Ovatekly · Guides
How long do eggs take to hatch?
Days from setting to hatching for chicken, duck, quail, turkey, goose and more, the day each one goes into lockdown, and a calculator that turns your set date into real dates.
Short answer
Chicken eggs take 21 days. Japanese quail take 17 to 18 days, ducks and turkeys 28, Muscovy ducks 35 to 37, and domestic geese about 30 (Texas A&M AgriLife; Mississippi State gives 28 to 34 for geese). Count the day you set the eggs as day 0: chicken eggs set on a Saturday are due on a Saturday three weeks later.
Your dates
Hatch date calculator
Choose the species and the day the eggs go in. The calculator counts that day as day 0.
Hatch days: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (POSC-PU-018, 2022), Table 1, widened where Mississippi State gives a range. Lockdown: the last turning day in Mississippi State University Extension, Important Incubation Factors (Texas A&M’s transfer day for pigeons). These are estimates; the section below explains why a hatch runs early or late.
The table
Incubation days by species
| Species | Days to hatch | Lockdown (stop turning) |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 21 | Day 18 |
| Japanese (coturnix) quail | 17–18 (Mississippi State: 17) | Day 15 |
| Bobwhite quail | 23 (Mississippi State: 23–24) | Day 20–21 |
| Duck (most breeds) | 28 | Day 25 |
| Muscovy duck | 35–37 | Day 31–33 |
| Turkey | 28 | Day 25 |
| Domestic goose | 30 (Mississippi State: 28–34) | Day 25–27 |
| Guinea fowl | 28 | Day 22–25 (sources differ) |
| Ring-necked pheasant | 24 | Day 21 |
| Chukar partridge | 23–24 | Day 20 |
| Peafowl | 28–29 (Mississippi State: 28–30) | Day 25–26 |
| Pigeon | 17–19 (Mississippi State: 17) | Day 14–15 |
Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (POSC-PU-018, 2022), Table 1; Mississippi State University Extension, Important Incubation Factors. Texas A&M gives guinea fowl a transfer day of 22; Mississippi State and Texas A&M’s 2000 edition give 25.
Chicks should start to pip within about a day of the incubation period for their species (Texas A&M). If yours are past that, read Eggs not hatching on day 21 or 22?
Why dates move
Why a hatch runs early or late
| What | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Storage before setting | Each day in storage adds about one hour to incubation (Texas A&M). Kansas State’s rule of thumb: 30 minutes for each day beyond 4. Eggs stored more than two weeks can run up to a day long (Texas A&M, 2000). | Texas A&M; Kansas State |
| Egg size and breed | Smaller eggs in a batch hatch faster than larger ones, and White Leghorn eggs hatch sooner than eggs from heavy breeds. | Kansas State |
| Temperature too high | Early hatch, with small, dry chicks and bloody navels. A forced-air incubator that runs too warm tends to hatch early. | Texas A&M; Mississippi State |
| Temperature too low | Late hatch, and mushy chicks with unhealed navels. | Texas A&M |
| Humidity too high | Late hatch, air cell too small. | Texas A&M |
| Opening the lid | Lowers temperature and humidity, which delays hatching and may lower hatchability. | Kansas State |
Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (POSC-PU-018, 2022), Table 3; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (B-6092, 2000); Mississippi State University Extension, Important Incubation Factors; Kansas State University, Incubation and Reproduction (poultry Q&A).
Pip to dry chick
How long the hatch itself takes
Hatching is hard work: the chick is very active, then takes long rests. Texas A&M puts the whole process at 10 to 20 hours and says not to worry unless one chick takes longer than 20. Across a batch, Kansas State says about 80 % of chicks hatch within 15 hours after the first one (slightly less for waterfowl), and the hatch should be finished within 24 hours.
Do not help a chick out of the shell. Chicks that cannot hatch on their own usually die, and those that are helped and live usually do not thrive (Texas A&M; Kansas State). Leave hatched chicks in the incubator for about 24 hours, until they are dry, then move them to a warm brooder with water and feed (Texas A&M).
One more rule from Texas A&M: do not set different species together unless their incubation periods match, because each one needs its own lockdown day and humidity.
Sources: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (POSC-PU-018, 2022); Kansas State University, Incubation and Reproduction (poultry Q&A).
If you run an Ovatekly
Species, sizes and the day counter
Every Ovatekly has a day counter on the display, so you do not have to keep the date on a calendar, and the rollers turn every egg every two hours until you stop them for lockdown. The rollers adjust to egg size and take chicken, duck, quail, goose, turkey and guinea fowl eggs. How many fit depends on the species:
| Model | Chicken | Duck | Goose | Quail | Pigeon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ovatekly Compact | 9 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 13 |
| Ovatekly Home | 48 | 32 | 24 | 120 | 72 |
| Ovatekly Pro | 98 | 65 | 49 | 245 | 147 |
| Ovatekly Farm | 300 | 200 | 150 | 750 | 450 |
Eggs per batch, manufacturer ratings. How many of your own eggs fit depends on their size.
Questions
Questions people ask
How long do chicken eggs take to hatch in an incubator?
How long do duck eggs take to hatch?
How long do quail eggs take to hatch?
How long do goose eggs take to hatch?
What if my eggs have not hatched by day 21?
Can I hatch chicken and duck eggs together?
Sources
Where the numbers come from
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (POSC-PU-018, 2022), Tables 1 and 3.
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Incubating and Hatching Eggs (B-6092, 2000).
- Mississippi State University Extension, Important Incubation Factors.
- Kansas State University, Incubation and Reproduction (poultry Q&A).
Updated October 17, 2026. Written by the Ovatekly team. Temperatures, humidity levels and incubation periods on this page are general references from the extension publications named beside them, not Ovatekly specifications.
More from the hatch guides
A person for the whole hatch.
Every Ovatekly comes with Hatch Support: email a photo of your display or a candled egg to contact@ovatekly.com and a real person answers, from the day you set your eggs until they hatch.