Hatching chicks

[DebAnneDigi]

I have eggs in incubator, my first time. They are all a week apart, if they hatch .. what is the process? .. when do I take them out of incubator and into a heated area with food and water. Hours after they hatch? Was just reading 48hrs, is that accurate?

1. AVC in water
2. Electrolytes
3. Probiotics
4. Non medicated chick food..
I just read a vaccine for Merecks?
TIA
Barnyard chicks
This is first set..(6eggs) I have 2 more groups week (8eggs) and days apart (4eggs)

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I take them out when they are dried off. Usually in a couple hours after hatching. They are the happiest in the brooder.

 

[NatJ]

1. AVC in water
2. Electrolytes
3. Probiotics
4. Non medicated chick food..
I just read a vaccine for Merecks?

I would use plain water, non-medicated chick food, and nothing else.

Whether to vaccinate for Mareks depends partly on whether it's practical (you might not be able to buy the vaccine at the right time for a reasonable price.)

The vaccine does not prevent a chicken from getting Mareks. If a chicken does get Mareks, it is less likely to show symptoms if it was vaccinated and more likely to show symptoms if it was not vaccinated. A chicken who gets Mareks can still spread it to other chickens, regardless of whether that chicken was vaccinated or not.

 

[DebAnneDigi]

I would use plain water, non-medicated chick food, and nothing else.

Whether to vaccinate for Mareks depends partly on whether it's practical (you might not be able to buy the vaccine at the right time for a reasonable price.)

The vaccine does not prevent a chicken from getting Mareks. If a chicken does get Mareks, it is less likely to show symptoms if it was vaccinated and more likely to show symptoms if it was not vaccinated. A chicken who gets Mareks can still spread it to other chickens, regardless of whether that chicken was vaccinated or not.

Today is day 21… eggs look dark, I saw definite movement in one egg. Positioning of eggs in incubator.. do I just let be on incubator grate, rolling around? do I make a nest with paper towel or cardboard egg carton with round side up?
Thank you for your time and knowledge
Greatly appreciated

 

[NatJ]

Positioning of eggs in incubator.. do I just let be on incubator grate, rolling around?

Generally yes, although it depends a little on your specific incubator. It needs to be a surface that is safe for the chicks (not too slippery, no holes big enough to be a hazard)

Does your incubator have an instruction manual? Some manuals are pretty good about answering questions like that, while others are not.

do I make a nest with paper towel or cardboard egg carton with round side up?

No. A flat surface will work better than any attempt to make a nest-shape. The chicks will be very clumsy when they first hatch, and you don't want anything for them to get tangled in.

For styles of incubator with a grate or a textured surface, it is typically fine the way it is. Since you mention a "grate," you probably have one of those.

For styles of incubator with a flat, smooth plastic floor it is good to cover the bottom with something flat that will give them good footing but stay flat and not bunch up to trip the chicks.

 

[DebAnneDigi]

These are my options, bought a brooder heater..checking it out with thermometer under it..chicks didn’t hatch as of yet. Plastic bin too small for heater.. clawfoot tub is an option. I do have a heat lamp on a pole…thought I had this thought out, obviously I did not. I’m open for suggestions

 

[NatJ]

These are my options, bought a brooder heater..checking it out with thermometer under it..chicks didn’t hatch as of yet. Plastic bin too small for heater.. clawfoot tub is an option. I do have a heat lamp on a pole…thought I had this thought out, obviously I did not. I’m open for suggestions

Any chance of brooding them outdoors in the coop?

Otherwise, I think I'd try the brooder plate in the bathtub at first. If the chicks do not seem warm enough with the brooder plate, try the heat lamp at one end of the bathtub (instead of the brooder plate, or at the same end as the brooder plate).

I would not use the heat lamp with the plastic storage bin. The heat lamp would warm the entire space, making the chicks too hot with nowhere to cool off.

You could also look for a large cardboard box (or make one from several smaller ones), aiming for something the size of your bathtub or larger. Some people have used playpens, dog crates, and a variety of other ways to contain chicks & their mess. I don't know what you have available, but the basic idea is to keep the chicks safe, the correct temperature, and contain as much mess as you can (mess being dust, bedding, droppings, spilled food, and so forth.) A solid bottom and solid sides for at least a foot is good, but an open or screened top is great for ventilation and to keep them from flying out the top next week.

If you raise them inside your house, and do not have dogs or cats or small children, you can make a brooder with things that would not be secure enough outdoors, and would not actually keep out animals or children. That is why things like cardboard boxes can be an option sometimes. (About children: the age of the child matters a lot. Toddlers cannot be trusted unsupervised around chicks, grade-school kids should probably be supervised until you know whether that particular one can reliably be careful, and most teenagers are just as safe as adults around chicks. Of course anyone can trip and fall or drop something, so even adults should be a bit careful.)

 

[DebAnneDigi]

I’ll use the tub for now, then..I have brooder set on brooder temp option. See how that goes.. 95° right? Is what I’m shooting for? I’m in the Catskills, outside is not an option. I also have a dog crate good for 100lb dog..when they are a little older can use that I’ll use poster boards to keep materials contained. And ventilation.. no kids, only a cat..I can lay screens on top of tub. When I’m not home keep door closed
Great suggestions, thank you!
I’ll lay a piece of wood across tub to hang food and water.. Hemp is good or pine shavings?

 

[NatJ]

I’ll use the tub for now, then..I have brooder set on brooder temp option. See how that goes.. 95° right? Is what I’m shooting for?

That sounds about right.

Hemp is good or pine shavings?

Either is probably fine, although i'd go with a top layer of paper towels for the first few days. That reduces how much bedding they eat while they are learning what food is.

 

[DebAnneDigi]

After an hour with brooder heat source on heat setting under it is only 85° I found plastic tablecloth covered 1/2 the tub see if it will hold heat better… I have a room thermometer under brooder, not touching it..not sure how brooders heaters are suppose to heat.. the whole area?