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Hatching chicks is such a fun, economical way to expand your backyard chicken or other type of poultry flock.
Whether you have a rooster (or drake, gander) and can set eggs from your own flock or purchase fertile hatching eggs, whether you use an incubator or have a broody hen willing to sit on eggs, it's so amazing to watch as the eggs hatch and the babies emerge.
Setting all the eggs at the same time will ensure that the eggs all hatch at the same approximate time, usually within 24 hours of each other. If you have a broody hen, she will collect eggs in her nest and not start sitting 24/7 until she has a clutch of up to a dozen or so eggs.
Otherwise, you can store the unwashed eggs until you have enough for her to sit on - or enough to put in your incubator.
Since chicken, duck and other kind of eggs all require different incubation periods, it's not a good idea to try hatching the eggs from different types of poultry or waterfowl together in an incubator.
Stick with hatching just one kind at a time. If you're using a broody mom, then feel free to get a few sitting at once on their own eggs, if that's the way it all shakes out!
I have seen where people have a chicken sit on ducks eggs, or vice versa, and while it will work... a broody will sit on pretty much anything you put under her... I have never tried it and think that it's not a great idea. I've seen mother ducks get very confused when "her" baby chicks refuse to hop into a tub of water to splash around!
So you're probably wondering...
How Long Do Chicken (Duck, Goose or Quail) Eggs Take to Hatch?
Hatching Chicken Eggs
Let's start with hatching chicken eggs since they're the most common type of eggs that the majority of people are hatching.
Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch. You can follow along with my day-by-day tutorial here.
A hen will usually start sitting full time when she has about a dozen eggs in her nest, but some smaller or bantam breeds might prefer to sit on fewer eggs, maybe 6 to 8.
Hatching Duck Eggs
Duck eggs take a week longer. They hatch in 28 days. Follow along with my duck egg hatching guide here.
A female duck will usually sit on about a dozen eggs in her clutch, but I have personally had ducks try to sit on up to 18 eggs.
The problem is that she'll have a hard time keeping that many eggs warm - not to mention keep track of all the ducklings if they all hatch!
Hatching Goose Eggs
Goose eggs will hatch in 28 to 35 days, depending on the breed of goose. The lighter breeds' eggs should hatch closer to the 28 days, while the heavier breeds' eggs won't hatch until closer to day 35.
A female goose will generally start sitting when she has accumulated anywhere from 5 or 6 eggs to a dozen.
Hatching Quail Eggs
On the other end of the spectrum, tiny quail eggs hatch in just 18 days. There are several different types of quail, so times can vary a bit, and the average clutch size can range from around 8 eggs to 16 eggs, depending on the breed of quail.
Hatching Other Eggs
And just for fun, and in case you want to branch out even further from chickens, turkey eggs hatch in 28 days same as duck eggs, while ostrich eggs take 42 to 46 days to hatch, and gigantic emu eggs won't hatch for 56 days.
