Contact Information:
Phillip J. Clauer
Senior Extension Associate
4-H Youth and Specialty Poultry
Department of Poultry Science
The Pennsylvania State University
Incubation Period of Other Species
One of the miracles of nature is the transformation of the egg into the chick. In a brief three weeks of incubation, a fully developed chick grows from a single cell and emerges from a seemingly lifeless egg.
Not every avian eggs hatch in 21 days. See the chart below for incubation periods for other fowl. The duckbill platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs and they have an incubation period of 12 days. Never incubate the eggs of wild birds; these chicks will not live without their mother's care if they do hatch.
| Incubation Periods (species and days required to hatch) | ||||
| Bobwhite Quail | (23-24) | Guinea | (27-28) | |
| Canary | (13) | Muscovy Ducks | (35) | |
| Chicken | (21) | Pheasants | (24-26) | |
| Chukar Partridge | (23-24) | Pigeon | (16-19) | |
| Coturnix Quail | (16-18) | Ostrich | (42) | |
| Ducks | (28) | Swan | (35) | |
| Geese | (28-33) | Turkey | (28) | |