As usual, Novital greets you with the Lunar Poultry Calendar for 2026!

In the peasant world of the past there were numerous popular traditions related to poultry farming, and among these it was certainly very common to incubate the eggs following the phases of the moon.

This custom started from daily observation, in particular from the fact that many hens began hatching so that the chicks were born in favor of the moon, that is, in the waxing moon phase, and that these chicks were relatively stronger and more robust.

Hence the idea of creating a Lunar Poultry Calendar that can help farmers follow this tradition, indicating the suitable periods in which to incubate so that the chicks are born between the new moon and the full moon. Obviously we are talking about chicken chicks, whose eggs hatch in 21 days: for chicks of other species we will need to change the appropriate interval of days based on the incubation duration of that species. For example, for turkey, guinea fowl and ducks derived from the mallard, which have an incubation duration of 28 days, it is enough to incubate the eggs exactly one week earlier than indicated in the table.

	NEW MOON	FULL MOON	Start incubating from the	to
JANUARY	18/01/26	01/02/26	29/12/25	10/01/26
FEBRUARY	17/02/26	03/03/26	28/01/26	09/02/26
MARCH	19/03/26	02/04/26	27/02/26	11/03/26
APRIL	17/04/26	01/05/26	28/03/26	09/04/26
MAY	16/05/26	31/05/26	26/04/26	09/05/26
JUNE	15/06/26	30/06/26	26/05/26	08/06/26
JULY	14/07/26	29/07/26	24/06/26	07/07/26
AUGUST	12/08/26	28/08/26	26/07/26	06/08/26
SEPTEMBER	11/09/26	26/09/26	22/08/26	04/09/26
OCTOBER	10/10/26	26/10/26	20/09/26	04/10/26
NOVEMBER	09/11/26	24/11/26	20/10/26	02/11/26
DECEMBER	09/12/26	24/12/26	19/11/26	02/12/26
JANUARY	07/01/27	22/01/27	18/12/26	31/12/26

It is important to always remember that this is a popular tradition that has no direct scientific evidence. However, it is true that, although there is a lack of concrete scientific evidence in this specific area, it has been demonstrated in other cases how the phases of the moon influence the behavior – including reproductive behavior – of birds.

The most important thing, however, remains to remind everyone that the secret to successful incubation and hatching lies not so much in the phases of the moon, but in the attention that the breeder invests in the breeding of the reproducers, in the care of the eggs and the incubation, in following and managing the incubator and all the phases of incubation in the best possible way. These are the real fundamental steps to follow for those who want to successfully incubate and see many chicks born.

And remember that Novital is by your side with its Covatutto incubators, designed and designed to help you successfully and easily complete your incubations!
Happy breeding and happy 2026 to everyone!