Lockdown and eggs getting bumped...

[juleeque]

Hello all, as we are into another batch of hatching I keep coming up with the same questions, but always forget to ask. Today I remembered!
1- When I take the eggs out of the turner, I have to take the lid off. Will the cooler temps kill the chicks? Especially when its full of eggs, it takes time.
2- When we are in lockdown and the chicks begin to hatch, how do I keep the newly hatched chicks from bumping and turning the other eggs/pipping chicks on the wrong side? I've tried putting a dot on top to note the top when it begins in lockdown to return them but I have still lost chicks that were fully developed (of course it could have been to other reasons). I don't like to take the newly hatched chicks out of incubator immediately...or should I???
3- Is it ok, to open the incubator and take new chicks out? Will this cause a draft on the other chicks?
thx so much Juleeque

 

[Rose Quartz]

Hello all, as we are into another batch of hatching I keep coming up with the same questions, but always forget to ask. Today I remembered!
1- When I take the eggs out of the turner, I have to take the lid off. Will the cooler temps kill the chicks? Especially when its full of eggs, it takes time.
2- When we are in lockdown and the chicks begin to hatch, how do I keep the newly hatched chicks from bumping and turning the other eggs/pipping chicks on the wrong side? I've tried putting a dot on top to note the top when it begins in lockdown to return them but I have still lost chicks that were fully developed (of course it could have been to other reasons). I don't like to take the newly hatched chicks out of incubator immediately...or should I???
3- Is it ok, to open the incubator and take new chicks out? Will this cause a draft on the other chicks?
thx so much Juleeque

Broodies get off their eggs to eat drink and relieve themselves the short time the eggs are out of the incu is fine.


You can't keep them from kicking the other eggs around, unless you take them out. You can if you want, or you can leave them. I have been taking them out. With the store bought incu That has the whole lid come off i only open it enough to get my arm inside and slip them out. I don't open it all the way.

My chicks actually don't seem to mind drying off in the brooder. But I usually have a MHP set up for them.

 

[Noellereagan]

Broodies get off their eggs to eat drink and relieve themselves the short time the eggs are out of the incu is fine.


You can't keep them from kicking the other eggs around, unless you take them out. You can if you want, or you can leave them. I have been taking them out. With the store bought incu That has the whole lid come off i only open it enough to get my arm inside and slip them out. I don't open it all the way.

My chicks actually don't seem to mind drying off in the brooder. But I usually have a MHP set up for them.

What’s an mhp set up ?

 

[Rose Quartz]

What’s an mhp set up ?

Mother heating pad. it's a heating pad set up as the heat source.

 

[Rose Quartz]

 

[Noellereagan]

Mother heating pad. it's a heating pad set up as the heat source.

Just a regular human use heating pad?

 

[Rose Quartz]

Just a regular human use heating pad?

The one I used was a human heating pad, the only one I could find with the option to turn off the auto-off function was a sunbeam brand heating pad, and setting 6(the max was right for them. the rack that I have it on is a cookie cooling rack that has it's legs fold out. And I put the heating pad in a pillow case to keep it mostly clean, they'll climb up on it after a day or 2.

 

[Doc7]

Just a regular human use heating pad?

Yes there are articles on this page. Here is a good post, long thread follows but the first post tells you what you need to know.

The beauty of MHP is you never measure temperature again. “90 first week 85 second week” etc none of that matters anymore. Not a joke: throw out your thermometer and don’t try and measure air or floor temp under the pad. Provide a heat source the chicks can touch their backs to, deal with no more pasty butts or stressed chicks or fire hazard heat lamps. It’s a synthetic mother hen.

A++++

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update.956958/

 

[Mosey2003]

Opening it to take them out of the turner doesn't hurt them, it's necessary.

Them kicking each other around doesn't hurt them either.

I do not open it to remove chicks before they're all done, you run the risk of shrink-wrapping the ones that aren't hatched yet.

 

[aart]

2- When we are in lockdown and the chicks begin to hatch, how do I keep the newly hatched chicks from bumping and turning the other eggs/pipping chicks on the wrong side? I've tried putting a dot on top to note the top when it begins in lockdown to return them but I have still lost chicks that were fully developed (of course it could have been to other reasons). I don't like to take the newly hatched chicks out of incubator immediately...or should I???
3- Is it ok, to open the incubator and take new chicks out? Will this cause a draft on the other chicks?

2-Drives me nuts too...usually it's not really a problem, can stimulate other chicks to hatch.

3- It can certainly be risky depending on the the situation.
Good stable humidity that comes back up quickly after opening lid is less of a risk.
Opening lid when there are pips is riskier.
I try to leave them in there as long as possible...but when there are a half dozen dry and rowdy chicks pecking at pips, I remove them to the brooder.