My chicks are hatching and I need some advice: 1)i'll be leaving them in the incubator atleast until their down has dried. Is my temp setting for the hatch 99.5 to 100 F ok for the little fellows who have made it out or is that too hot? Can I turn the temp down if need be and will those that have not made it out yet still hatch? Please give me all the advice you can this is my first hatch and input is appreciated!

PoePoe

-- PoePoe (rpd932@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002

Answers

No, don't turn it down. They need a temp of 95-100 for the first week of their lives anyway, that is why you put them under a heat lamp after you take them out of the incubator. Where do you plan to put them after you take them out? I usually keep mine in a cardboard box with newspaper and pine shavings in the bottom, with a heat lamp hanging down in there. You can move the heat lamp up to a different height each week to adjust the temperature. If they are all clustering under the lamp piling up on top of each other, they are too cold. If they are at the far corners of the box trying to get away from the heat they are obviously too hot. If they are running around, eating, drinking, sleeping and acting normally, the temperature is just right. Also, I would leave them in the incubator for awhile after they hatch, at least until they get dry, or maybe a little longer. When you take them out, dip their beaks into the water so they'll start drinking. Just provide them with some chick starter crumbles and they will be happy. If you notice after a week or two that they are "pasting up" (their poop sticks to their behinds in a big clump) you can grind up some oatmeal in the blender and mix it in their food to stop the pasting up. Good luck with your chicks!

-- Tracey in Alabama (trjlanier@cs.com), February 01, 2002.

I think the temp. will be fine for drying out their down and after that you will, most likely, be moving them to a brooder setup. So their exposure to the 99.5 to 100 F will not be long term, as you will be moving the chicks to a brooder. I leave my quail in the incubator for more than one day after they hatch, but quail are more sensitive to temp. changes.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.