first time for chicks

[Heidisgran]

we are so happy and excited....we've never hatched chicks in anyway...we let our hen sit...we had so heart breaks but in the last 15hrs we have 3 hatchlings and another egg chirping! the other eggs the hen is sitting on aren't as far along don't know yet how to handle that if she doesn't continue sitting now that these first have hatched!?

 

[loveourbirds]

as much as I hate to say it; she will probably move on when the first hatchlings are ready. If you have an incubator move them to it when she leaves. if you don't, there are several threads that tell you how to make one from a Styrofoam cooler and lamp.

good luck,
brian

 

[Heidisgran]

she didn't continue to sit on the remaining eggs...I tried incubating them the got to full term but I think I drowned them...conflicting info on the humidity...

 

[loveourbirds]

what did you run your humidity at?

 

[Heidisgran]

I thought I read to raise it the last few days....so I was going for 85% poor little things!!

 

[loveourbirds]

you are supposed to raise it on the last days of the hatch, I do it on day 18. ill just start from the beginning

the day I set them I have my incubator running between 99.5 and 101 degrees. I don't recommend letting one heat above the 101 degree mark. (I even use this on still air). I run my humidity about 40-45% on the first 17 days. if your using a hovabator or little giant, simpily fill half the water troughs and remove one plug. don't pay attention to your hygrometer.

on day 18 I lay them flat, and raise the humidity to 55-60%, with hovabator or little giant fill all water troughs and remove the second plug.

your humidity may have been your problem, but with everything that happened you done your best; and that is commendable. don't give up trying to incubate over this, it happens to the best of us. with these instructions and little giant incubators most people get 80% or more hatch rates from eggs raised by them.