Take the chicks out of incubator?

[jphendrix]

I have 15 chicks in the incubator and know I need to take some out but I have pips and I am scared to open it. How long can they stay in the incubator after hatching?

 

[dheltzel]

They can last 3 days without food or water, but I like to get them out once they are fluffy. I know that's supposed to be harmful to the remaining chicks, but "a bird in the hand" . . .

I've lost chicks that pipped and never made it the rest of the way, It might have been made worse by me opening the incubator to retrieve the hatched chicks, but I've had some that died when I didn't open the incubator, so I think the later hatchers are just weaker. I also frequently help the late ones out of their shell. Sometimes they die, but they always die of they don't get out of the shell.

I think there is a lot more info on this site about "helping" them hatch, so I won't go into it in detail, other than to say I believe I've saved chicks and they went on to live full lives.