Questions on taking chicks out of incubator

[redhen123]

We are hatching chickens in an incubator and 3chickens came out yesterday, so we took them out during the night around two.i know you should wait around 24hours but the were jumping around, chirping and playing with the other eggs.
We gave them light around90degrees but this morning when we woke up they were all laying inside cardboard box looking dehydrated of something. The fur had grown out though

Is it because they didn't have high enough humidity?

Infertile?

Dehydrated? Because from my experience we gave them water and food with slightly wet wood shavings.

I need help immediately because another one just came out!!!!! Afraid do something wrong AGAIN!!!!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, redhen123, and

! Pleased you joined. I am not a very good hatcher so I will refer you to the experts in the thread below. Good luck to you!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are those three dead or alive?

Chicks can go for two or three days without food or water because they absorb the yolk just before hatch. You don’t have to take them out that quickly.

If they are alive how are they acting now? Chicks often look dead when they are sleeping. They just sprawl out in the strangest ways. When they wake up or you disturb them, they are really lively though.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

Another reason to leave chicks in the incubator during hatching is that opening the ' bator will affect the humidity and can cause other eggs not to hatch.

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[redhen123]

The chicks are dead now, I don't want to accidentally somehow kill the other chick in the incubator right now.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m sorry to hear that. If they died, yeah, you are right to be concerned.

I don’t know what went wrong. Those chicks are usually pretty tough. I don’t know enough about your set-up to know what to tell you. I’ll try though.

I’d not have the bedding damp. It’s possible even with the heat they caught a chill from the damp bedding.

The 90 degrees should be fine for them. How sure are you that it stayed at 90 degrees? Too much heat is more dangerous that cold though both can be a problem. What I do is have a large enough brooder with ventilation up high so they get good air exchange and just heat a portion of it. I allow the rest to cool off. This way if it gets too hot, they can move away from the heat. But keep that one area warm enough so they can go to the heat if they want to.

Make sure you have a good draft guard. A breeze hitting them directly can chill them.

But you need decent ventilation. You mentioned in a cardboard box. Was that box so air-tight that they suffocated?

You might leave them a little longer in the incubator so they become more mobile. I really don’t think that is your problem but I’m grasping at straws.

I wish I could help more. Sometimes one dies for no apparent reason but for all three to die, yeah I’d worry.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!

So very glad you joined us!!

 

[ButchGood]

Absolutely Do Not wet the bedding. Do Not remove the chicks until they are completely dry. You want them warm and dry like a newborn baby. When you move them to the brooder make sure you have food and water for them. Dip their beak in the water and make sure they learn how to drink and eat. Put a thermometer in the brooder and keep the temps between 90 and 100 degrees.

 

[Fancy Favie]

Greetings from Kansas, redhen123, and

! Pleased you joined. I am not a very good hatcher so I will refer you to the experts in the thread below. Good luck to you!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs