Ark is definitely a very complicated game and you need a lot of time to sink into the game to get anywhere. It is very similar to Rust in a way that sucks all the time from anything else. Obviously, people do enjoy that and one mechanic in Ark that most people don’t really get into is the egg hatching. There are a few things you can do to keep your baby dinos alive during their life cycle.
You need to know how to incubate the specific eggs, stock up on food depending on what you are hatching, and slowly feed them by hand after they hatch. You really need to watch its food stats so you don’t overfeed them. It is tedious, but if you want to hatch eggs, it is the needed process.
We will go into more detail in the rest of the article about the best ways to do each of these processes, but keep in mind that this is a very long and tedious process. You are better off taming a fully-grown dino rather than hatching one from an egg.
How to incubate dino eggs?
Incubating dino eggs takes a lot of time and work. You need to first determine what kind of dino egg you want to hatch and get the surroundings ready for it. You then need an incubator. Once you have an incubator, you need to place the egg inside of it. Then, you need to wait for the egg to hatch.
The amount of time it takes for an egg to hatch varies depending on the type of egg, but it typically takes a very long time even for low-level creatures. Once the egg hatches, you will be able to tame the new dinosaur. It does take an absurdly long time for an egg to be incubated, but if you pick the egg up, you won’t actually lose any of the progress.
If you do need to get off or stop the process for any reason, don’t worry, because you can save it for later. It is not like you are forced to wait 4 hours for this one dinosaur to hatch. Just keep in mind that it is a long and tedious process.
Stock up on food depending on what you are hatching
You should stock up on food and not place it into the feeding trough because the dino will not be able to eat it all and it will go to waste. Baby dinosaurs have small stomachs so they need to eat frequently. Hatchlings especially should be fed every few hours or they will starve to death.
Don’t put the food in feeding troughs because the other dinos will devour everything. Make sure you designate food for the creature you are hatching and get a lot. Once it is hatched, you will be spending a lot of time with it so be prepared.
They also need to be kept warm, so building a fire or using a heat lamp is also recommended. Once your baby dino is hatched, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on its food and water levels and make sure it doesn’t get too hungry or thirsty.
Watch its food stats while feeding it
A hatchling’s food needs are different from an adult dino’s. They need more frequent feedings and their stomachs are much smaller, so they can’t eat as much at a time. You’ll also want to have a good supply of fresh water on hand since hydration is key for keeping baby dinos healthy. Always watch their food and water stats to make sure they always have what they need.
Some players choose to set up an enclosed pen with walls high enough that the hatchlings can’t jump or climb out. This can be helpful in keeping them safe from predators, but it’s not required. If you do build a pen, make sure it has plenty of room for the babies to move around and explore
When should you stop feeding it yourself?
The time it takes for a baby dino to grow into an adult dino varies by the type of dino it is. Some dinosaurs take only minutes, while others may take days to fully grow. Most of the time, it only will take an hour or two for them to be fully grown so you should designate a person or even do it yourself to watch its stats.
Hatching creatures is probably one of e hardest things to do in Ark, and you really need to know what you are doing to do it correctly. Make sure you have a safe place for it once it hatches so there is no way for it to die in its maturing process.
It is tedious, but if you decided to hatch an egg, it is not an easy process. You decided to do it, so you need to wait out the process or it will be a complete waste of your time. Once it becomes an adult, you can place the food in a feeding trough and you won’t have to worry about hand-feeding it ever again.
Is it worth hatching eggs?
It is entirely up to you. It is a very long and annoying process so if you want to put yourself through that then go right ahead. It is not bad if you are just hatching basic creatures like Dodo birds or something like that, but if you want to hatch something like a T-Rex, then it will take literal days of non-stop care to do hatch.
If you do decide to hatch some eggs, make sure you find some basic ones first so you can get the hang of it. Sometimes another player will give you an egg from another map, and if that is the case, look up how to hatch it and totally go for it. If the creature you want is found in your world, then it might not be entirely worth it since you can just easily tame it.