Removing chick from incubator

[love2grinchicke]

Okay, to make a long story short, I'm hatching some BC Polish chicks, and some of my home-grown eggs. Right now, one of our eggs, named Danny, is out of the shell, as of yesterday and running around. One of the polish eggs is hatching, but I think Danny should get out. The Polish egg is at the beginning stages of hatching, and would it be awful if I took Danny out the incubator? He is really ready to get out. Oh, and did I mention that I'm about to go on a road trip, leaving my mom in charge of my chicks. HELP!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know how long your road trip is, but yeah, I’ve had a hatch start two full days early under a broody while I was gone. It’s frustrating.

Chicks can go three days or more without food or water. They absorb the yolk to live off of. That’s why they can be mailed. Unless something really weird is going on that chick does not have to come out for another couple of days.

Remember there is often a big difference between something that might happen versus something that absolutely will every time. If you open the incubator after an egg has pipped but before that chick is out, you take a chance of shrink-wrapping the chick. It does not happen each and every time. Whether there is much risk for you will depend on a lot of unique things specific to your situation. Some people open their incubator all the time and never have problems. Some people have had big problems, though on some of them I think there were other contributing factors. Still, I did shrink-wrap one once doing that so I know it’s possible. I’ve also open the incubator a few times when some eggs and pipped and not had any problems.

Which way do you think will be easier on your mother?

 

[Farmer Viola]

The thing is, if you take him out and he's alone, he's going to go ballistic. Can you wait until a 2nd chick hatches so he can have a friend, then take him out?

It is important not to open the incubator WHEN you have pips. Those eggs with pips are open to the air, so a humidity drop can be catastrophic for them. If there are no pips, you are safe to snatch him out.