Incubator babies now what?

[Dans Magoo]

Hi all
I’m new to the hatching, we have an incubator, it’s now day 12 and all going well. We candles and have about three quarters of the eggs going strong. Once they hit day 18 you meant to stop rotating them correct? When they hatching do you just leave them in the incubator? Then we have baby chicks… I have a red light and my hubby has built a brooding box … but first time hatchers we a bit nervous. Any advise or things we need to look out for? What age can we introduce babies to the rest of the flock? We in zambia, so going into a cooler season but not very cold.
Other question, how often should we change the rooster?? To keep the genes strong??

 

[Down Under]

Hi Dans Magoo,

Yes stop egg rotation and increase your humidity from day 18.

They should pip around day 21 give or take, then hatch 12 to 18 hours after pipping give or take, after they hatch they will sleep a lot. Once they fluff up transfer them to your brooder, when putting them in the brooder dip their beaks into the water so they know what it is and where to find it.

Is your red light a heat lamp?

Here is a post about brooder temperatures: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicks-dying-every-other-day.1657347/page-2

There is a lot of advice but it would fill pages on here going through it all and every hatch is different so a lot of it will not be applicable, so if something doesn't look right just post on here about it and someone will give you some help with it.

Introducing them to the rest of your flock depends on many factors, I wont introduce any until they are big enough to stand up for themselves which can be anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks depending on the bird but some of mine can get pretty mean to new comers and to each other. Some poultry keepers introduce earlier but have more placid breeds and I also know poultry keepers that just give the chicks to a broody hen to look after.

You need to change your roo often enough that you don't have parents mating with offspring or siblings mating with each other for strong genes. Chickens can handle inbreeding better than most other animals but there comes a point when you get flock collapse if it is too inbreed, on the flip side introducing new blood can also introduce undesirable traits that you don't want. The best birds that I see are always from breeders that practice a good spiral breeding program (aka clan breeding) the worst that I see are always line breed (inbreed). I have some that are the product of two different flocks from two really good breeders and they are better in some ways than their aunties but worse in other ways.

 

[Dans Magoo]

Hi Dans Magoo,

Yes stop egg rotation and increase your humidity from day 18.

They should pip around day 21 give or take, then hatch 12 to 18 hours after pipping give or take, after they hatch they will sleep a lot. Once they fluff up transfer them to your brooder, when putting them in the brooder dip their beaks into the water so they know what it is and where to find it.

Is your red light a heat lamp?

Here is a post about brooder temperatures: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicks-dying-every-other-day.1657347/page-2

There is a lot of advice but it would fill pages on here going through it all and every hatch is different so a lot of it will not be applicable, so if something doesn't look right just post on here about it and someone will give you some help with it.

Introducing them to the rest of your flock depends on many factors, I wont introduce any until they are big enough to stand up for themselves which can be anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks depending on the bird but some of mine can get pretty mean to new comers and to each other. Some poultry keepers introduce earlier but have more placid breeds and I also know poultry keepers that just give the chicks to a broody hen to look after.

You need to change your roo often enough that you don't have parents mating with offspring or siblings mating with each other for strong genes. Chickens can handle inbreeding better than most other animals but there comes a point when you get flock collapse if it is too inbreed, on the flip side introducing new blood can also introduce undesirable traits that you don't want. The best birds that I see are always from breeders that practice a good spiral breeding program (aka clan breeding) the worst that I see are always line breed (inbreed). I have some that are the product of two different flocks from two really good breeders and they are better in some ways than their aunties but worse in other ways.

Thanks so much for the info. Yes the light is a heat lamp. Appreciate the advise. How much space will the babies need? We have built a containment area for them when they small and have a fenced off area next to my other chickens when they bigger and will put the box and heat lamp in there. A bit nervous as we are 4 hours drive from the closest shop so wanna try be as prepared as we can before hand.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Once they hit day 18 you meant to stop rotating them correct?

The standard procedure is to increase the humidity on Day 18 so the membrane around the chick doesn't dry out and shrink around it, trapping it so it cannot hatch. Also, you stop turning them at that time. If you are rotating them by hand you can stop after Day 14 if you wish. You have gained the benefits of rotating them by then. If you have an automatic turner it can be convenient to wait and do it all at once.

When they hatching do you just leave them in the incubator?

Before they hatch a healthy chick absorbs the yolk. They can live off of that yolk for 72 hours or more without eating or drinking. That is so that the hen can wait on the later ones to hatch before she has to take chicks off of the nest to look for food or water. I use hours instead of days as days can get confusing. So you don't need to take them out for 72 hours for the safety of the chick.

It is really rare but possible that you can shrink wrap a chick that has pipped but not hatched if you open the incubator and let the moisture out. Many people randomly open the incubator to take chicks out as they dry out and hardly ever shrink wrap a chick. It really is rare. But since I know it can happen, I wait until the hatch is over to remove any chicks unless I have an emergency where I need to open it. If I have a solid reason to open it, I do.

Any advise or things we need to look out for?

You are south of the equator and heading into winter but your temperatures will be mild and your climate relatively dry. Maybe high of 28C (82F) and a low of 12C (54F) for May. Very pleasant.

Chicks need a warm enough spot in the coldest temperatures and a cool enough spot in the warmest temperatures. The way I accomplish that with a heat lamp of to have a fairly large brooder where I can keep one area warm enough in the coolest temperatures but allow the far end to cool off to ambient temperatures. The chicks are very good at finding a comfortable spot. They tend to spend a lot of time in the cooler regions, going back to the warmer areas if they need to warm up.

You need to keep your brooder dry. If the brooder stays wet it can become unhealthy and stink. So if it gets wet, dry it out. If the poop builds up enough that it doesn't dry out the brooder can become unhealthy and stink. So manage moisture and poop levels.

Other than that they need food, water, and predator protection.

What age can we introduce babies to the rest of the flock?

We do this in many different ways. Your set-up and how you manage your flock can make a big difference. Some people wait until the chicks are practically grown to integrate them. I don't. My brooder is in the coop so the chicks pretty much grow up with the flock. When they are five weeks old I usually open the brooder door and walk away. I have a large coop and over 2,000 square feet (185 square meters) in available space outside in a fence. With tighter space this might not work. I do not know what the correct answer is for you.

how often should we change the rooster?? To keep the genes strong??

Good question without an easy answer. It will depend on what genes you have in your flock and how inbred they are. How many chickens total. And how you manage them and your breeding goals.

There are two sides to inbreeding. If you carefully select your breeders for specific traits you can quickly enhance that trait in the offspring. You are basically replacing what you consider defective genes with what you consider superior genes. But by inbreeding you are also enhancing other genes that might be detrimental to thriftiness, health, production, or reproduction. So it is a balance.

If you are trying to enhance certain traits there are techniques for that. Those can take a lot of recordkeeping and work. If your interest is to minimize the potential harm from inbreeding there are methods used by farmers for thousands of years. My father used this method. You can breed parents to offspring or siblings to siblings a few generations before these bad effects start. How long depends on how inbred they are to start with, what bad genes they have to start with, and how big your flock is. Dad would keep replacement chickens for his flock for 4 to 5 generations before bringing in a new, totally unrelated, rooster. This would reset the genetic diversity enough to last another 4 to 5 generations. Dad only kept one rooster but had around 25 hens so the randomness of which hens laid the eggs that were hatched helped maintain diversity. If he had kept more roosters he may have been able to go longer. If he had fewer hens he may have had to change sooner.

One part of this is that you need to select which chickens you keep carefully. If any have traits you do not want do not allow them to breed. Try to keep the bad traits out of your flock instead of enhancing them.

As I said, not an easy answer. Good luck!

 

[Dans Magoo]

The standard procedure is to increase the humidity on Day 18 so the membrane around the chick doesn't dry out and shrink around it, trapping it so it cannot hatch. Also, you stop turning them at that time. If you are rotating them by hand you can stop after Day 14 if you wish. You have gained the benefits of rotating them by then. If you have an automatic turner it can be convenient to wait and do it all at once.


Before they hatch a healthy chick absorbs the yolk. They can live off of that yolk for 72 hours or more without eating or drinking. That is so that the hen can wait on the later ones to hatch before she has to take chicks off of the nest to look for food or water. I use hours instead of days as days can get confusing. So you don't need to take them out for 72 hours for the safety of the chick.

It is really rare but possible that you can shrink wrap a chick that has pipped but not hatched if you open the incubator and let the moisture out. Many people randomly open the incubator to take chicks out as they dry out and hardly ever shrink wrap a chick. It really is rare. But since I know it can happen, I wait until the hatch is over to remove any chicks unless I have an emergency where I need to open it. If I have a solid reason to open it, I do.


You are south of the equator and heading into winter but your temperatures will be mild and your climate relatively dry. Maybe high of 28C (82F) and a low of 12C (54F) for May. Very pleasant.

Chicks need a warm enough spot in the coldest temperatures and a cool enough spot in the warmest temperatures. The way I accomplish that with a heat lamp of to have a fairly large brooder where I can keep one area warm enough in the coolest temperatures but allow the far end to cool off to ambient temperatures. The chicks are very good at finding a comfortable spot. They tend to spend a lot of time in the cooler regions, going back to the warmer areas if they need to warm up.

You need to keep your brooder dry. If the brooder stays wet it can become unhealthy and stink. So if it gets wet, dry it out. If the poop builds up enough that it doesn't dry out the brooder can become unhealthy and stink. So manage moisture and poop levels.

Other than that they need food, water, and predator protection.


We do this in many different ways. Your set-up and how you manage your flock can make a big difference. Some people wait until the chicks are practically grown to integrate them. I don't. My brooder is in the coop so the chicks pretty much grow up with the flock. When they are five weeks old I usually open the brooder door and walk away. I have a large coop and over 2,000 square feet (185 square meters) in available space outside in a fence. With tighter space this might not work. I do not know what the correct answer is for you.


Good question without an easy answer. It will depend on what genes you have in your flock and how inbred they are. How many chickens total. And how you manage them and your breeding goals.

There are two sides to inbreeding. If you carefully select your breeders for specific traits you can quickly enhance that trait in the offspring. You are basically replacing what you consider defective genes with what you consider superior genes. But by inbreeding you are also enhancing other genes that might be detrimental to thriftiness, health, production, or reproduction. So it is a balance.

If you are trying to enhance certain traits there are techniques for that. Those can take a lot of recordkeeping and work. If your interest is to minimize the potential harm from inbreeding there are methods used by farmers for thousands of years. My father used this method. You can breed parents to offspring or siblings to siblings a few generations before these bad effects start. How long depends on how inbred they are to start with, what bad genes they have to start with, and how big your flock is. Dad would keep replacement chickens for his flock for 4 to 5 generations before bringing in a new, totally unrelated, rooster. This would reset the genetic diversity enough to last another 4 to 5 generations. Dad only kept one rooster but had around 25 hens so the randomness of which hens laid the eggs that were hatched helped maintain diversity. If he had kept more roosters he may have been able to go longer. If he had fewer hens he may have had to change sooner.

One part of this is that you need to select which chickens you keep carefully. If any have traits you do not want do not allow them to breed. Try to keep the bad traits out of your flock instead of enhancing them.

As I said, not an easy answer. Good luck!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply in such detail. That all helps a lot! Gives me a lot to think about. Many many thanks.

 

[Down Under]

Thanks so much for the info. Yes the light is a heat lamp. Appreciate the advise. How much space will the babies need? We have built a containment area for them when they small and have a fenced off area next to my other chickens when they bigger and will put the box and heat lamp in there. A bit nervous as we are 4 hours drive from the closest shop so wanna try be as prepared as we can before hand.

This thread talks about how much space you need in your brooder: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-brooder-size.1653574/