Help please?

[ForCluckSake]

I have many questions!
Is this an okay setup for my incubator?​

Is this enough space!?​

Squares represent:

1. Water for maintaining Humidity
2. Water for Drinking (has marbles in to prevent drowning)
3. X2 One day old chicks
4. Chick food
5. Eggs for incubation

A few more questions:

1. How long am i able to keep my chicks in here?
2. Should i remove shells?
3. Can i remove the piece of wood separating the chicks form the eggs, so the chicks would get more space
4. At what age can i introduce them to the rest of the flock? (I have 1 rooster and 6 hens)

Thank you in advance!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I guess my first question is, why not just move them to the brooder? You have to open the bator to move them down where the food and water and space is and to fill the food and water, it would be just as easy and probably more beneficial to just put them in a brooder under the brooder light.

With that being said, there isn't anything neccessarily wrong with your set up if you are able to maintain the adequate humidity and temps for the incubating/hatching eggs.
Question 2- I remove my chicks as they hatch and become active to the brooder and I pull out my shells when I do. This keeps it from starting to smell.
3- You can remove the wood, in most set ups the chicks aren't seperated from the eggs. But-chicks will play soccer with the eggs. Most experts say that this is not a problem and does not cause the eggs to be compromised. Some of us have reservations about that. Just note that the chicks do bounce the eggs around.
4- Different people have different results. A lot of what I see is 4-5 months. Key thing is the younger ones need to be big enough to defend themselves and be able to run away/get away from bigger birds that are after them. I tried mine at 8 weeks and it was definetly a no go. I tried again at 11 weeks and it was worse at 11 weeks believe it or not. Needless to say I have my second coop almost complete and they will go in there. Once they are all grown I will make my changes and move them around and add to the first coop.

 

[ForCluckSake]

I have decided to move them into their brooder,
But now i have another problem...
When I put my new batch of eggs in to the incubator, I left them for about, an hour or so.
I came back and realized there was physical and visual moisture on the eggs.
Nothing much, just a slight dampness to the shells with some water droplets on the bottom of them.
Is this normal?
I have my thermometer and humidity reader on top of eggs and both are at correct levels...
As far as I'm aware, this hasn't happened before either

AND now for my question about the chicks.
What is humidity required for when dealing with 3-4 day old chicks?
Because i know, when hatching, it is needed to soften shells.
But once they're out, why is it needed.
And can i just use environmental humidity (The brooder is in a shed type structure, with 4 walls, but a draft) or do i need to maintain humidity within the brooder as well by adding jugs or containers with it in?

Many thanks

Just thought I'd add these here, for helping me!

​

 

[lazy gardener]

You were wise to move the chicks out of the bator. keeping them in the incubator with food and water is a recipe for disaster. The incubator is a warm moist environment. Perfect for growing bacteria. Add food and drinking water, and you have a perfect set up for disease to kill your chicks and any other eggs you may be incubating.

Now, for the brooder set up: Have you read the excellent articles about brooding chicks in the learning center? That's a great place to start. The biggest mistake that most folks make is to keep their chicks too warm. They need a place under a heat lamp, or heating pad (you might want to read Blooie's thread about the Mama Heating Pad brooder) that is any where from 85 - 90 degrees during the first week. You can then decrease the heat a bit every week. When they are fully feathered they no longer need supplemental heat.

Humidity in the incubator is not to soften the egg shell. It is to control the development of the air cell at the top of the egg. Too much humidity = an air cell that is too small, too much moisture in the egg at hatch and most likely a drowned chick. Not enough humidity = an air cell too big, not enough room for the chick to move around, dry membranes, so the chick can't get out of the egg. Regarding your eggs that are having condensation. Were they by any chance refrigerated? If so, that's your problem. Eggs need to be room temp before going into the bator. If that wasn't the case, I don't know why they're weeping, but it certainly isn't normal, and a cause for concern.

The learning center has lots of cool articles on all aspects of poultry keeping. It's a great place to start your research on any topic. Cute chicks, BTW.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I have decided to move them into their brooder,
But now i have another problem...
When I put my new batch of eggs in to the incubator, I left them for about, an hour or so.
I came back and realized there was physical and visual moisture on the eggs.
Nothing much, just a slight dampness to the shells with some water droplets on the bottom of them.
Is this normal?
I have my thermometer and humidity reader on top of eggs and both are at correct levels...
As far as I'm aware, this hasn't happened before either

AND now for my question about the chicks.
What is humidity required for when dealing with 3-4 day old chicks?
Because i know, when hatching, it is needed to soften shells.
But once they're out, why is it needed.
And can i just use environmental humidity (The brooder is in a shed type structure, with 4 walls, but a draft) or do i need to maintain humidity within the brooder as well by adding jugs or containers with it in?

Many thanks

Just thought I'd add these here, for helping me!

​

You were wise to move the chicks out of the bator. keeping them in the incubator with food and water is a recipe for disaster. The incubator is a warm moist environment. Perfect for growing bacteria. Add food and drinking water, and you have a perfect set up for disease to kill your chicks and any other eggs you may be incubating.

Now, for the brooder set up: Have you read the excellent articles about brooding chicks in the learning center? That's a great place to start. The biggest mistake that most folks make is to keep their chicks too warm. They need a place under a heat lamp, or heating pad (you might want to read Blooie's thread about the Mama Heating Pad brooder) that is any where from 85 - 90 degrees during the first week. You can then decrease the heat a bit every week. When they are fully feathered they no longer need supplemental heat.

Humidity in the incubator is not to soften the egg shell. It is to control the development of the air cell at the top of the egg. Too much humidity = an air cell that is too small, too much moisture in the egg at hatch and most likely a drowned chick. Not enough humidity = an air cell too big, not enough room for the chick to move around, dry membranes, so the chick can't get out of the egg. Regarding your eggs that are having condensation. Were they by any chance refrigerated? If so, that's your problem. Eggs need to be room temp before going into the bator. If that wasn't the case, I don't know why they're weeping, but it certainly isn't normal, and a cause for concern.

The learning center has lots of cool articles on all aspects of poultry keeping. It's a great place to start your research on any topic. Cute chicks, BTW.

Cute chicks. I agree with gardener. Humidity after hatch is not an issue. Temp is the thing you need to control in the brooder. Is there moisture anywhere else in the incubator other than eggs? What is your humidity level in the bator? I know many who use DIY cooler bators don't need as high humidity as most of the styro bators because they will see condensation at a lower percentage and condensation is a sign you've more than enough humidity.