Can someone simplify this?

[austindon]

Our eggs are in a Brinsea Mini Advance. What I am wondering is what do we do when they hatch? Is there a step by step guide to follow? I can check with the lady at the feed store but wonder if someone has just a blow by blow of what we need and how we take care of them till they care for themselves. We have a rooster and 5 hens right now, two hens are laying the others are close. Thank you.

 

[PolkaDot77]

There is a lot of information on this site! Check out the raising baby chick article to find out everything you will need to know. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks Good luck!

 

[Aphrael]

This page has lots of links with a wealth of information on the incubation and hatching process.

While waiting for your babies to hatch you will need to prepare a brooder for them. This page shows how many other people have built their brooders. The essentials are a safely enclosed area that is free of drafts, a heat source, litter of some kind for their floor, food and water. The enclosure can be fancy or simple. Many people just use large cardboard boxes. Just be sure it is large enough for the number of chicks you'll have. They will grow FAST! There are many options for heat sources as well. You can use a brinsea ecoglow type brooder, or a heat lamp, or even just a regular incandescent light bulb if you have few chicks and too small a space for the heat lamp. The important bit is to have one area that is 95* under the heat source and other areas that are cooler, so they can choose their comfort zone. The temp of the heated space should be lowered by 5* each week until it matches the outdoor temps. At this point they should be able to go outside. Note that bitterly cold weather may delay them being able to go out safely for a bit. For food, you want to give them chick starter crumble. There are debates about medicated or non-medicated. I use non, but you'll have to research it and make that choice for yourself. For water you want to give them fresh, cool water in either a shallow dish to start or a deeper dish filled with marbles so that they cannot fall in and drown. The marbles or something else shiny that they cannot eat in the water and food will also help to attract them to eat and drink.

After your chicks have hatched, leave them to dry out and fluff up in the incubator. Once they are all dry and fluffy (and you have no more pips) remove them and take them to the brooder (that should already be set up and warm at this point). Place them in one at a time dipping the very tip of each beak into the water before releasing them.