moving chicks into brooder

[chckndaddy]

I have two chicks in my incubator right now and the youngest loves the oldest!
When it came time to move the older chick (1 day old) into the brooder, it was scared and didn't move at all!
The little chick (12 hours old) started to freak out when it couldn't find him, so I put the older chick back in the
incubator. I'm wondering if its OK to leave the older one in the incubator until tomorrow so I can
put them in the brooder at the same time? Also another egg is pipped so I'm hoping that they
don't get attached to that chick and make it harder for me to move them.

 

[orrpeople]

Technically, chicks can go three days with no food or water after hatch. Now "can" and "should" are relative terms. I can go three days with no food or water too...but I might be fairly miserable at the end.
That said, if the second chick is mostly dried, you can probably move both of them together. Chickens definitely do better with company!

 

[chckndaddy]

thanks!!

 

[chckndaddy]

What if the older one is panting in the incubator?

 

[bobbi-j]

What if the older one is panting in the incubator?

It probably means it's too warm. I'd move them to the brooder.

 

[chckndaddy]

The little one is still pretty wet.

 

[orrpeople]

The little one is still pretty wet.

If you move the older one, the younger one will survive - it may "yell" a lot, but eventually you'll let it rejoin its buddy and it will forget its earlier stress.

 

[chckndaddy]

Is it OK to let the humidity drop after all the chicks hatch and are drying off in the incubator?