1.  Provide adequate pen space for birds.  Overcrowding lessens fertility & hatchability.

2.  Feed a proper balanced laying ration so the eggs have the proper nutritional requirements in them.  Once an egg is laid it's "as is"...one can not improve the contents so they need to be at their full potential at laying time to ensure the best food supply for the embryo.

3.  Practice cleanliness of your birds & their environment, as uncleanliness translates into unthriftiness & lowered fertility & hatchability.

4.  Have one's flock tested for communicable diseases.  Become an active member in the NPIP to demonstrate your awareness & concern to keep poultry disease in check.  States require proof that one's flock is free from disease in order to legally be shipped.

5.  Eggs should be gathered at least daily.  More frequently in hot & cold weather so the temperature doesn't affect the egg so much.

6.  Eggs should be marked at gathering as to what breed, pen & etc.

7.  Hatching eggs should be cleaned from any excess waste, food, mud or debris with fine sand paper.  Hatching eggs should NOT be washed as it removes the egg's protective coating & allows bacteria to penetrate the eggshell.   Purchasers should not be upset or alarmed at a little blood, grass, hay smear or etc on a hatching egg, as they are not all laid in the "perfect" nest box.

8.  Hatching eggs can be sprayed with disinfectant to kill any bacteria that might be on the egg & to help eliminate the spread of communicable disease from location to location.  Here at DOGWOOD ACRES we use Tektrol on our hatching eggs, whether they are for our own incubators or to be shipped out to clients for their hatching enjoyment.

9.  Eggs should be stored in the proper environment.  A cool, slightly damp location seems best...the basement often works well.  Ideal temperature for hatching egg storage is 40*-55*.  Humidity about 75%.

10.  Hatching eggs need to be turned at least twice daily or at regular intervals.  This can easily be done by placing one end (tipping) of the egg carton on a flat surface (table) & elevating the opposite end

45*-55* (this can be achieved by simply placing a few books under that end).  This keeps the yolk & embryos from "sticking" to one side of the egg.

11.  Hatching eggs used for shipping should not be older than 4 days old at time of shipment.  As research has proven that at the age of 7 days hatchability begins dropping.