Hatchery

Hatchery capacity — setters, hatchers and daily chick output.

Convert your weekly chick demand into eggs set per week, peak take-off day output, setter and hatcher egg places, indicative cabinet counts, connected load and building footprint — then carry the numbers straight into a structured RFQ.

Inputs

Saleable chicks required (per week)Day-old chicks you must deliver each week at full operation.Fertility (%)Fertile eggs as a share of eggs set — driven by breeder flock age and management.Hatch of fertile (%)Chick cull / grade-out (%)Take-off days per week (days)More take-off days spread the peak and shrink the chick room.Setter cabinet capacity (eggs)Typical single-stage setters run 19,200–115,200 egg places depending on model.Hatcher cabinet capacity (eggs)Chicks per box (chicks)

Results

Eggs to set per week: 119,346 eggs
Eggs to set per day (7-day): 17,049 eggs
Saleable chicks per take-off day: 100,000 chicks
Chick boxes per take-off day: 1,000 boxes
Setter egg places required: 348,738 eggs
Hatcher egg places required: 58,123 eggs
Indicative setter cabinets: 7
Indicative hatcher cabinets: 4
Indicative connected load: 610 kW
Indicative building footprint: 1,482 m²
Accuracy: ±30% (Class 4)

Get supplier quotes All calculators

Assumptions

Single-stage weekly-set model: 18 incubation days in the setter, 3 days in the hatcher.
Egg-to-saleable-chick yield = fertility × hatch of fertile × (1 − cull rate).
Cabinet utilisation is 88% in the expected case, 82% conservative and 95% optimistic — no hatchery fills every cabinet every week.
Hatch of fertile is reduced 3 points in the conservative case and raised 2 points in the optimistic case.
Connected load and footprint are factor-based planning estimates (±30%, Class 4), not engineering deliverables.
Cabinet counts exclude spare capacity — specify at least one spare setter and hatcher for maintenance and peak weeks.
Multi-stage incubation changes the place calculation and biosecurity regime; confirm the model with your supplier.

Class-4 planning estimate. Not a substitute for engineering design or a bankable feasibility study.

Cabinet count drives most of the hatchery budget — see how capacity shifts hatchery equipment cost

Continue your project research

Related calculators

Guides and planning resources

FAQ

Common questions

How many setters and hatchers does a hatchery need?

Under a single-stage weekly-set model, eggs occupy a setter for 18 days and a hatcher for 3 days. Setter egg places ≈ weekly set × 18 ÷ 7, hatcher places ≈ weekly set × 3 ÷ 7, both divided by realistic cabinet utilisation (82–95%). Cabinet count is then those places divided by the capacity of the cabinet model you specify.

How do I convert chick demand into eggs set per week?

Divide the saleable chicks you must deliver by the egg-to-saleable-chick yield: fertility × hatch of fertile × (1 − cull rate). A 95% fertility, 90% hatch of fertile and 2% cull gives about 83.8% — so 100,000 chicks per week needs roughly 119,000 eggs set.

What daily output should I plan the chick room around?

Plan the chick room, boxing line and dispatch fleet around peak take-off day, not the weekly average. Concentrating a week's hatch into one take-off day multiplies the chick-room and vehicle requirement compared with two or three take-off days.

Is the connected load figure enough for electrical design?

No. It is a Class-4 planning figure for early budgeting and generator dialogue. Final load schedules come from the cabinet supplier's nameplate data plus HVAC, wash and building services designed by your consultant.

Does HatchMatch sell incubators?

No. HatchMatch is a supplier-neutral procurement platform. It structures your requirement, sends it to qualified, pre-screened suppliers and collects their responses. Equipment performance, warranty and pricing come from the suppliers themselves.

Can I send these results to suppliers?

Yes — the results carry into a structured RFQ so every supplier quotes the same weekly set, take-off pattern and cabinet split, which makes their responses genuinely comparable.