Help please. Another 1st timer here

[mzoltun]

Hi everyone. My daughters and I decided to buy an incubator and raise some chickens. We apparently have done a great job up to this point. When we woke up yesterday we had our first little feather baby by bed time we had 3 more. This morning we had 1 more and 2 on the way. We are a little concerned because the incubator is getting crowed with the chicks and egg shells. I have read on here that they can stay up to 48 hours in the incubator but a lot of posts have mentioned that you need to open vents. We don't have any vents except one small hole at the top. Should I just leave them alone. Or get the older ones out after the 2 have come out completely? Thanks in advance!!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi everyone. My daughters and I decided to buy an incubator and raise some chickens. We apparently have done a great job up to this point. When we woke up yesterday we had our first little feather baby by bed time we had 3 more. This morning we had 1 more and 2 on the way. We are a little concerned because the incubator is getting crowed with the chicks and egg shells. I have read on here that they can stay up to 48 hours in the incubator but a lot of posts have mentioned that you need to open vents. We don't have any vents except one small hole at the top. Should I just leave them alone. Or get the older ones out after the 2 have come out completely? Thanks in advance!!

. When to remove eggs is a totally personal decision. Some people wait until the end of the hatch, some wait until the chicks are dry and fluffed and pull them out during a break in the action, then some of us pull them out as they become active and running around in the bator. As long as you have a brooder with one end warmed to around 95F and your humidity in the incubator is efficient, you go with what is comfortable to you.

 

[LLranch]

I have the opposite opinion and refuse to open my incubator until the hatch is over so I don't risk losing humidity and shrink wrapping my chicks. When people talk about the incubator being overcrowded with eggshells and chicks I chuckle to myself thinking that those chicks have recently been waded up inside of of an egg and now suddenly have more room than they know what to do with and people consider it cramped LOL

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Maybe now is a good time to mention I am very (successfully) hands on and don't follow hands off philosophies. I am a firm believer that people must find a balance between what is working for them and what their comfort level is.

 

[LLranch]

Amy is correct that she has wonderful success and hi hatch rates. Hopefully she will list the extra steps she takes to keep the humidity raised up during the hatch with a constant opening of the door for the benefit of the original poster

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Amy is correct that she has wonderful success and hi hatch rates. Hopefully she will list the extra steps she takes to keep the humidity raised up during the hatch with a constant opening of the door for the benefit of the original poster

Thank you, I use sponges in my bator at egg level so that I can just grab a sponge out rewet it and slip it back in. But I also start lockdown and hatch about 75% because I am so hands on. I believe if I tried to be hands off I'd end up in the ER with at least an anxiety attack if not a full blown heart attack.

While I am not and never could be hands off, I do have a certain amount of respect for the control hands off people show.

 

[mzoltun]

Thank you everyone. We did end up getting them out. I was worried about the first one that is going on two days. They are doing great! We had a few more hatch today. I didn't see any more pips when we opened the incubator. I have two more eggs that didn't hatch. Should I leave it on for a couple more days?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you everyone. We did end up getting them out. I was worried about the first one that is going on two days. They are doing great! We had a few more hatch today. I didn't see any more pips when we opened the incubator. I have two more eggs that didn't hatch. Should I leave it on for a couple more days?

I'd give 24 hours after last hatcher and then candle them. Rarely, unless eggs are sitting in cool spots, do stragglers hatch more than 24 hours after the majority. Congrats on the hatchers.