chick's in incubator

outdoor junkie

Songster
9 Years
Mar 28, 2011
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Had a few hatch earlier than expected. My question is, how long csn the chick's stay in the Bator before I need to pull them out? Hate to open it up if not necessary.
 
They feed of from the yolk for 3 days,but you can take them out when they are dry.Their brooder needs to be at 95 degrees the 1st week and drop 5 degrees eacxh week for 4 weeks and they should be feathered by then.Depending on your weather they could go outside when it stays around 75 degrees and up,after at least 4 weeks of brooding.
In N.H.,Tony.
 
I have never incubated anything myself, but I've been reading a bit about it here and there and from what I've read, no, you can't be sure they'll survive for 3 - or even 2 - days without food and water. 24 hours is usually fine, but 36 is about the limit of what I'd feel comfortable with, should I ever attempt incubation. Apparently there is quite a bit of variation between species - chickens might be good for longer than quail, for instance - but individuals that hatched early - say day 15 for quail - might also be good for longer than individuals that hatched late, as they might have more yolk left to feed on.
I read somewhere that you can have a water mister ready, open the incubator, quickly remove the chicks, mist the eggs to bump the humidity and prevent shrink wrapping and close the incubator again. But as I haven't tried it, I don't know if it'll work.
Whether you keep the incubator closed till there are no pips or open it to remove the oldest chicks, I think there is a risk some of the chicks will die.
 
I guess I should have been more clear in my response.They feed of the the yolk for 3 days so they may not eat right away,but do have it available to them.You may even need to dip their beaks in the water and then in their food so they get the hang of it.Not saying you have to,but you may have to..They should be taken out of bator when the are dry.
In N.H.,Tony.
 
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