Taking chicks from incubator

[AaronP]

I set 36 eggs March 4. This is my first hatch. One hatched last night and more hatched today. So far 13 have hatched. There are more starting to come out of the eggs. Do I have to wait for all to hatch before removing the chicks from bator or can I take them out once they dry. About 6 or so of them are dry. Also my humidity has shot up to 87%. Just don't know if I am supposed to open the bator up or not. This is so exciting!!! Thanks for your help.

 

[chicmom]

Hello there!

It's best not to take out the chicks...they can actually remain in the incy for a few days without food or water because they have their newly absorbed yolk sac. (I always forget if it's two days or three days that they can stay in.)

Anyhow, if you open the incy, you might just release all the humidity, and then your remaining eggs to hatch will be in danger of sticking to the egg and dieing in the egg. You could take out one of the little vent plugs to lower the humidity.

Good luck! Your hatch is doing great! Congrats!

Sharon

 

[jqs birds]

You need to wait until they are all done hatching. Remember they hatch and ship chciks with minimal losses. They can wait awhile to be out of the incubator

 

[AaronP]

OK. Thaks for the help. I will wait until they are all done. Waiting is the hardest part of all this. lol. This is pretty neat.

 

[drumstick diva]

Some people on the forum have said it works if you take the incubator into a steamy bathroom and get the chicks out as soon as possible. This keeps the humidity up.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That is a suggestion for staggered hatches. Why risk it when things are going well and you don't have to? It is normal for the humidity to spike when they hatch. The eggs release a lot of moisture when the chick breaks them apart. The moisture off the wet chicks as they dry adds to the humidity also. Nothing unusual at all. You can take the vent plug out to reduce the humidity but be careful and don't let the incubator dry out too much. That can happen pretty quickly.

Congratulations!!!

 

[Higins00]

I always take the hatched dry chicks out. If there ready why make them wait to eat and drink. If you do it quickly it dosen't really effect it, I have never had a problem doing it that way. Just guess its a personal choice. I can never let the poor things sit in there over 24 hours. Plus some might not hatch and you'll be waiting and waiting. Good Luck