Incubation Day-by-Day Planner
Pick a bird and the date the eggs were set to get a full day-by-day schedule and a calendar file with reminders.
An incubator is simple until the days start to matter. When do you candle? When do you stop turning? When does the humidity go up? This planner takes the date you set the eggs and gives you a full day-by-day schedule for chicken, duck, goose, turkey or quail eggs, with the hatch date, the lockdown day, temperature and humidity targets, and a calendar file with reminders on the days that matter.
Incubation Day-by-Day Planner
Dates count the day the eggs went in as day 0, the same as the breeding and hatch date calculator. Settings are typical figures: follow your incubator’s manual where it differs, and calibrate with a good thermometer and hygrometer.
Hatch date: —
Turning: —
Lockdown: —
Temperature: —
Humidity: —
Candling: —
Likely chicks: —
Full guide, more detail, and a printable version at https://hollyshomestead.com.au/tools/incubation-day-by-day-planner.html
How It’s Worked Out
The hatch date is the day the eggs went in plus the incubation period: 21 days for chickens, 28 for ducks and turkeys, 29 for geese and 18 for quail. Turning runs from day 1 until the day before lockdown, which is day 18 for chickens, 25 for ducks and turkeys, 26 for geese and 15 for quail. At lockdown you stop turning, raise the humidity and leave the incubator closed until the chicks have hatched and dried. Candling days are the checkpoints to remove clear eggs and any that have stopped developing.
Hatches arrive over a day or so, and some run a day early or late, especially with eggs that were stored before setting or an incubator that ran a little cool or warm. Do not help a chick out of its shell on the due date, and wait until the hatch has finished before opening the lid.
Temperature and Humidity
A forced-air incubator is usually run at about 37.5°C. A still-air incubator is run warmer, about 38.3 to 39°C measured at the top of the eggs, because heat is uneven without a fan. Humidity is lower for the first part and higher for lockdown: roughly 45 to 55 per cent, then 65 to 75 per cent, depending on the bird. Waterfowl eggs, ducks and geese especially, are larger and need more moisture, and many people also spray or cool them briefly each day. Always treat a new incubator as a trial: run it for a day or two with a thermometer before you set valuable eggs.