Had my first set of eggs hatch today! Now what? :)

LouNeo

In the Brooder
Jun 9, 2016
34
1
14
Wilmington NC
I had bought a couple hens a month ago, they had been used for breeding / in with a rooster of their breed. 1 Blue Cochin and 1 Silver laced black cochin so I decided to collect eggs for a couple weeks and see if they would hatch. heard some squeaks this morning coming from that end of the kitchen. Looks like 2 are fully out of their shell and 1 is still stuck half in the shell. Do I help the one that is stuck or just let nature take it course? There may be 1 or 2 more than could hatch in the next day or so, the rest may not have been fertile in the first place as I was guessing at which eggs were which in the coop.

So next steps with the hatched ones? I heard I can leave them in the incubator for a day and then I guess put them in a separate container with a heat lamp and run the process I did with the other chicks I had bought? My concern now is really for the little one that hasnt gotten out yet. Its chirping, its moving, its just stuck.

Anything else I should do to try and ensure survival? Incubator is at 100 degrees and 51% humidity right now. AC was out all weekend so I had turned the bator down to compensate for ambient. AC was just fixed 2 hours ago so I just turned the bator back up to compensate for the 20 degree ambient temp different lol house was 95 degrees all weekend days!

Thanks all, heres a pic of the wee ones.

 
Hello! Looks like you have your self some chicks. Congrats :), Anyway you are right about leaving them in the incubator for a day. Also about putting them in a box with a heat lamp for a week or so or when you think they look ready. The little chick though, when i hatched some silkie chicks we got 4 out of 7 eggs hatched we put one under our broody silkie wich hatched first then our little chicks in the incubator hatched. 2 of them came out fine and then we left them in the incubator but one was stuck for more them a day i used a few tools to get her out. she lived for a couple weeks with the rest of the chicks with their new silkie mom but the one i saved always was weird. she would walk backwards when she was in our hands so finely after she was suffering and not eating or drinking we killed her a quick painless death. So i would advise not helping her, if she dies she is ment to die. good luck have fun with the chicks.



- Hallo
 
Thank you for the reply. I understand that we will let nature take its course. Ive already let the 10 year old know how nature works and that she needs to be prepared if we lose 1 or 2 that its meant to be. So far they all seem to be acting similarly for the most part. 2 are definitely slightly more responsive but they are wandering around like little narcoleptics at this moment. Im going to let them rest up and then move them out tomorrow.
 

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