How do chickens hatch?
Chickens and other birds hatch from fertilized eggs that are incubated, allowing the birds to continue growing before they hatch into baby chicks. Chicks can be hatched under a hen’s belly or in an incubator.FertilizationWhen a rooster mates with a hen, the hen stores sperm in her oviducts for about a month. That sperm is then used to fertilize eggs, which the hen lays.IncubationA chicken egg must be fertilized right away to develop properly. Chicken eggs may be placed in a man-made incubator or in nest boxes and incubated by a hen.Air BubbleEggs have an air bubble in the top of the egg, which allows the developing chick to breathe. Temperature and humidity are important to keep the egg’s air bubble from growing too big or staying too small.TemperatureWhen using a man-made incubator, it’s important to keep the temperature at 99.5 degrees. Chicks need this temperature to properly develop. Embryos are prone to overheating at higher temperatures.RotationAs eggs develop, they need rotated
