That Quail Place Forum

Raising Gamebirds => Incubation => Topic started by: Man Cave on March 24, 2009, 09:15:22 PM

Title: How long do you leave chicks in the incubator?
Post by: Man Cave on March 24, 2009, 09:15:22 PM
How long do you leave them in the incubator. I realize they should be dry before moving them to the brooder but since they started hatching last night what is the time frame. Scared to open the incubator in fear of losing humidity. I have a L Giant styro.
Title: Re: How long do you leave chicks in the incubator?
Post by: makesmiles on March 24, 2009, 10:59:30 PM
Leave them in until they are dry then remove them.  You can leave them in for up to about 24 hours.  They survive on the yolk that they swallowed for about that long.  After that, they need to eat and drink.  But don't panic, the 24 hours is not a magic number.  I usually leave mine in overnight or about 12 hours.  The humidity will rebuild after the bator is closed again.  The biggest thing is not to leave the bator open for any longer than it takes to remove the chicks.  The others will chill.

Thanks David
Title: Re: How long do you leave chicks in the incubator?
Post by: Man Cave on March 25, 2009, 06:00:48 AM
Thanks David!
       I should've just called you. I am a little disappointed in my first hatch but i will know more tonite after i remove the eggs and go though them one by one and see what went wrong. Got my eggs from the same source you did so i will see. I will set another 120 eggs tonite and make a few adjustments after the official egg critique is done. I also read the your response on the Brower incubator i may have to get one based on your comments. Thanks again for the response.
                                                                                             Tommy
Title: Re: How long do you leave chicks in the incubator?
Post by: Reeves on March 25, 2009, 09:53:38 PM
Quote
They survive on the yolk that they swallowed for about that long.

I touched on this in the new sticky topic I made today. (Mortality)