The Science of Incubation RSS
Temperature and Incubation — Why Stability Matters More Than Hitting an Exact Number
Temperature is the heartbeat of a successful hatch — and even a small deviation from 37.5°C in a forced-air incubator can shift the outcome.
Eggs that run consistently warm tend to hatch early. Eggs that run cool hatch late — or not at all. But understanding *why* that happens, and how to read the signs, is where things get really useful.
Our latest Science of Incubation article covers how temperature works inside a developing egg, what those readings on your display actually mean, and how to fine-tune your setup between hatches.
It's one of the most practical articles in the series.
Why Eggs Lose Weight During Incubation — And Why It Matters
If you've ever weighed your eggs during incubation, you might have noticed something surprising: they're getting lighter. By day 18, a healthy chicken egg should have lost about 13% of its starting weight. This isn't a sign something's gone wrong — it's actually essential for the chick's survival.
How Chickens Get Oxygen Inside the Egg
When you look at an egg, it seems completely sealed. No tubes, no umbilical cord, no visible holes – yet a chick grows and develops inside for 21 days without suffocating. So how does it get enough oxygen, and where does all the carbon dioxide go? In this article we’ll take a closer look at the biology inside the egg, why shell pores and the air cell are so important, and what this means for successful incubation in your incubator at home. Watch: A Brilliant Visual Explanation The video below from NPR’s Skunk Bear team gives an excellent animated tour...