the egg and the first squeak is heard. And after a couple of hours, a shell hatches at the crack site. Then new cracks and pecks begin to appear, usually in a circle on the egg. During this period, within a few hours the shell cracks and is ready to completely fall apart.

Cracks in the shell appear due to the egg tooth - this formation in the chick is designed specifically to crack the egg. This happens no longer than a day. The duration depends on how long it took to hatch. The fact is that all chickens' eggs should become more fragile during the incubation process. Therefore, the longer the incubation, the easier chicken eggs should crack. And, if you look at it day by day, then after three weeks the shell becomes very fragile and becomes very thin.

Birth of a chick, hatching of a chick from an egg

EXPERIMENT. WHAT HATCHED FROM THE EGG?

EXPERIMENT, A BIRD FROM A STORE EGG!

Sometimes the chick does not have the strength to break the shell, and then, if left alone, it may die. It is not difficult to determine this moment - cracks and pecks are visible, a squeak is sometimes heard from inside, but the baby does not get out. In this case, you need to help him. What to do? It is necessary to carefully break the shell and release the chick from the egg. But this must be done when, in days and hours, the time for birth has already come. Otherwise, this process, sometimes necessary for chicken chicks, can cause their death.

Helping chicks hatch from eggs

So, here is a description of the situation that, sooner or later, everyone who raises chickens finds themselves in. Day by day, the time for the babies to be born has already approached, the farmer begins to count how many birds he will have - but the chickens do not hatch. And development should have proceeded normally, but no results were visible. And it’s not clear what to do these days. But something needs to be done, and it doesn’t matter that the removal takes place at home, and many tools are not available. Otherwise, you can lose from 50 to 90 percent of the entire chicken brood.

Firstly, you should not let panic break through - if you start breaking eggs right away, you can lose all the babies. Otherwise, there will be an unpleasant sight of dead embryos lying in their own blood. You need to start by listening to the egg. If you hear a squeak from inside, a day has passed, and the baby still can’t get out, it means he most likely needs help. To begin with, you need to carry out. This is the process of candling an egg, and it is quite possible to make the necessary device at home.

An ovoscope is used to accurately localize the location of the air chamber. This is where you need to start opening the shell. This is done using a needle or other similar tool. In this case, it is necessary not to leave unnecessary damage on the film located under eggshell. Then one neat hole is made on this film, so as not to damage the baby’s body. After this, you need to examine the beak, so that after this you can begin to free the chick from the shell.

The process of breaking out of the shell

Usually this procedure is carried out according to the following principle - they begin to break the shell from the beak and in a circle, if the baby cannot do this on his own. But before this, it is not in vain that ovoscopy is carried out. You need to see exactly where the egg sac is located, where the nutrients the chick needs in the first days of life are located. And if this bag is still full, then it is too early to release the baby. You can artificially peck, but do not break the entire shell. Otherwise, the chick will bleed to death after birth.

With further release, it is necessary to clear that part of the body where the circulatory system is not visible. The vessels are easy to see, and if you look at the photo at the approximate location of the chick in the egg, you can understand how best to remove the shell. If by day it turns out that it is too early for the chick to emerge, then it is worth expanding the biting so that there is no damage left on the film under the shell. Then the baby will not suffocate, but also will not get out of the egg prematurely. Moreover, these recommendations are suitable not only for chickens, but also for other birds.

But in such a situation, the film may dry to the body, and it will have to be removed when the deadline approaches. And the question remains how exactly to do this. Everything is quite simple - you need to spray the dried film warm water, and after that remove it from the body. The water should be heated to the chicken's body temperature, but not above this level. If you try to remove the film without first wetting it, it will tear off the first fluff from the chick and damage its skin. And similar damage in early age carry a certain danger.

Actions to take if blood appears from an egg

When drops of blood appear from a hatched egg, it is very unpleasant. This can happen both during natural hatching and in a situation where you had to manually clear the shell. You can try just putting the egg in the incubator for further development, but in this case the embryo will most likely not survive. Therefore, it is advisable to clean the blood clots with a cotton swab, and only then place them in the incubator. And this must be done even when the egg was under the hen.

For cleaning, it is advisable to use a very weak solution of potassium permanganate, heated to egg temperature. Then there is a chance that the open embryo will not get infected, and it will be able to develop as it should. You should peel the egg carefully but quickly so that it does not have time to cool. It must be remembered that the stronger and more often the temperature inside the shell changes, the less likely it is that someone will hatch from it. But here's what professionals say about interfering with the hatching process:

“If there is a chance that no one will emerge from the egg at all, then it’s worth trying to intervene. Of course, there is always the possibility that the chick will be born later. But, as practice shows, it is better to intervene in time than to wait passively. As a rule, with timely and correct measures, the hatch of chickens greatly increases. Especially when it comes to artificial breeding. Although the choice, as always, remains with the farmer.”

Conclusion

To increase the chances of healthy chicks, the farmer needs to know exactly how the egg hatches. He also needs to understand what factors influence the development of the embryo, and how to help the chick in the process of birth. Then the poultry farmer will have the opportunity to raise strong and healthy chickens.

Everyone knows that chickens emerge from eggs, but how the chicks themselves hatch is known in detail only to those who incubated the bird or raised the chicks under the hen. The subtleties of the appearance of a chick are of particular interest to beginners who for the first time decided to get chickens from eggs.

How many days does it take for a chick to be born?

In order for the chick to fully form and be born. it takes 21 days. It doesn’t matter whether the chicks are hatched under a hen or in an incubator, the process of their formation in the egg will take the same time.

Intervention on the part of the breeder should be minimal, since if you frequently disturb the chicken or open the incubator, hypothermia of the eggs will occur and, as a result, the death of the embryos.

The entire process of development of the embryo in the egg is divided into 4 stages.

• First (days 1–7)- formation of the circulatory system and heart, formation of the rudiments of all internal organs.
• Second (8–14 days)- formation of skeletal and beak bones.
• Third (15–18 days)- the appearance of motor activity and the ability to make sounds (the eggs begin to squeak).
• Fourth (19–21 days)- final formation of the embryo and exit from the egg.

When hatching chickens in an incubator, chicks may appear not on day 21, but a little later due to an error with the temperature and its slight underestimation.

In such a situation, the embryo takes a little longer to form, and the chick turns out to be weak. When chickens raise young animals, there is no error in temperature, and the chicks appear strictly after 3 weeks.

The hen accurately determines whether the embryo is alive and throws eggs from the nest that are not suitable for further hatching. When artificially incubated for this ovoscopy is performed, during which the state of the embryo is determined. If it dies, the egg is thrown away.

Signs of impending hatching

The first signs that the hatching date is approaching appear on the 19th day. In rare cases, if the incubation temperature was too high, the chick may make itself known on the 17th day.

The following phenomena indicate that chickens at home are ready to hatch:

• quiet knock in the egg- can be heard if you bring it to your ear. It means that the chicken has begun to break through the shell in the center of the egg;
• quiet squeak- can also be heard if you put an egg to your ear. It is an indicator that the chick is fully formed;
• egg movement- it, lying on a flat surface, sways from side to side from time to time, which indicates that the chick inside it is moving.

3 days before hatching, the eggs in the incubator stop being turned so that the chicken can take a comfortable position for emerging from the egg.

Beginners are interested in how many days after the first signs the chick will appear. According to the norm, it should begin hatching within a day, but everything is individual: sometimes chickens can behave completely quietly until the moment they break through the shell; and sometimes - show all signs of their presence 4–5 days before they begin to hatch. It is still best to focus on the temporary incubation indicators.

Chick emergence process

Chicks hatching in an incubator

The breeder needs to know how the chickens hatch, otherwise he will not be able to fully control the process.

Usually the chick emerges within 2–3 hours, however, for some, liberation from the shell takes longer.

The chicken hatches thanks to a special egg tooth, which is located at the end of the beak and falls off either immediately after birth or a few days after it.

The hatching of chickens has the following sequence:

1. a crack in the shell from which a distinct squeak is heard indicates that the chicken has hatched;
2. the formation of a small hole in the shell from which the beak peeks out;
3. enlarging the hole in the egg in its center and stretching it in length like a belt;
4. breaking of the shell - at this moment the chicken hatches, completely freeing itself from the shell;
5. separation of the flagellum from the shell, which drags behind the chicken.

The entire process of hatching a chicken takes several hours, but it happens that a day passes from the moment the chicks hatch until they emerge from the shell. This is also considered the norm, but only if the bird does not lose activity, squeaks and reacts to a gentle touch on the beak. You should not interfere with the process at this time, as it can only cause harm.

The hatching process must be controlled in order to promptly remove chickens from the incubator and transplant them into a special cage for drying. If this is not done, they, being active, can move eggs from which the chicks have not yet hatched, which will make it difficult for the remaining babies to emerge.

Hatching chicks under a hen

Chicks can appear during the day or at night with equal probability. Some breeders say that they have learned to lay eggs for incubation in such a way that the chicks begin to hatch at a time convenient for them (the owners). This phenomenon is still to a greater extent can be called an accident, not a skill. It is impossible to determine with an accuracy of an hour how long incubation will take; and therefore the date of appearance of the young can only be approximate.

Why shouldn't you help chicks hatch?

If chicks do not hatch on time in the incubator, this may mean that the temperature in the incubator is too low and the chicks have not yet formed. This shouldn't be scary. In such a situation, you should raise the temperature by half a degree and wait for the eggs to hatch.

When more than 25 days have passed and there are no chicks, this is a sign that the embryos died due to an error in the incubation process.

When the chicks begin to hatch, inexperienced poultry farmers try to help them and often cause harm to the young. The hatching process is long, and the chick's vessels are connected to the egg wall almost until the very end. For this reason, if you forcibly start to pick off the chick, they will be damaged and, having lost blood, the baby will weaken and will not be able to hatch normally or even die.

It is necessary to intervene only if it is clear that the chick does not have enough strength. Then they carefully pick out the shell near the hole from which the beak sticks out. If blood appears, help is stopped immediately. It is resumed if the chick still has not hatched after 3–4 hours. Once the hole is big enough, the baby will break through the sac that is under the shell and come out of the egg.

If the process takes place under the chicken, then the hen herself knows what to do and will be able to help the chicken if necessary.

How to get healthy chicks from an incubator?

Incubation of chicken eggs

If the egg is correctly selected and all incubation rules are observed, the young animals obtained without a chicken are in no way inferior in quality to those bred by a hen.

Low-quality young animals appear only because the breeder irresponsibly approached the choice of incubation material and deviated from the incubation technology.

What to do after hatching?

Chickens are very vulnerable, and any mistakes in raising them will lead to death. First of all, the babies should be dried, for which they are placed in a cage that is prepared in advance. Its bottom should be covered soft cloth. Chicks require heat, and therefore it is necessary to provide them with heating. To do this, you can use a special red lamp or a regular one. blue lamp. The lighting device is positioned in such a way that the heat from it reaches the bottom of the cage, but is not too strong, otherwise the young animals will get burns.

As soon as the hatched chick is dry, it is offered food. His appetite may be good, or it may be completely absent. This is normal, as it means that the remaining yolk has not yet been absorbed.

How to raise a chicken from an egg? There is nothing complicated about this, but only if all the contents are followed.

Photo gallery

Video

In order to understand how chickens hatch, it is worth watching the video. Visual material will allow you to finally understand the issue.