first hatch..What to expect?

[slundberg]

Just came home from work and my first baby has hatched. He seems very tired. still a little wet but not too much. Not fluffy yet. When do they become more active. It was so stressful incubating and now i am on to the new stress of hoping it lives and what to expect. I have been incubating for 2 months now and after tons of hours of research i finally have one baby. Npt sure when it came out so i will wait until tomorow to put in brooder. I hope it livens up. Should i bu a little plamte if my others don't hatch tomorow? Someone please give me advice. Thanks, Sincerly Stressed.

 

[Southpaw970]

I've only hatched once, so I'm not an expert or anything.

My 4 little chicks were very tired until the next day. It took them a few hours after hatching to dry out and look all fuzzy too.
I've heard of people putting a little stuffed animal in the brooder with a single chick.

Maybe someone more experienced will chime in.

 

[tammyd57]

If any more eggs are pipped, I would wait until they hatch to take out the first chick. Opening the incubator to remove one chick can compromise the hatch for others. Baby chicks can live for 2 to 3 days without food or water so they are safe to wait in the incubator until others hatch. It can take up to a day or so for the chick to get completely fluffy and start hopping around.