Help!! First time incubating and hatching??

[chellebells]

Hiya, this is all new to me so i wanted to ask a few questions. I have 20 that i moved from my incubator into my hatcher on thursday night, my first egg hatched friday lunchtime (early as they wernt due to start until saturday night). It is now saturday morning and i have 4 chicks (so far so good) 2 bantys, 1 cornish game and 1 sliver laced wyandotte. My question is how long until i should take the fluffed up chicks out of the hatcher? It has nearly been 24 hours since the first one hatched, there are more pipping and others that have not? i think it will be a few more days before they are all hatched. Also are they ok hatching on the wire mesh? or should something softer be put down? When i do move them into the brooder what should the floor be lined with? Thanks, egarly awaiting your reply

 

[eggorthechicken]

I take mine out a few at a time as long as they are dry. I just do it quickly if I see other eggs have pipped. I place paper towels on wire and that gives them a little cushion and seems to work well. Once I take them out, I dip each of their beaks in water as I put them in the brooder.

 

[chellebells]

ahhh ok thank u, so dipping of beaks teaches them where water is?? what bout feeding? how do they learn that? what do u bed them down on under lamp?

 

[eggorthechicken]

For newly hatched chicks I use pine shavings and I lay paper towels over the shavings until they get their footing ( a few days). I just change the paper towels as they get soiled. As far as feeding, I sprinkle some food on the paper towels and they just start pecking. Some people say to use something shiny like tin foil and put the food on it but I haven't had any trouble. They start eating right away. Once one starts, the others will follow suit.

 

[chellebells]

Hiya, next update got bout 15 chicks hatched and 6 left, they started hatching about 3 days early, today is their due date and their is 6 that havnt even started pipping :-( i read a thread on here that said u can candle them at day 21 to see if there is any movement or an internal pip, so i candled them and can see no internal pip, no movement, i can see veins but the eggs dont look very full considering today is their due date, i can see the air pocket up only about 1/2 of the other area is dark? what do you think? any ideas? thanks

 

[eggorthechicken]

If they hatched early your temps are probably running high. Seems like a good hatch for your first time! Congrats!!

Id leave it running a day longer...sometimes you have stragglers. If mine dont hatch...I do an eggtopsy to see if they had developed and how far they progressed.

 

[chellebells]

ok thank u, absolutly gutted about the ones left behind, most of my cornish game hatched but i bought some sliver laced wyandottes of the internet and so far only 4 have hatched, doesnt look like the other 4 are going too :-( thank you for your help x

 

[eggorthechicken]

Shipped eggs have about 50% hatchability. If you bought them and had them shipped...you are gonna have some that don't make it. If you got half of those to hatch you are doing well. I usually let my incubator run through day 22 and then shut it off. Seems like if mine don't hatch early or on time...they don't hatch at all.