First time incubating

AmyLynn2374 · Dec 28, 2014

mbelim said:
Hello People,

I am sooo excited today... this is why...

MY FIRST HATCH!!!

So I need to know what to do next? I have been told to keep them in Bator for 3 days.
Then move them to brooder....
Please advice on temperature of brooder box etc...

I don't keep mine in either. A lot of people believe that you should not remove them until the entire hatch is complete and the last chick is dry. I leave mine in for a few hours to get warmed up and find their feet, but unless I have a lot of others that have pipped I move mine to the brooder after a few hours. They can stay in the bator up to 3 days if necessary, but there is no reason to keep them in that long especially if all your eggs have hatched.
Your brooder should be warmed at one end to 95 degrees before you put them in. General rule is you decrease the temp 5 degrees every week till you are at room temp. The chicks will move in and out from under the light as they need. They are pretty good at taking care of their warming needs, however, if they are huddled together underneath the light and are squaking and unhappy, it is not warm enough for them.
They need to start feed on starter crumbles once in the brooder and they need to have it and water available at all times. When you put the chicks in the brooder it is recommended to dip their beak in the water so they will know how to find it quicker. Depending on what type of water dish you have you may want to consider putting sterile rocks or marbles in it to keep them from drowning themselves. Also if you have it or have a place to get it you may want to consider putting some sav a chick in the water the first 2-3 days.
Congrats on the hatchers!

PD-Riverman · Dec 28, 2014

mbelim said:
So I need to know what to do next? I have been told to keep them in Bator for 3 days.

"I" would leave them in it till day 22 unless all hatch before then----not opening the incubator for nothing until then. Very happy for You!!

I like the brooder boxed in on 3 sides, top and wire on the bottom but a poop catch pan right under the wire----leaving the front open with a wire open play area. Having the heat about 1/3rd the boxed in area away from the back wall.--Think of the brooder as a Mother hen----the chicks can run around in the open area, playing, eating, etc, but when they start getting cool, they can run under the closed in area(mother hen) to warm---take a nap, etc---them back into the yard again. Good Luck!!

AmyLynn2374 · Dec 28, 2014

Oh, and don't use cedar shavings in the brooder. Cedar is not good for animals. I use (course) pine shavings as a lot of people do

mbelim · Dec 29, 2014

PD-Riverman said:
"I" would leave them in it till day 22 unless all hatch before then----not opening the incubator for nothing until then. Very happy for You!!

I like the brooder boxed in on 3 sides, top and wire on the bottom but a poop catch pan right under the wire----leaving the front open with a wire open play area. Having the heat about 1/3rd the boxed in area away from the back wall.--Think of the brooder as a Mother hen----the chicks can run around in the open area, playing, eating, etc, but when they start getting cool, they can run under the closed in area(mother hen) to warm---take a nap, etc---them back into the yard again. Good Luck!!

AmyLynn2374 said:
Oh, and don't use cedar shavings in the brooder. Cedar is not good for animals. I use (course) pine shavings as a lot of people do

AmyLynn2374 said:
I don't keep mine in either. A lot of people believe that you should not remove them until the entire hatch is complete and the last chick is dry. I leave mine in for a few hours to get warmed up and find their feet, but unless I have a lot of others that have pipped I move mine to the brooder after a few hours. They can stay in the bator up to 3 days if necessary, but there is no reason to keep them in that long especially if all your eggs have hatched.
Your brooder should be warmed at one end to 95 degrees before you put them in. General rule is you decrease the temp 5 degrees every week till you are at room temp. The chicks will move in and out from under the light as they need. They are pretty good at taking care of their warming needs, however, if they are huddled together underneath the light and are squaking and unhappy, it is not warm enough for them.
They need to start feed on starter crumbles once in the brooder and they need to have it and water available at all times. When you put the chicks in the brooder it is recommended to dip their beak in the water so they will know how to find it quicker. Depending on what type of water dish you have you may want to consider putting sterile rocks or marbles in it to keep them from drowning themselves. Also if you have it or have a place to get it you may want to consider putting some sav a chick in the water the first 2-3 days.
Congrats on the hatchers!

Jessshan8 said:
By the way CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi guys... this is so exciting!!

I'm a bit sad coz two chicks are a little deformed. 1 has a blodd clot hanging out of its tummy and tge other can't walk.
I don't know if they will make it.
is there any way to cure them?

tnx

AmyLynn2374 · Dec 29, 2014

mbelim said:
Hi guys... this is so exciting!!

I'm a bit sad coz two chicks are a little deformed. 1 has a blodd clot hanging out of its tummy and tge other can't walk.
I don't know if they will make it.
is there any way to cure them?

tnx

What's the issue with the one that can't walk? Depending on why, (curled toes/spraddle legs) there are things you can try to help it out but it depends on the reasoning for it. We'd need to see a pic of the tummy to see what the issue is with the other. It may the umbilical cord is a little herniated or something for more worse.

mbelim · Dec 29, 2014

AmyLynn2374 said:
What's the issue with the one that can't walk? Depending on why, (curled toes/spraddle legs) there are things you can try to help it out but it depends on the reasoning for it. We'd need to see a pic of the tummy to see what the issue is with the other. It may the umbilical cord is a little herniated or something for more worse.

this chick is losing a lot of blood and I'm concerned...

This is the other chick that can't walk. Notice its leg is towards it's back...

Also many of my eggs have not hatched as yet... is that normal?
Here is one egg that has been pecking since last night and all day today it has stopped pecking... what should I do?

AmyLynn2374 · Dec 29, 2014

Neither one of those chicks look well to me at all. I can't see that well in the pic, but it looks like some of his insides were hanging out or a very bloodly umbilical cord/membrane still attatched. The bottom one I would not give much hope too. It could be just me, but it looks like more than just a leg problem.
Some chicks can and will be a couple days behind hatching, but you shouldn't expect a 100% hatch rate. Yes, it happens, but you can't expect it to happen.
The chick that has pipped. It can take 24 for a chick to zip after pipping. If it's been that long and you are worried you can quickly remove the egg, expand the pip hole so that you can evaluate the situation and decide if you want to assist or if it just needs more time. If you do, you'll want to moisten the membrane before you put it back in the bator.

PD-Riverman · Dec 29, 2014

mbelim said:
this chick is losing a lot of blood and I'm concerned...

This is the other chick that can't walk. Notice its leg is towards it's back...

Also many of my eggs have not hatched as yet... is that normal?
Here is one egg that has been pecking since last night and all day today it has stopped pecking... what should I do?

The 2 chicks do not look like they will make it. As said it can take some time for some eggs to hatch----I see you are holding the chick---I had bad luck opening the bator----""" I""" would not open my incubator for Nothing, for no reason till they all hatch or day 22(for chickens). The last hatch I had a few days ago---I had 35 eggs, 33 hatched on their own 2 were pipped for 2 days---when I open the incubator on day 22, I broke those 2 out completely and left them in the incubator over night---they were fine.

What day are the eggs on(24 hrs after you put them in as day one)??

If the heat is to high it can cause them to hatch early and alot to be deform----but so many other things can cause them to be deformed too!

Wishing you the Best!!

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