Incubation duration periods
The duration required for a chick to develop and hatch from an egg varies greatly depending on bird species. A listing of incubation periods and recommended incubation conditions for many commonly observed bird species is shown in Hatching Quality Chicks and Hatchery Management.
In general, the incubation periods are 21 days for chickens, 23 days for bobwhite quail, 28 days for turkeys and most ducks, 17 days for Coturnix (pharaoh) quail and about 33 days for geese. The length of incubation will vary depending on egg collection and storage conditions and incubation conditions. Length of the incubation period can be altered drastically if recommended conditions are not maintained.
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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- If egg prices have seemed higher than ever lately, it’s because they are, and consumers can place much of the blame squarely at the feet of the ongoing bird flu outbreak.
With highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, in the environment in Mississippi, owners of backyard flocks have to take extra steps to keep their chickens healthy.
Avian influenza poses an extremely low risk to human health and none to food safety in Mississippi, but its presence poses a risk to backyard flocks and the state’s $3 billion commercial poultry industry.
BILOXI, Miss. -- A large group of agricultural producers gathered at the 2025 Producer Advisory Council meeting Jan. 14 at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. The annual meeting serves as a forum for agricultural producers to discuss their needs with Mississippi State University personnel, including administrators, researchers, specialists and Extension agents with the MSU Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and MSU Extension Service.
