My AG teacher isn't the best chicken hatcher.

[mangosfandangos]

Hello everyone,
My AG teacher has been trying to hatch eggs for the last couple months. So far he has had 2 incubators full and has had one chicken hatch from both. The one chick that did hatch seems pretty unhealthy. His eyes will not open, they aren't goopey, and he is missing most of his wing feathers and has quite a few bald spots. He also seems very unstable and spends most of his time crouched on his butt. The poor guy is lonely so we are getting him a stuff animal on the lunch break today. He is drinking normally however I have yet to see him eat. I'm worried he is going to fall over and die on us. Any suggestions for the little guy?
Thank you!

 

[chickenweirdo1]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[chickenweirdo1]

Keep dipping its beak in water or give water through a eye dropper if he stops drinking.Does it know where the food is and if not try to show him. Make sure it starts eating and if not hope for the best.

 

[enola]

What temperature is the incubator set at? Is it still air or does it have a fan? What is he using for a thermometer and hygrometer? Where is he getting the hatching eggs? Turning by hand or using an automatic turner?

 

[mangosfandangos]

Alright! Thank you! He does know where his food is, and I assume that he is consuming at least some food because he is defecating normally. I appreciate your help.

 

[mangosfandangos]

The incubator was at 99.5F and at 34% humidity. It is just a system installed directly into the incubator that gives the numbers. I'm not a hundred percent sure where he got the eggs. He is turning them by hand but he messes with them quite a bit so I think that could contribute to his problems hatching eggs. Being an AG teacher he likes to take them out and candle them all the time.

 

[mangosfandangos]

Well update, we gave the chick a stuffed cow and it cuddled up to it for a couple of hours, at the beginning of class, a couple welding students came in and said that the chick had passed the last hour. Sad that we couldn't save it but glad to know it won't be suffering.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Tell your AG teacher to not trust the gauges on the incubator. They are inaccurate and only serve to doom hatches. Use an oral thermometer to check and dial in the temp and a cheap hygrometer from Walmart. Salt test the hygrometer to calibrate it. Simple science project- saturated salt in a soda/milk cap, a zip seal bag and hygrometer. Wait 4 hours and should read 75%. however much hygrometer is off is your calibration #. You'll add or subtract that amount every reading for true RH. Google "salt test". At hatching time the humidity should be up 70%+. 30%RH for first 18 days is really good.

As said above: If the incubator does not have a fan then it's still air and best results are if temp is 101 F measured at top level of the egg. Still air incubators have layers of heat so layer at top of eggs should be 101 F. It will work out that the internal temp of egg is 99.5 F.