Hatching eggs of a gamefowl

Eggs should hatch in 21 days, though some may hatch a day or 2 early, some a day late, after the incubation period began. A "day" is counted as a full 24 hours long, so Day 1 would be the first 24 after setting the egg, Day 2 the next 24 hours etc.If you set eggs on a Sunday, it's usually a safe bet that they will hatch on a Sunday, 3 weeks later. 

Hatching eggs

Select clean, even shaped, undamaged eggs for incubating. Do not store them too long in a pre-incubation. Ideally eggs should be set within a week after being laid and after 10 days the hatch ability of the eggs drops significantly.

Shipped eggs should be allowed to rest for 24 hours prior to setting, to allow the contents of the eggs to settle. Place shipped eggs upright, with the fat end of the egg up, in an egg carton, or something similar. Shipped eggs often have damaged air cells. 

Before putting your eggs into an incubator, plug it in and make sure the temperature is steady. In a forced air incubator (with a fan) the temperature should be 99-99.3*F. In a still air incubator the temperature should be slightly higher, 101-102*F measured at the top of the eggs. I use a thermometer and a hygrometer (which measures temperature and humidity) in my incubator. You want 45-50% humidity for day 1-18, then 65% for the last few days.

Use a pencil and mark eggs with an X on one side and an O on the other, so when you are turning them you can make sure they all got turned. Natural fertility is rarely 100% - it may vary from 55% to 95% with season, condition and type of birds. You might be safe to expect that 50% to 75% of the fertile eggs will hatch, though 90%-100% hatches can and does happen. With shipped eggs the hatch rate is approximately 48% overall. Fertility of eggs cannot be determined before incubating them. After 5-8 days, white-shelled eggs can be candled to see if embryos have developed. If there is no sign of development by day 10, discard it, not fertiled eggs.

What must be do With Hatched Chicks

After the chick hatched allow it to dry off and fluff up in the incubator before removing it to a brooder. Newly hatched chicks can survive for up to 3.5 days on the yolk they absorb during the hatching process, but once you put them in the brooder make sure there is at least water available and offer them food after a day or 3.

Feed and water must be available from the time they are out of the incubator. Do not let feed or water run out. Chicks need to be fed a chick starter. Medicated chick starter can be fed to help prevent Coccidiosis. Chicks fed a medicated starter may still get coccidiosis. The medicine in the feed only help prevent it.

Water receptacles are a problem with chicks during their first week. Chicks can easily fall into water dishes and drown. A common device to prevent drowning is to use a shallow water cup with marbles or stones set in the water over the entire drinking area. The chicks will drink in the spaces between the marbles.