Hatching Bobwhites Now Need Question Answered ASAP PLEASE

[bbqsfarm]

Need some immediate help please. This is my second hatch and of course it is different then my first. I think you don't want to open the lid when they are zipping because it will shrink wrap them. So my question is I have 12 that hatched yesterday, last night I was going to remove them but had another 5 that were zipped so said will wait till in the morning. Well this morning I have another 4 that are zipped also so this doesn't seem like the right time either.. So how do I remove the hatched ones? At some point to you just have to pick to loose some? I thought they need to be removed within hours. Worried about getting the others to food and water. This batch is much more staggered then my first hatch so not sure how to handle it. Thanks in advance.

 

[DoubletakeFarm]

Go ahead and take the chicks out that are ready to come out. That little bit of time it takes to get them out shouldn't make a difference and it's more important to get the chicks in the brooder with food and water. Make sure your brooder is warm enough.

 

[Ellaluvsbirds]

They say to take chicks out of the brooder when they are 8-24 hours old.

 

[James the Bald]

Need some immediate help please. This is my second hatch and of course it is different then my first. I think you don't want to open the lid when they are zipping because it will shrink wrap them. So my question is I have 12 that hatched yesterday, last night I was going to remove them but had another 5 that were zipped so said will wait till in the morning. Well this morning I have another 4 that are zipped also so this doesn't seem like the right time either.. So how do I remove the hatched ones? At some point to you just have to pick to loose some? I thought they need to be removed within hours. Worried about getting the others to food and water. This batch is much more staggered then my first hatch so not sure how to handle it. Thanks in advance.

You are right about the "shrink wrap"... here is a link that I believe answers the question. Some people say you should open your incubator to remove the chicks as they hatch, but each time you do, you dry out the membrane inside the egg, loose humidity and start to shrink wrap the unhatched chicks. The chicks can survive for 36 hours without food and water. Open the incubator once: to place the chicks into the brooder and remove all unhatched eggs.

 

[Sycamore27]

Something you might try is to carefully carry your incubator into a bathroom, run hot water until it's warm and steamy and then pull your fluffed chicks out into a box. Get your incubator back to it's spot and plug it back in, and get the chicks into your brooder.
That's what I've seen suggested, never had to do it myself yet.
Cheers,
Jessie