Hatching & Chicks
From setting eggs to the day the heat plate comes off.
Last reviewed August 2026 · How we source our numbers
Incubation and brooding are the two parts of chicken keeping that run on a calendar, so almost everything here is date-driven: set a date and the tools tell you when to candle, when lockdown starts, when to expect the hatch, and what the brooder should read each week after. If you are still deciding what to hatch or order, start with the breed tools.
Calculators (7)
- Egg Incubation CalculatorHatch date, candling days and lockdown — chicken through goose.Open tool →
- Printable Incubation CalendarThe same schedule as a PDF to tape to the incubator.Open tool →
- Hatch Rate CalculatorEggs set versus chicks hatched, and where a batch went wrong.Open tool →
- Brooder Temperature CalculatorTarget temperature by week, pinned to a real hatch date.Open tool →
- How Many Chicks to OrderAccounting for straight-run odds and losses, to land on the flock you want.Open tool →
- Rooster to Hen RatioHow many hens per cockerel, if you are keeping one at all.Open tool →
- Breed Selector QuizNarrow 30 breeds to the ones that match what you want.Open tool →