how long is the baby supposed to be in the incubator

[[email protected]]

how long is a baby chick supposed to be in the incubator

 

[quintinp]

i leave them till there all fluffed out

 

[KKatknap]

I try to leave them in until they are fluffy...although, I have been known to pull them early if they are rolling the other eggs around!

I always open the incubator in a steamy room, though, so as to try to avoid lowering the humidity when I take the chicky (I move the 'bator to my extra bathroom at lockdown). If you open too often, the membranes could dry out on the eggs still waiting to hatch.

 

[Gypsy07]

It depends how long all your eggs take to hatch out. A newly hatched chick can go up to 72 hours before it needs food and water, so if your hatch is taking a while to finish, you don't need to worry about leaving chicks in your bator for a couple of days. But if they all hatch at the same time, like Quintip says, you only really need to leave them in there for as long as it takes everybody to dry off and fluff up.

If you have a hatch that's really taking ages, you can sneak in quickly and grab fluffed-up chicks and transfer them to the brooder. You just need to realise that by doing that, you'll be lowering the humidity in the bator, which can take a few hours to build back up again, which can have a bad effect on chicks that are still to hatch out. Sometimes you don't have any choice, but just remember if you CAN leave the bator shut, it's best that you DO leave it shut.

 

[kaitflower]

I left mine in there for a few hours and then moved them to the brooder. Usually after a couple of them were ready. They seem to be doing fine.

 

[Lacrystol]

I usually wait 24 hours, that gives the new guys time to dry off and get fluffy and time for the rest to break out.. But if 24 hours goes by and the rest haven't broken out yet, I will wait until he has a friend, chicks like to have a roommate..

 

[cmom]

I take mine out as soon as they hatch and they go into a brooder. Just the way I do it.