Down for the Hatch

We're very excited this year to be able to hatch our own birds! Now that we have an established group of laying hens, we can collect the eggs laid and encourage those eggs to develop into chics by incubating them. Here's how it's done:

Chicken eggs have an incubation period of 21 days. It's very important to make sure the eggs get rotated during incubation. 180 degrees every 24hrs is sufficient. Not only is temperature important, the humidity is a very important factor as well.



A few days before the expected date-of-arrival for the little chics, the eggs are taken out of the containment rack and placed on metal mesh at the bottom of the incubator. This insures enough room for the baby chics to squirm around and the metal mesh allows the waste to fall through so the birds aren't lying in it. Also at this time the humidity is increased and the temperature slightly adjusted.

PREPARE FOR THE HATCH!!

Fresh out of the egg!

All tuckered out after fighting the shell, it's not unusual for the chics to nap right away.

The duration of the hatch depends on how many eggs are incubated. It's a good idea to leave the hatched chics in the incubator for a period of 24hrs in order to let them dry off and learn how to move around on there own before putting them in a separate container. As the chics hatch, it's a good idea to remove the shells and other debris inside the incubator.
When it comes time to move the chics, the most important step is introducing them to the water and food. Simply dip their beaks into the water, and then in to the food dish. They can figure it out from there. Also, a lamp to provide warmth is VERY important! At first the lamp should be as close as possible to the chics to keep them warm, and as they grow older move the lamp away until it is no longer needed.


Here's their temporary home! Soon they'll be headed down to our new bird containment area in the barn!

Cute little guys.

Next we'll be incubating Goose and Turkey eggs. Stay tuned! It will be a busy Spring!