I am on my second batch of chicks, this time about 35 welsummers and barnvelders(dark egg layers) and have not had as much success as the first batch. Had a few non-fertile eggs after the first candling at seven days and at fifteen days had a couple more, they started pipping on Sunday and have been hatching through today. Anyway, the twenty or so that hatched were beating the unhatched eggs around so bad today that I took them out and put them in a small brooder(only the dry ones) and four eggs were finishing pipping. Well anyway, I looked in an hour later and about six were breathing hard(brooder is in basement and about 97F. under light) and one Barnie had passed away. I thought right away that it may just be too dry if they only hatched last night or this morning so I put them back in the bator. Kinda crowded in there, but in the last hour the final four came out. So I hope I did the right thing by putting them in the bator for the night, figuring on putting them in the brooder tomorrow. But what is the rule of before you can take chicks from a very moist 80%+ bator to the brooder and am I wrong about why they are breathing hard? I ended up with nine eggs that had fully developed chicks in them with no life!! did not have that last time. Good air sac, looked like healthy chics that died in the shell. Thanks Craig PS, just have a small forced air little giant with egg turner First batch came out at 76%, this batch is more like 51%

-- craig swanson (casinc@frontiernet.net), May 28, 2002

Answers

I hatch a lot of chicks. Most all my eggs go into the incubator. The 4 legged foxes adore me. Smorgasboard here in the winter.

I don't do anything fancy. I leave the chicks in the incubator for one full day, ( sometimes two -depending), and then I put them in a large plastic dog crate which has a heat lamp hanging inside. Give them water and chick starter. I prefer to just put the chicks under heat or electric lamp bulbs, in a crate, or box, or cage. . anything with enough room that they can move away from the heat lamp when they get too hot, come back when they start to feel chilly.

Normally when you have chicks that have developed partially or completely and haven't pipped, there has been inconsistency with the heat. If they have tried to pip and didn't break out, it might also be the humidity level.

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), May 28, 2002.

We have always taken the chicks out as soon as they dry off in the incubater and put them under a red heat lamp. We have never (as of yet) lost a chick from this.

-- Lynelle SO.wes.VA (x2ldp@aol.com), May 29, 2002.