If you need to create a science fair project, you may want to think about hatching fertile chicken eggs in an incubator and documenting the results of your project on a day-to-day basis, as well as the growth of the eggs and the chicken once it hatches. However, it will take some time for a chicken egg to hatch, 21 days in total actually and it’s a delicate project as forgetting to care for the egg at the right time can result in it not hatching.
Given the fact that it takes time for a chicken egg to hatch, you should carefully follow the instructions below because this is not the kind of project you can recreate if you fail to hatch your egg. However, while it can be intimidating to take on hatching fertile chicken eggs for a science fair project, know that it’s not impossible if you’re willing to be responsible and can pay close attention to your eggs on a regular basis.
One of the reasons that chickens are a great topic for a science fair project is due to the fact that chickens are the largest population of any type of bird in the world and are used as a food source. With these few facts in mind to start working on your project, you need to learn how to hatch a chicken egg, which will begin with the purchase of an air incubator and an automatic egg tuner. Once you have these tools, you’ll find it easy to complete your project with great results.
The first day you start, you will need to place a chicken egg incubator in your home on a level surface so that the egg remains stationary. Once you find the right location for your incubator, you need to fill the container with water inside and place the automatic egg turner inside so that the egg is heated properly. If you don’t have an egg turner, you can turn the egg by hand, but it will require more attention on your part as you’ll need to make sure the egg is turned every few hours, something other family members can help with.
Once the incubator is ready inside, set the incubator temperature up to 97F and place the chicken egg(s) in the other end of the turner. In general, it’s best to use more than one egg for your science fair experiment because sometimes an egg won’t fertilize properly or hatch through no fault of your own. So having some backups is helpful when it’s time to start your science fair project.
After this, your task for the next few days will be to keep the temperature moderate and the water full, which will help the eggs not dry out. Throughout the entire hatching process, you should ensure that you leave the egg incubator closed, except when it is necessary to refill the water trough, as this will keep the temperature better stabilized.
On the fourth day, you should remove the incubator plugs to allow ventilation inside the incubator and once again check the water level. You must get used to looking at the water level because this will be your only task for the next 17 days, apart from keeping a close eye on the temperature, which is very important for the eggs to remain fertile and undamaged.
On day 18, the eggs will be close to hatching, so you will need to take the eggs out of the turner and remove the turner from the incubator, placing the eggs directly on the wire tray. At this point, turn the temperature up to 98 degrees, which is where it should stay until day 21. The eggs will hatch between this time frame, although it may take two days after day 21 before they hatch because each egg hatches at a different rate.
Keep in mind that after the eggs hatch, you will need to have water, a heat lamp, and chick feed on standby for your chicks.