I have chicks hatching in a day and I'm so excited. What is the best way to get the best hatch rate. I have about 35 forming but everytime this happens I see them all I only get about 10 to hatch anyways
Welcome to BYC!! Assuming you are using an incubator? What type? I use the Styrofoam with automatic egg turner. One of my suggestions-and one of my lessons learned-is do not lift the lid on the incubator. They call it lock down for a reason. I have caved and lifted the lid causing shrink wrap, temperature changes, and ultimately killing the babies that I think would have otherwise hatched. Now, I wait. At least 24-48 hours. Then I pull all the hatched babies out and feed them finely chopped boiled eggs and chick starter mixed. Good luck! Keep us posted
Hello and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with the hatch! You might want to post in the Incubating Eggs forum with info on what incubator you are using etc for help with increasing your hatch rate https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs there ia a great article in teh LEarning Center that covers about every thing also https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
Are you using your own eggs or shipped ones? Shipped eggs tend to have a lower hatch rate - possibly from the stress and bumps of shipping.
Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us. The keys to success in hatching eggs are: Start with good breeding stock. Feed the breeders a complete feed and sometimes even supplement with vitamins. Weak or vitamin deficient breeders will lead to weaker chicks that may have difficulties hatching. Make sure the temperature is correct. Keep it at 99-100 degrees for the entire incubation, when using a forced-air incubator. If you're using a still-air incubator without a fan, you want the temperature to be about 101. Make sure the eggs are being turned. Eggs need to be turned at least three times a day for the first 14 days. Past day 14, turning isn't essential. However, most people stop turning on day 18, by tradition. Be sure to turn the turner off on day 18! Otherwise, it will prevent the chicks from situating themselves correctly in the egg. Keep the humidity in the correct range. A 50% humidity is ideal for the first 18 days of incubation. For lockdown, increase it to at least 65%. This prevents the membranes from drying out when a chick pips. Without sufficient humidity, the chick may become "shrink-wrapped" in the egg. Avoid opening the incubator unncecesarily. If you open it too much, the humidity will drop, increasing the chances of a poor hatch. Instead of taking chicks out whenever they hatch, remove chicks in groups, when the majoritiy of the eggs have hatched. Be patient! Chicks can take a long time to hatch. It may be hard to wait, but non-interference is usually the best option. I hope the hatch goes well! Please keep us updated. Hatching eggs can be so exciting.
