Incubation looks simple on paper: provide the right temperature, humidity and turning, then wait for the chicks to hatch. In practice, every batch teaches something new.
Our 2026 breeding season at The Ladler’s Ladder Gamefarm gave us another opportunity to observe the entire process—from collecting and storing eggs to incubation, transfer to the hatcher and finally watching the chicks emerge.
Some things went according to plan. Others did not.
And sometimes, the mistakes teach us more than the successful hatch.
It Starts Before the Incubator
Successful incubation doesn’t begin when an egg is placed inside the machine.
It begins with the breeders.
Breeder condition, nutrition, fertility, egg quality, cleanliness and handling can all influence what eventually happens inside the incubator.
During the breeding season, eggs are collected regularly and identified according to their breeding groups. Keeping these records allows us to connect hatch results with particular matings and eventually evaluate not only fertility and hatchability, but also the offspring produced by each pairing.
For us, an egg isn’t simply another egg going into the incubator.
It represents a particular breeding decision that we want to follow through the next generation.
Egg Storage and Handling
Not every egg can immediately enter the incubator.
Our eggs were collected over several weeks, including eggs gathered from July 6 to July 24, before being consolidated into incubation batches.
Some were stored in a temperature-controlled chiller at approximately 15°C while waiting for setting.
This part of the process reinforced an important lesson: incubation records should include what happened before Day 1.
Storage duration, temperature stability, handling and even unexpected events such as power interruptions may influence results later.
Rather than looking only at the final hatch percentage, we want to compare these factors between batches and see whether patterns emerge over time.
Managing Different Batches
One of the challenges this season was operating more than one batch in the same incubation system.
Our first batch began incubation on July 19, followed by another batch on July 25.
Having eggs at different developmental stages inside the system makes recordkeeping especially important.
A few days may not sound significant, but in a 21-day incubation cycle, six days represents a substantial developmental difference.
Each batch therefore needs its own calendar for turning, candling, transfer and expected hatch.
This experience strengthened our decision to maintain clearer batch identification going forward.
When Things Don’t Go According to Plan
This incubation cycle wasn’t perfect.
At one point, manual turning was unintentionally interrupted for approximately three days. Later, the incubator experienced a temperature spike that reached roughly 49°C for about an hour.
Neither event is something we would ever intentionally repeat.
But once an incubation problem happens, the question changes from “How do we prevent this?” to “What can we learn from what happens next?”
Instead of immediately assuming that every embryo had been lost, we continued monitoring the eggs.
The experience reminded us that incubation isn’t simply a checklist. Biological systems can sometimes show more variability and resilience than expected—but that should never be used as a reason to tolerate poor control.
The goal remains prevention.
Transfer to the Hatcher
As embryos approach the final days of development, the focus changes.
Turning stops, eggs are transferred for hatching, and unnecessary handling should be minimized.
We generally work around the traditional Day 18 transfer, while carefully observing developmental timing and the condition of each batch.
This stage taught us another practical lesson: calendars matter, but observation matters too.
Knowing the exact setting date of every batch prevents confusion about when eggs should be transferred and when hatching should reasonably begin.
Hatch Day
Eventually, all of the preparation becomes visible.
The eggs begin to pip.
Then the first chicks emerge.
For our later 2026 batch, August 15 became one of our hatch dates.
Hatch day is exciting, but we’re learning not to treat the number of chicks produced as the only measure of success.
We also want to know:
Which eggs were fertile? Which developed normally? Which failed early or late? Which chicks emerged strong? Which pairings consistently produced healthy offspring?
Those questions turn incubation from simply producing chicks into part of a larger breeding program.
Record Everything
Perhaps the biggest lesson from this season is the value of records.
For future batches, we want to document the breeder pairing, egg collection date, storage duration, setting date, candling results, transfer date, hatch date and final outcome.
Over one hatch, those records may seem excessive.
Over several breeding seasons, they become valuable data.
Patterns that are impossible to see from memory may eventually become obvious when hundreds of eggs and multiple generations can be compared.
Every Hatch Teaches Something
There will probably never be a completely perfect breeding season.
Equipment can fail. Procedures can be improved. Some eggs will not develop. Some chicks will surprise us.
What matters is whether those experiences become information that improves the next cycle.
At The Ladler’s Ladder Gamefarm, our objective isn’t simply to hatch more chicks.
It is to understand the process better with every batch.
Breed. Raise. Learn. Improve.