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How to Start a Chick Hatching Business in Kenya (Beginner-Friendly Guide)
The chick hatching business is one of the fastest-growing opportunities in Kenya. With the right incubator and proper egg handling, you can earn consistent income every 21 days. This guide will show you exactly how to start and grow a profitable hatchery from home or a small room.
Understand How the Business Works The business has only three steps:
Get fertile eggs
Hatch them using a quality incubator
Sell the day-old chicks
Repeat this cycle consistently to build predictable monthly income.
What You Need to Start (Complete Beginner Setup)
Starting a chick hatching business does not require many items. Most accessories like setter trays, motors, heaters, fans, and hatching baskets already come included inside the Autohatch incubator. What you mainly need is a proper setup for incubation and post-hatch brooding.
Here is the correct list of what you need:
- A Reliable Incubator Choose a model depending on your production target (128, 192, 204, 352, 528, or 616 capacity). Autohatch incubators come fully equipped with:
Setter trays
Hatching baskets
Automatic turning
Automatic water refiller
Digital temperature & humidity control
Alarm system
Fans, heaters, and sensors
This means you don’t need to buy any extra incubation parts separately.
- A Stable Power Source Your incubator can run on:
Normal grid electricity (AC)
Solar power + inverter system
Backup generator (optional)
Power stability is critical for maintaining the correct incubation temperature.
- Brooding Space After hatching, chicks need a warm, safe, clean place to stay for 7–14 days before being sold or transferred to farmers.
Your brooder should include:
Brooding area/box/room
Bedding material:
Use rice husks or wood shavings
Avoid fine sawdust (chicks eat it and choke)
- A Source of Heat Inside the Brooder Chicks cannot regulate their temperature, so you must give them external heat using:
Charcoal Brooder Jiko (most economical)
Infrared bulbs or heat lamps
Effective but consume a lot of electricity
Keep the brooder at 30–33°C during the first week, then gradually reduce.
- Basic Chick-Starters & Health Items Immediately after chicks hatch, you should have:
Liquid paraffin – prevents pasty vents and helps chicks pass waste
Glucose / chick energy booster – gives chicks strength after hatching stress
After the first day, follow a simple vaccination program for:
Marek’s disease
Newcastle
Gumboro
Fowl pox (depending on your market and age of sale)
Why This Setup Works This list gives you everything you need from incubation → hatching → brooding → selling, without overwhelming beginners with unnecessary items. It also guides farmers correctly on what to prepare before starting.
Calculate Your Expected Profit (Kenyan Example) Using a 528-egg incubator:
Fertile kienyeji eggs: KSh 25–35 each
Expected hatch: 80–90%
Hatch about 420 chicks
Sell at KSh 100–150 each
Income: 420 chicks × 120 = KSh 50,400
Costs: Eggs: 528 × 30 = KSh 15,840 Electricity + water ≈ KSh 1,000 Total cost ≈ KSh 17,000
Profit per hatch: KSh 33,000+ every 21 days
Choose the Right Incubator Beginner options:
64, 128, 192, 204 capacity
Business options:
352, 528, 616 capacity
Commercial options:
880, 1056, 1232, 1584+
Why Autohatch incubators work best:
Accurate temperature & humidity
Alarm system
Automatic turning
Strong airflow
External water refilling
Solar compatible
AC/DC models available
Manage Your Incubation Properly
Good incubation management is the key to achieving a high hatch rate. Make sure you follow these essential guidelines:
Temperature: Maintain a stable 37.8°C throughout the first 18 days.
Humidity:
45–55% from Day 1–18
65–75% during Day 19–21 (hatching period)
Turning:
Eggs should be turned only during the first 18 days.
Turning must STOP completely during the last 3 days (lockdown).
Ventilation: Ensure the fan is clean and vents are open for proper airflow.
Cleaning: Disinfect the incubator thoroughly after every hatch.
Very Important Practices for Higher Hatch Rates Avoid opening the incubator door unnecessarily, especially during lockdown (Day 19–21). Opening the door drops humidity and temperature instantly, which causes chicks to dry inside the shell (shrink-wrapping).
Always use the automatic water refiller included in Autohatch incubators. The auto-refiller supplies water to the humidity tray without opening the incubator — it works like a toilet cistern, keeping humidity stable and preventing the need to open the machine.
Use clean, fresh water ONLY in your water refiller or humidity tank.
Avoid salty or mineral-rich water, as it corrodes heating elements, causes scaling, and shortens the life of the humidity heater.
Following these simple but crucial practices can increase your hatch rate by 30–40% consistently.
How to Sell Your Chicks (Guaranteed Buyers) Sell through:
Facebook poultry groups
WhatsApp status
Agro vets
Schools
Local farmers
County farming forums
Offer pre-bookings and deposits before hatch day to guarantee sales.
Grow Your Business After stabilizing your hatching:
Upgrade to larger incubator
Add brooders
Add solar/inverter
Improve packaging
Register your business
This builds long-term trust with customers.
Conclusion
Starting a chick hatching business in Kenya is simple, affordable, and very profitable. With the right incubator, consistent incubation practices, and smart marketing, you can earn income every 21 days and grow a strong poultry brand.
