Help incubating chicks for the first time- problems that I foresee!

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mark22

mark22

Hatching
5 Years
Jun 22, 2014
7
0
7
Suffolk, England
Hi. I have just joined and have previously read through the forums and been inspired by ideas etc. This is my first time I will be hatching my own eggs, I have 6 Dutch Bantam eggs that I recently got and have put into my incubator which have been in there for a few days now and I turn 3 times a day as advised. However, I foresee a potential problem when it it time for the chicks to hatch, you see my incubator is a mini incubator, looks a bit like the Brinsea mini eco (which I must admit is the one I should have got in the first place), but my incubator has the electronics at the bottom of the incubator and the plate where the eggs rest has various holes in it and is not flat. Therefore, surely when the little chicks hatch out because there are holes in the base then it is not safe as they will get their legs trapped in the holes? I cannot remember the make of the incubator unfortunatley but I know they are being sold on the internet, they hold 7 eggs where each egg has a separate indentation for them to rest.
What do you think I should do about this, if anything? I was actually considering purchasing a different incubator, like the Brinsea mini eco which has a solid base wand would be more practical, but would like any advice first please.

Also I was wondering, once the chicks have hatched, how long are you supposed to leave them in the incubator for as surely in such a small incubator it must make it difficult for them to breathe in such a small confined space? I have a brooder box ready but I am not sure how long you are supposed to leave it before transferring them to it. Also, as I work most days, and are often shift work, what happens if they hatch when I am at work and won't be home for many hours? Will they be OK in the incubator for all that time?

Sorry to ask so many questions but I am trying to think ahead for a successful hatch of chicks!

Many thanks
 
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Welcome to BYC!

When lock down day comes, 3 days before hatching, you can remove the eggs and lay down some of that rubber shelf liner. The stuff with the little holes in it and then put the eggs back in the incubator. If you incubator has vents you can open and close, you will want to open them completely for maximum oxygen. If you can't adjust them then they are probably wide open already. Open vents are enough oxygen for the chicks during incubation and hatching. Make sure to get your humidity up to about 65% to 70% at lock down as well. If you have to add some damp sponges to get the humidity up, you can. This may cause a spike in humidity briefly, but that is ok. It will come back down.

Once they pip, (poke a hole thru the shell to breath) they will sit there for 24+ hours. They are busy absorbing the last of the yolk and detaching themselves from the inside of the egg. So just let them be. You can not open the lid of the incubator when any eggs have pipped, as this will cause the chicks to stick to the inside of the egg shell and die.

So once they have all hatched and are dry, you can get them out and into the brooder. They can stay in this incubator for 24 hours if need be. They have absorbed the egg yolk and can survive a couple of days for now.

Good luck with your hatch! You can also post questions in our Hatching Eggs forums if you have any more issues along the way...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs

Good luck and keep us posted on the hatch!
 
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