going to hatch this month...?

[ksct]

I'm sorry if this doesn't belong here.... (I posted it in the wrong section I think previously, they told me to put it here-i didn't see this section)

It looks like we will be hatching eggs sometime this month.....
NEVER done this before....
Does anyone have any suggestions of a good incubator and what other supplies we may need?

Also, i've heard that the chicks don't know right away (obviously) where the food and water come from and need help with that in their first day.....
how do we do that? we'll probably be giving them to the people we are going to be sharing the hatch with on day 2.

thanks for the help!

 

[Brickman House]

That's a lot of question in one post! There's some great information here, but you're best served by poking around a little bit.

As far as incubators go, there are incubators from $40 to $800 (and more), and several choices at each price point. There have been several threads over the last few days asking for incubator recommendations, so if you scan the last several pages of this forum, you should get great information. Alternatively, you can try the Search function at the top right of your screen.

For how to care for chicks after they hatch, head on over to the Raising Baby Chicks forum for all you'll ever need to know. There's a sticky at the top of the page with helpful links, or browse through a few pages. I can guarantee you'll find the answers to every question you could possibly have!

 

[Elite Silkies]

You can get a forced air bator with an egg turner from RandallBurkley.com for around $140.00. I have 2 of these and they work pretty good.

I think someone also makes a preset one that is suppose to be really good. You don't have to worry about stabalizing the temp.

Put marbles or rocks in the chicks water so they do not drown.
Grind up their food so that they do not starve. Makes it much easier for them to eat.

1st week 95 degrees
2nd week 90 degrees
3rd week 85 degrees
4th week 80 degrees
5th week 75 degrees
6th week 70 degrees

7th week they should be fully feathered and ready to go to the coop.

Good luck on your hatching.