After defeating Yagluth and purchasing your first batch of eggs from Haldor in Valheim, one important mechanic to consider when designing your chicken coop is ensuring your eggs are not cold. Eggs cannot be hatched when in your inventory, as they must be placed somewhere on the ground or the floor of your built structures to hatch. However, upon inspecting your eggs, you might notice the status effect “Too cold” in parentheses. As long as an egg is under this effect, hatching it into a chicken is not possible.
Related: What do hens eat in Valheim?
How to warm an egg in Valheim
To properly hatch eggs in Valheim and start raising your hens, you must prevent your eggs from being “Too cold” and instead ensure they have the “Warm” status effect. Fortunately, making an egg warm involves a simple solution. If your character approaches any heat source in Valheim in an enclosed space, you will receive the shelter and fire effects simultaneously, triggering the resting effect. Likewise, your eggs must be under the same conditions to be not too cold in Valheim. In other words, an egg must be near a fire and have a roof over it to become warm.
Of course, you could put an egg directly beside a fire to ensure it is very warm until it hatches. However, this method risks the chicken cooking itself upon hatching by spawning or walking into the flames. Therefore, you must ensure your eggs are a safe distance away or have a wall or fence to ensure the chickens stay put. To confirm the need for a roof to prevent an egg from being too cold in Valheim, we placed an uncovered egg near a fireplace built beneath the floor. Despite its close proximity to the heat, it remained too cold until we built a roof over it. Accordingly, warmth and shelter are essential for ensuring an egg hatches.
