Chickens do lay eggs all year round.. they tend to slow down in the winter in colder climates, and if they don't have supplemental light during those short winter days.
You need to get fertilized eggs (obviously). You may want to ask around to see if anyone in town has chickens. If they have a rooster, chances are the eggs are fertilized. I have zero input on building an incubator, but I know a bunch of people here have done it using all sorts of ways.

As Erin says, chickens lay eggs year round...the only thing I would add, is that here in southern California there is no need for supplemental light and/or heat (usually! *G*) since our winters aren't as severe. My hens do slow down in the egg laying department in winter, but I figure it's a natural break that they need and don't mess with it--but mine are kept as a hobby and pets, not for commercial egg production. If I was running a business my concerns would be very different. :)

If you need fertile eggs, ask around at feed stores and put up a flyer if they will allow it, or check with your county agriculture extension, college, 4H club, etc. In a pinch you can buy fertile hatching eggs online at eggbid.com. Once an egg has been refrigerated it can no longer be hatched, so be careful about getting unrefrigerated eggs for your project.

I use a styrofoam Little Giant incubator, but lots of people here have made their own incubators, very successfully. If you Google "How to make an incubator" it comes up with some good results.

What you also need to do is plan for the live chicks AFTER they hatch--have a brooder box ready and waiting with proper food and water, and make sure you or someone else are willing to give them a home. :)

Good luck and have fun! If you click on my 'My Page' link, there is tons of chicken info there that might help you, too.

Velvet ~:>

Hi,
I just popped into this forum, and I think I can help some. My mom, a K-3 teacher, raised chicks/ducks every year when I was growing up for her class. She had an incubator that was round and mostly styrafoam and probably held about 24 eggs, atleast a dozen. She didn't make it, I'm sure of that. I'm sure it was inexpensive because we were broke so she didn't buy it, it wasn't anything fancy. She raised them in the spring, but it would depend on when you got the eggs. She got them from a local farm that is one of those hands on farms that you can go to and see sheep shearing etc, or a frends farm, and one year we did ducks for the local park with the fish and game people. We turned the eggs 2x a day by hand in the incubator. Not all of them would hatch usually, so be sure to have extras. We would also candle them with a projector to see the silowet(sp) of the chicks inside as they got bigger. That's actually pretty cool for the kids.

Kate, for an incubator, you can buy one from any hatchery you find on the internet. Be sure to by a very accurate thermometer if not two for accuracy. The eggs need to be need to be fertile and not ever refrigerated. Turn them once a day until you are ready to put them all in the incubator at the same time. then turn them twice a day at the same time for 18 days, the last three days simply watch. If the temp is accurate 99.5-100F you should get at least 80% hatch rate.