How long do you wait after lock down?

[aspen13]

Ok so lock down was on Friday and none have hatched yet. I've candled them and can clearly see chickens in them moving but none have hatched yet. It's now Tues..... What do you do?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Ok so lock down was on Friday and none have hatched yet. I've candled them and can clearly see chickens in them moving but none have hatched yet. It's now Tues..... What do you do?

You don't do anything. I'm assumming that Friday was day 18 and you didn't start counting days until they had 24 hours of incubation? (Which would mean that you set your eggs on a Monday.) Tuesday would start day 22, at whatever hour you set, so it's not a loss yet. If your temps were a tad low you could see them hatch a bit delayed. If it was drastically low or you had an average humidity that was too high, you could see late term deaths. You said you've candled them, were they developed to the hatching stage or did they look behind? Was there any internal pips? Unless they've externally pipped and have had time for the vascular system to shut down, there's not much you can do without jeopardizing a chick that still has a chance to hatch.

 

[aspen13]

Thank you!!! Literally as soon as I posted this I went out and checked them again and 7/12 have started hatching... Very excited this is my first try!

 

[aspen13]

And yes my temp was normally low a degree and I did count a day ahead so thank you for the information will now know for next time...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Good luck and BTW,

 

[aspen13]

Do you think I can use an old fish tank as a box? The one I have is way to big...

 

[jstlitlome]

I don't know why not. As long as you have a heat source in there to give them 95 degrees should work for a while. They will probably outgrow it quickly.

 

[lazy gardener]

For a brooder? A fish tank is way too small. The biggest box you can find would be much better. They need a lot of room. You might also want to look at "Yes, you can brood chicks outdoors" and Mama heating pad brooder cave". Both, excellent resources to giving your babies the best possible start in life.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/yes-you-certainly-can-brood-chicks-outdoors

 

[jstlitlome]

I've gotten my mamma heating pad all fired up and ready! I'm using a large dog crate wrapped in hardware cloth. I'm starting them in my garage but will probably put them into the coop next week.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Do you think I can use an old fish tank as a box? The one I have is way to big...

Depends on how many you have, what size tank you have. If you only have a 5 gallon tank I wouldn't brood more than 2-3 chicks in it and they will grow out of it rather quickly. I've seen people use aquariums to start with, especially with a low hatch rate. If you use something like that though you want the rubber shelf liner or something covering the glass bottom to help prevent splay leg/leg injuries from sliding on the glass.

A big brooding box is not a bad thing if you have the room and have one end warmed for the chicks. Extra room to run is a good thing.