Keep spare coops and equipment around so you’re prepared to separate roosters or bullies of the flock. Sometimes you just won’t have enough room to keep all chickens in one coop or you might get a few more roosters than hens that are aggressive towards each over.

Try to find a rooster from a good breeding stock. His eye color should be even, and his feet should be free from deformities. The rooster’s comb should look like a standard comb for his breed. Be prepared for noise. Roosters are loud animals, and many cities and suburban areas have laws against owning roosters due to the noise. Make sure that you can legally own a rooster. If you cannot, you will need to purchase fertilized eggs to hatch. Some breeds can be fairly aggressive. Make sure that you pick a rooster that is even-tempered, especially if you have children.

Make sure both your hens and your rooster are eating quality food. This will ensure that their reproductive systems are as strong as possible. If you are breeding second generation or third generation chickens, be very wary of inbreeding issues. Try to tag your chickens so that you know which ones are related to the rooster. You can keep the rooster separate and only allow in the hens that you want to breed. You may also consider getting a new rooster each year. [5] X Research source

Most chickens have had the broody trait bred out to keep them productive. Some of the broodiest breeds include: Silkies, Serama, Brahma, Jersey Giant, New Hampshire Red, Sussex, and others. If you have a large number of eggs to incubate, or are incubating to sell, it may be worthwhile to invest in an incubator.

If it starts getting hot out, collect eggs even more often than normal, up to five times a day. Use a soft basket to hold the eggs while you collect them. This will help keep them from getting damaged. A little straw in a hand basket makes for a perfect egg basket. Handle the eggs delicately to keep from upsetting the membrane and other internal parts. Clean your hands before gathering eggs. This will help prevent you passing on bacteria to the egg.

Make sure the hens always have clean bedding.

Do not choose any eggs that have been cracked. Also avoid eggs with thin shells. Do not choose eggs that are noticeably misshapen. Only keep the clean eggs. Washing or wiping dirty eggs removes protective coating, making it more vulnerable to bacteria.

Try to maintain a temperature of 55 °F (13 °C) and high humidity. Store the eggs with the pointy end down.

Warning: Moving any hen while she is setting may cause her to abandon nest, so if these are expensive eggs, have a back up plan in place. If you can’t separate them, try to keep the other chickens from bothering the new mother as much as possible.

Provide a brooding area that the hen can enter and leave but the chicks can’t leave. This will help keep them out of trouble.

One of the biggest factors when choosing an incubator is the number of eggs you intend to hatch. Usually only about 50-70% of the eggs that you incubate will hatch, and then half of those will turn into roosters.

You will need to check your incubator often, so make sure that you can access it easily.

Humidity for the first 18 days should be around 40%.

You should be able to start seeing blood vessels after a few days of incubation. You should see a developed embryo after about 7 days. Throw away any undeveloped eggs between days 10 and 14. Humidity needs to be increased to 60-70% the last 3 days to prevent membranes from drying out. Do not open the incubator in the last 3 days.

Avoid helping the chicks hatch. Chicks that cannot hatch on their own will most likely not survive into adulthood.

A 40-watt bulb in a bedside lamp makes for a good source of heat. Use a red bulb to hide injuries so that the other chicks will not pester an injured one. The chicks need a temperature of 99 degrees F the 1st week, dropped by 5° each week until brooder temp is equal to outside temp or chicks are fully feathered. [21] X Research source Keep the box in an area that is as draft-free as possible, and use wire to prevent cats from gaining access.

Make sure water dishes are shallow, as chicks can easily drown in their own water dish. Add marbles to water to prevent drowning. [22] X Research source