"Incubation Day-by-Day & Selling Hatching Eggs (NPIP Basics)"
Twenty-one days from set to hatch, but a lot happens in between, and good records at each stage are what turn a hobby into a reliable little hatchery. Here’s the timeline, followed by the NPIP basics you need before you sell or ship hatching eggs.
The 21-day timeline
| Day | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Set | Eggs go in the incubator. Record the set date and which pen/eggs. ~99.5°F forced-air, 50 to 55% humidity. |
| 1 to 7 | Early development | Turn eggs (or let the auto-turner run). Keep conditions stable. |
| 7 to 10 | Candling | Candle to check fertility and development. Remove clears and quitters; record fertile count. |
| 11 to 17 | Growth | Keep turning; watch humidity. |
| 18 | Lockdown | Stop turning, raise humidity to ~65%. Don’t open the incubator. |
| 19 to 20 | Pipping | Chicks internally then externally pip. Resist the urge to help. |
| 21 | Hatch | Chicks hatch. Leave them to dry and fluff before moving to the brooder. Record hatched count. |
Different species differ (bantams a touch shorter, waterfowl much longer), but for standard chickens these are the marks to plan around. ChickenAncestry fills in your lockdown (day 18) and hatch (day 21) dates automatically from the set date.
What to record at each stage
The numbers that make you a better breeder next season:
- Eggs set per pen or hen
- Fertile eggs at candling (fertility rate)
- Eggs hatched (hatch rate of fertile, and of total set)
- Which mating the eggs came from
Track these per batch and patterns emerge fast: which pens throw fertile eggs, which hens’ eggs hatch best, whether your incubator runs hot. In ChickenAncestry, a batch rolls these up automatically, and “record hatch” turns a hatch straight into banded chicks with their sire and dam already filled in.
Selling hatching eggs: NPIP basics
Once you sell, especially across state lines, you enter the world of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). This is general information, not legal advice; rules vary by state, so always check with your state’s NPIP office.
What breeders should know:
- Interstate movement usually requires NPIP. To ship hatching eggs or birds to another state (or take them to many shows), you typically must be NPIP certified , which means your flock is tested clean for Pullorum-Typhoid and your premises are inspected, usually annually.
- Keep movement records. NPIP participants must log birds and hatching eggs moving in or out, date, the other party’s name/address, and the number and type of poultry. Keep these records for three years.
- Sanitation matters. Incubators, hatchers, and brooder areas must be kept clean and disinfected between hatches.
- Movement paperwork. Interstate shipments are generally accompanied by an official document such as an NPIP 9-3 form or a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection.
Getting certified is usually inexpensive and opens up legal interstate sales, shows, and a real mark of trust for buyers. Your state Department of Agriculture or land-grant extension is the place to start.
Keep the paperwork painless
Hatch records and movement logs are exactly the kind of thing that’s easy to promise and easy to drop. ChickenAncestry tracks your incubation batches, hatch rates, and the lineage of every chick you produce, so when a buyer asks about a chick’s parents, or you need your numbers from last season, it’s all there.
New to all this? Start with the beginner’s breeding guide, then set up your free flock →.
ChickenAncestry tracks every bird's sire and dam, draws the pedigree, and computes inbreeding (COI), free to start.
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