How long do you keep baby chicks in the incubator after they hatch?

Answer 1

Usually 24 hours but it is always best to leave them all together until all the chicks have hatched. The chicks need time to dry and fluff up. When they first emerge from the shell they are wet and weak, subject to cold temperature drops.

You need not worry about food and water for 36 hours since they still have some reserves from the yolk they developed from.

When moving them from the incubator to the brooder box, make sure the temperature is close to the temperature of the incubator, in the high 90's directly under the lamp. There should also be room in the brooder box for them to get out of the heat is they wish.

Answer 2

Six weeks is standard for barnyard chicks. Younger than that and the other birds may kill them. It is often best to keep the new chicks separate from the adult birds until they are fast and yard wise enough to get food and water and not get pecked. They need to be on chick starter until this point anyway and you don't want the adults to eat it all before the chicks can.

Answer 3

After the chicks are finished brooding, you should separately pen the chicks within the hen's coop to allow them to familiarize themselves with each other. After two or three weeks, allow them to go together under supervision. Gradually build up the time, until the pecking order is established. Then they can be let out full time.

Answer 4

The chicks should remain in the incubator until they are dry, fluffy and active. This allows for all the eggs to be hatched together and the siblings to be in contact. removal of each individual as they hatch will provoke aggressive behavior when they are later put together in a brooder. The heat and humidity of the incubator helps the wet chicks dry out. Do not worry about food or water for about 24/36 hours as they have all the nutrition they need to survive for that lenght of time. When they are all taken out of the incubator they should be placed together in a brooder box heated to within the same 100 degre temperature as the incubator and the heat should be adjusted down daily by about one or two degrees.

Answer 5

It is best to remove the chick within 24 hours or so after hatching, but never before they completely dry. I open my incubator once a day to remove any dried chicks. Any chicks not dried at this time get took out the next day about the same time. By doing this, the humidity stays higher. Cause every time you open the incubator the humidity will drop. This is critical for the chicks to hatch. The membrane separating the chick from the egg shell must stay moist for the chick to tear through it. If it dries up it becomes more like thin leather & the chick can't get out of the egg. To compensate for this try adding hot water to the water pan each time you open it up, it will bring the humidity back up to normal (85%-90%) sooner

Answer 6

Chicks are removed from the incubator after about 24 hours of hatch. They need to remain with their hatchmates while they dry off and fluff up. Chicks are wet when they emerge from the shell and they can get chilled and sick if they are not kept in very warm condition. Chicks do not need to eat or drink for as long as 36 hours after hatch so the best place for them in to remain in the closed incubator.

Answer 7

until they are dry. but no longer than 24hrs

Answer 8

When it can withstand the outside temperatures. Most people will not take chicks out of a brooder until they are completely feathered.