Hatched chick in still air incubator...now what?

[kokeff]

First time hatchers here...and we got our first little hatched chick this afternoon! We made our own still air incubator out of a styrofoam cooler and have read all different things on what to do now with the chick. There are other eggs in the incubator, but fairly certain they aren't going to hatch. The temperature has remained about 100 degrees and humidity 70%. I know they say to not open the incubator until all the eggs are hatched and the chicks are dried off, but is that temperature too hot for the hatched chick? Is the humidity too high? Also...do we need to add more air holes to the incubator now that one chick is out and walking around? I hope at least one other hatches so he can have a friend! Any advice would be wonderful! Thank you!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

First time hatchers here...and we got our first little hatched chick this afternoon! We made our own still air incubator out of a styrofoam cooler and have read all different things on what to do now with the chick. There are other eggs in the incubator, but fairly certain they aren't going to hatch. The temperature has remained about 100 degrees and humidity 70%. I know they say to not open the incubator until all the eggs are hatched and the chicks are dried off, but is that temperature too hot for the hatched chick? Is the humidity too high? Also...do we need to add more air holes to the incubator now that one chick is out and walking around? I hope at least one other hatches so he can have a friend! Any advice would be wonderful! Thank you!!

congrats on the peepers! temp should be fine, I did 99 99.5 temp and my humidity was higher than that when they started to hatch.... join us in the thread alot of info and nice people who are on byc alot, so there when u needum!

here is the live thread link, https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704328/diary-notes-air-cell-detatched-shipped-eggs come introduce uself : )

BUT you may wanna read up on the summary here https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 go towards the bottom and youll see a bunch of info and explanations on the actual hatch day process the chick goes through and how to do a FLOAT TEST to check viability.... also how and when to help a chick. with pics n videos

 

[MuranoFarms]

That temperature is just fine for the chick. The humidity is too high though. Do you have a bent hole you can open to let the humidity drop a little?

Congrats on the chick! We need pictures!

 

[kokeff]

Thank you for all of the wonderful info Sally Sunshine! I am going to do the viability test here in a minute! As far as humidity goes...I have seen people say keep it between 40-50, or 65-75 even all the was up to 80-85%! So we just went with which we saw the most and have kept the temp between 98-103 degrees and humidity 65%-75%. Is that correct for a still air incubator? Our one hatched chick seems to be doing great so far. He didnt follow any of the normal hatching procedures, but at least he's alive! He never zipped and started pushing himself out right after her pipped. Maybe its from the temperature? When will he start to eat? He is in the brooder now with food and water, but his chick feed seems like large bites for such a little guy...is that ok? We have another egg in the incubator making some noise and I see a piece of shell next to the egg (so Im guessing its a pip) but its almost on the bottom of the egg. Should we do anything to flip it over? Also...I can hear a noise that sounds like the chick opening and closing his mouth, kind of like a tap, but not tapping on the shell. Any idea what that may be? Hope he hatches! Thank you for all the help!

 

[kokeff]

OOPS! Forgot to attach the picture! Here he is (dont know why we are calling it a "he!")

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Thank you for all of the wonderful info Sally Sunshine! I am going to do the viability test here in a minute! As far as humidity goes...I have seen people say keep it between 40-50, or 65-75 even all the was up to 80-85%! So we just went with which we saw the most and have kept the temp between 98-103 degrees and humidity 65%-75%. Is that correct for a still air incubator? Our one hatched chick seems to be doing great so far. He didnt follow any of the normal hatching procedures, but at least he's alive! He never zipped and started pushing himself out right after her pipped. Maybe its from the temperature? When will he start to eat? He is in the brooder now with food and water, but his chick feed seems like large bites for such a little guy...is that ok? We have another egg in the incubator making some noise and I see a piece of shell next to the egg (so Im guessing its a pip) but its almost on the bottom of the egg. Should we do anything to flip it over? Also...I can hear a noise that sounds like the chick opening and closing his mouth, kind of like a tap, but not tapping on the shell. Any idea what that may be? Hope he hatches! Thank you for all the help!

did u dip his beak in the water so he knows what and where it is? They can eat chick starter but I put a papertowel down and crush a tad here and there with just my fingers... brooder should be 95 at one spot and cooler at other so he can get away if too hot.... he should eat right away. you can use your finger and peck your nail on the paper towel at the food and he will imitate you... also I put marbles in the water dish so they dont drown, just for a week till they bigger.

Are the eggs flat in the bator? if so let him alone... Sounds like youll see fluff butts soon enough... dont panic it takes time, read through the bottom of that article and it says how they actually hatch and all the processes needed to go through, its NOT something to rush, and KEEP the bator closed,or u can shrink wrap them.

CONGRATS on the fluffy Butt!

OOPS! Forgot to attach the picture! Here he is (dont know why we are calling it a "he!")

 

[kokeff]

did u dip his beak in the water so he knows what and where it is? They can eat chick starter but I put a papertowel down and crush a tad here and there with just my fingers... brooder should be 95 at one spot and cooler at other so he can get away if too hot.... he should eat right away. you can use your finger and peck your nail on the paper towel at the food and he will imitate you... also I put marbles in the water dish so they dont drown, just for a week till they bigger.

Are the eggs flat in the bator? if so let him alone... Sounds like youll see fluff butts soon enough... dont panic it takes time, read through the bottom of that article and it says how they actually hatch and all the processes needed to go through, its NOT something to rush, and KEEP the bator closed,or u can shrink wrap them.

CONGRATS on the fluffy Butt!

Thank you! He is precious We did dip his beak and he had one drink but is not interested. Crushed the food and used my finger to show and hes not interested in that either. His little dropping was all watery and green. He seems strong, intrigued by everything in his brooder box and VERY vocal. He seems to keep one eye closed a lot though? We put a little hot compress on it and he opened it a bit more, but he is only 24 hours old so he may just be getting everything sorted out?

I hear the little chick in the incubator peeping a bit! It is flat in the bator, so we will do nothing but watch with anxiety!

Will post more picks of the new hatch hopefully!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: give him a day yet, do you have any savachick on hand? if not maybe some electrolytes or a tad of karo in his water??? they run around and then just fall asleep so fast they are funny!!

 

[kokeff]

give him a day yet, do you have any savachick on hand? if not maybe some electrolytes or a tad of karo in his water??? they run around and then just fall asleep so fast they are funny!!

They are so cute! We had his little sibling hatch last night so now he isnt alone! But the newest one wont stop chirping....and LOUDLY. Is that a bad sign or typical chick behavior? We've tried holding her and she still chirps loudly. Reading other posts on here...seems like the answers are all over the place. The chicks do have electrolytes in their water but not sure how much they are drinking still. With being at work during the day, when I get home they are usually sleeping or walking around, but I never see them eat or drink. Maybe I should set up a little camera to watch them while Im gone! We did the water test yesterday to the other eggs, but I'm wondering if we didnt do it right. We put all remaining 6 eggs in one at a time and they all floated with just a smidge of the top sticking above the water. If i read correctly...that should still be a good egg? We put them back in the 'bator but still no signs of any life. Some were supposed to hatch on the 4th, and its the 9th now...but we're not giving up!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Yup normal with chirping, looking for a momma to hide under....

what did the candling show?

they are cute, peeps are always cute, well when they fluff up!