First hatch!

[KonQuail]

I got my first hatchling just a few minutes about and now I'm lost! Do I leave the chick in the hatcher (temp 100.5 humdity 60) or do I move it to a brooder? should I give it water and food now? I have a bottle cap of water in there but it doesn't seem to want to drink from it.

 

[bbqsfarm]

Leave it in there. I am on my first hatch also. 1 Bird was Sun, 16 yesterday and 4 more today so far.

 

[KonQuail]

Should I put food and water in there? It only incubated for 15 days should I be worried? it seems pretty healthy...and loud.

 

[underground chickenman]

Don't open the incubator until the rest have hatched. The first one can stay in there for 24 hours. Probably longer. I usually take them out at about 24-30 hours. If you still have some that have pipped, but not hatched, act quickly so you don't lose too much humidity. Toss some sponges or a few lightly scrunched up wet paper towels in there to spike the humidity back up. Eggs that haven't hatched before opening the bator can be kinda iffy after you open it, so wait as long as you can before doing so.

I once took my bator into the bathroom, turned on the hot water in the shower until the bathroom steamed up, then opened the bator and took out the hatchlings out. That seemed to keep the humidity up, but that's quite an operation and I wouldn't do it unless you have to spend a lot of time taking out a lot of chicks.

UGCM

 

[KonQuail]

Too late...I've opened up the incubator a few times already But good news is that the humidity is at a steady between 60 and 70. Should it go higher? I thought if it went too high the chicks could drown?

 

[underground chickenman]

No, you're fine at 65-70%. Some will say go 75, but I have never been that high and haven't had any problems with humidity that I didn't cause. ;-)