Had a very good hatch rate 100%. The question is the chicks are not drying in bator so put in brooder but are drying with a crust(Stiff down). Should I try to get off are let it go and hope it comes off?? Thanks JT
why not get them wet? I have wet mine when they hatch all sticky. I dry them off really well in paper towels and keep them warm with my body heat and never had a problem. I put them under the brooder light to finish drying and they are all fluffy in about twenty minutes.
I haven't wet mine yet - they started hatching yesterday and have that sticky down on them still................they love to be rolled up into the bottom of your shirt!
not meaning to hijack, but have a semi-related question. I had some frizzle babies hatch (10) and were doing fine. (9 days old today). Somehow during the night their waterer COMPLETELY emptied into the bottom of the brooder which was covered with newspaper. When I woke this morning, every chick was SOAKING wet and cold. I took them out of the brooder and put them on a dry towel under the dome from the incubator ( a round Lyon Turn-X). They were all cold, a few of them were completely down flat, several standing, a few wobbly, etc. I had to leave for several hours so I left them there to dry, leaving some starter crumbles with them. I got home around 8:30 or 8:45 and they were all up, milling around, and some were pecking at the crumbles. I put them back in a smaller brooder with a tiny finch "bathtub" with glass marbles for weight in the bottom. They seemed fine except for one little guy that just didn't have any energy. I used an eyedropper to dribble some sugar water with a bit of ACV in it. It perked up a tiny bit for just a minute, then laid back down. It didn't look good at all -- I picked it up and held it next to my chest, and it died within another minute or two. The others are dry, but their head feathers and some body feathers are still plastered to them. I assume they'll fluff back out in a few days. Is there anything else I can do for them? It hurt my heart to lose that poor little one, and I want the others to be safe and thrive.
