My chicken eggs aren't hatching. Could fowl cholera be the problem?

Chicken eggs hatch in 21 days using incubation from an electric incubator or from the mother. If they are not with the mother and not being incubated, they likely won't hatch. Once the chicks are born, they need a heat source from a lamp or mother or else they will get too cold and not survive. A heat source such as a lamp should be used and placed so that the chicks can move toward and away from it as needed to maintain the correct temperature. As they get older, you'll want to gradually lower the temperature in their brooder until it matches outside ones.

There could be a lot of factors at play- not all of the eggs may have been fertilized, they could have been cracked or broken while being sat on, or there may have been a genetic issue that kept the eggs from developing. It's very common and normal to not have all eggs from a clutch hatch and produce chicks. If you are consistently having issues, or the hen seems to have trouble properly laying, you can remove the eggs and incubate them yourself using an incubator that has a better chance of stable temperature and less breakage of eggs. Making sure you have a rooster that can cover all the hens, and that all hens are on a balanced layer diet can help ensure healthier, and better chances of fertile eggs as well.

Thanks for reaching out about Chip. At this early stage it is not easy to determine fertility of eggs. One can candle them (holding a flashlight behind the egg) to visualize the embryo. If there are visible blood vessels or a black dot (developing embryo), then they are fertile. Incubator period for many smaller birds is generally 21-28 days, depending on the species. If you allow them to sit on the eggs, they will usually abandon the nest once they determine the eggs are not fertile. Good luck.

It sounds as it could have been a viral disease, possibly Newcastle disease or Marek disease, either way it's probably very contagious, you need to disinfect and clear the area completely before bringing in any other chickens or birds.

The eggs will only hatch if they have chicks in them, ie were fertile. This would only be possible if your female was with a male. Usually the eggs should hatch after 18 full days of incubation. You should inspect the egg with the crack. The chick may be too weak to open the shell and you may have to help by opening the crack a bit. and see if the chick is still alive. If so you can open the egg more if the chick is not able to open it by itself.

This can be normal, especially if you are somewhere where it is still cold and not having a lot of daylight, or is very hot, as environmental stress can sometimes stop laying for a period. If there's been a change to your flock (adding birds, removing birds, etc) or a change to diet it can also take a few days for laying to resume. Very old and very young birds may also not lay regularly until their hormones even out (in the case of young birds). If the lack of laying continues, the comb or waddle become very pale (a sign of illness or anemia), or you see other signs of illness, a vet visit to rule out any health issues is best.

Once they pip (break through the shell), it can take as long as 24 hours before completely hatching out. Temperature and humidity will play a role in the length of time it takes. It is best to not interfere unless the chick is in obvious distress. Eggs will typically hatch after about q9 days of incubation. Eggs laid first will hatch before others.