Chicks drowning during pipping.

[kingpincray]

very cool and rustic looking brooder box.

 

[aalbury]

They are so cute!!! That box is cute! I've been using my great dane's old crate indoors, but I could do this and put it in the barn eh? It gets a little chilly...the elec temp controller....hmmm does it control the light, or an alternative heat source?

What do you do with the humidity during a staggard hatch? I have a few that were inserted in 2 days after the first....will they drown if I increase humidity for the first part of the batch? ACK

 

[skillet_scramble]

Quote:
The light was only placed on there to help to bring it up to temp. The controller operates a small heat strip that was also used in the industrial equipment that the controller came from. This box is strictly the brooder and I didn't do anything to regulate humidity. They were hatched in a "little Giant" incubator and after they were completely dry were then placed into the brooder box. Each week I was able to reduce the set point on the digital controller by 5 degrees to aclimate them. It worked great and after the 6th week I was able to move them into some cages on the floor in the henhouse so they could get used to the others and vice versa. After a couple more weeks I was able to release them with the others with no problems.

 

[chick-a-bone2]

Something to consider would be incubation temperatures. If they are too high, sometimes the chicks will develop too fast inside the egg and literally be too large to move within the egg and pip/hatch properly.

 

[skillet_scramble]

Quote:
That is interesting because when I cracked open the eggs it looked as if they were literally packed inside with no room to spare.

 

[aalbury]

Quote:
The light was only placed on there to help to bring it up to temp. The controller operates a small heat strip that was also used in the industrial equipment that the controller came from. This box is strictly the brooder and I didn't do anything to regulate humidity. They were hatched in a "little Giant" incubator and after they were completely dry were then placed into the brooder box. Each week I was able to reduce the set point on the digital controller by 5 degrees to aclimate them. It worked great and after the 6th week I was able to move them into some cages on the floor in the henhouse so they could get used to the others and vice versa. After a couple more weeks I was able to release them with the others with no problems.

Right, I didn't mean that I'd hatch them in there - I should've asked that humidity question on a different thread or been more clear! I just had seen a few things here on staggered hatches and thought I'd put a few more eggs in....now I'm wishing I'd not with the comments here on drowning!

I will have to look into some type of alternative heat source....with a DH in HVAC, you'd think I'd have asked him for ideas! Thanks!

 

[skillet_scramble]

Quote:
The light was only placed on there to help to bring it up to temp. The controller operates a small heat strip that was also used in the industrial equipment that the controller came from. This box is strictly the brooder and I didn't do anything to regulate humidity. They were hatched in a "little Giant" incubator and after they were completely dry were then placed into the brooder box. Each week I was able to reduce the set point on the digital controller by 5 degrees to aclimate them. It worked great and after the 6th week I was able to move them into some cages on the floor in the henhouse so they could get used to the others and vice versa. After a couple more weeks I was able to release them with the others with no problems.

Right, I didn't mean that I'd hatch them in there - I should've asked that humidity question on a different thread or been more clear! I just had seen a few things here on staggered hatches and thought I'd put a few more eggs in....now I'm wishing I'd not with the comments here on drowning!

I will have to look into some type of alternative heat source....with a DH in HVAC, you'd think I'd have asked him for ideas! Thanks!

I apologize, after reading your post again I realized that what you were talking about was what I originally posted the darned thread about anyway (possible drowning). The thread just tended to get a little off course with the discussion about the brooder. Once again I am sorry and thanks for getting the thread back to the original subject.

 

[aalbury]

No need! I just learned a ton! The more the better!

 

[mstricer]

I just had a bad friday the 13th hatch, I am almost positive my babies drowned. I had a hugh (and thats an understatment) spike in humidity on day 17. I only got one baby. I think because he had broke through the air sac before the spike (he was chripping) One other pippedd it might have smothered, due to the fact it was in a egg carton (i will not hatch that way anymore) and where it was pipped it was against the side of the egg carton. The baby I did get, I thought was going to die at first it was a little sticky and would not side up I thought its legs were broke. It took 24 hours and Now its really fiesty, even pecks at you really cute. High humiditiy is bad.

 

[wjallen05]

skillet, NICE BROODER!!!

I used to use a Little Giant incubator, and I got 60-70% hatch rate both hatches, which isn't terrible, but I did have lots of babies pip and drowned at the end, and it's because the incubator did not keep a consistent humidity no matter what I did. I hated the chicks died, it made me feel terrible. I bought a Brinsea and have used it twice with 100% hatch rates both times.