How long a baby chick can survive in incubator?

[Iluveggers]

So for those teachers that incubate at school, they must set up on a Wed to account for 2 early days & 2 late days, right? Others if a chick hatches Fri at 5, it won’t be ok Mon morning. I always wondered about that...

 

[TheGoldMAN]

Huh? I'm not sure I understand this. Chickens aren't an exact science. You don't know when exactly they'll start laying, down to the single week or days. They'll start when they start. Might be months apart from each other even if they all hatched on the same day. So when exactly you take them out of the incubator as hatchlings has absolutely nothing to do with that.

No, they are absolute science، And very sensitive.
They may start laying mounts apart, because the circumstances that they grow in is not the same for everyone of them.

 

[K0k0shka]

No, they are absolute science، And very sensitive.
They may start laying mounts apart, because the circumstances that they grow in is not the same for everyone of them.

If you say so.

 

[TheGoldMAN]

So for those teachers that incubate at school, they must set up on a Wed to account for 2 early days & 2 late days, right? Others if a chick hatches Fri at 5, it won’t be ok Mon morning. I always wondered about that...

The 24-48 hours is usually normal.
But as @Ridgerunner says, It can last for that long too.

 

[Huntmaster]

Baby chicks absorb the yolks before they hatch. They can live off of that yolk for 72 hours or more. That's what the post office shipping regulations are based on.

Yes they can live that long but that doesn't mean that it is good for them. I like to stress them as least as possible. Mine are usually eating and drinking within 24 hours from hatch and there systems are already starting to process food and water before they totally use up nutrition from yolk sac.

 

[yakitori]

Yeah, you're right. But the body temperature of a chicken is about that high. 37 to 41 degrees.

And we usually take chickens out of hatcher when 95 percent of them is dry. I think this means that every egg has to be hatched.

Thank you.

Chicken body temperature is usually over 40F. I heard people say broodys have higher body temps, but I haven't looked into it myself. However, when a chick is under the broody, they have the option of sticking their head out to cool down. the broody is like being in bed, under the covers, but having the option of sticking your face out to take in cool air. the incubator is like being pinned under the covers with no way out.

Chickens may be an exact science, but humans haven't even come close to figuring out how that exact science works, lol.

Then again, I personally think that's the beauty of nature. Imagine if every human being were exactly the same!

 

[K0k0shka]

Chicken body temperature is usually over 40F. I heard people say broodys have higher body temps, but I haven't looked into it myself. However, when a chick is under the broody, they have the option of sticking their head out to cool down. the broody is like being in bed, under the covers, but having the option of sticking your face out to take in cool air. the incubator is like being pinned under the covers with no way out.

Chickens may be an exact science, but humans haven't even come close to figuring out how that exact science works, lol.

Then again, I personally think that's the beauty of nature. Imagine if every human being were exactly the same!

OP is using Centigrade.

Good analogy with the blanket. That's also why brooder plates are better than heating lamps. They give chicks more control to regulate their body temperatures. Just like with a broody, they are actually out from under her most of the time, only going under periodically to warm back up.

And of course chickens are not an exact science

 

[yakitori]

OP is using Centigrade.

Good analogy with the blanket. That's also why brooder plates are better than heating lamps. They give chicks more control to regulate their body temperatures. Just like with a broody, they are actually out from under her most of the time, only going under periodically to warm back up.

And of course chickens are not an exact science

oh, I meant Celsius, haha. Typed F out of habit...
Please allow me to share this photo of my bantam broody with her LF chicks as an apology

 

[K0k0shka]

Yeah, you're right. But the body temperature of a chicken is about that high. 37 to 41 degrees.

Body temperature doesn't mean the environment needs to be at that temperature, too. Human body temperature is 37 C, but do you enjoy being in 37-degree weather? Quite hot, even if you get fully naked, and dangerous if you stay at that temperature for prolonged periods without the ability to cool off or at least drink water. Day-old chicks have a body temperature of 39.5, but that is way too hot as an ambient temperature for them, especially without any means of escape. Even with a heat lamp, the recommended temperature range for day olds is 32-35 degrees, with means of escape (lamp is on one side, they can go to the other if they get too hot). If they are raised naturally with a hen, they will be outside in the spring with temperatures much lower than that, and will only go under her periodically to warm up, spending a lot of their time out exploring. Adult chicken body temperature is 41 degrees. But anybody who has had chickens knows that this is a terrible ambient temperature for them. Whenever it actually gets that hot in the summer, they look miserable.

Being alive generates heat. The ambient temperature needs to be lower than body temperature to allow for that excess heat to escape. Otherwise you overheat.

For talking so much about exact science, you don't seem very familiar with some basic scientific facts.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I took mine out within 2 hours of hatch for my most recent batch (apart from the ones that hatched over night) and didn't have a single problem with shrink wrap or chick health. My healthiest batch ever, I dare say. Mixed batch of quail and chickens (including some broody eggs that mama left about 13 days into incubation) which made it a bit harder because of the different humidity preferences