Removing chicks before they are dry in incubator ?

[FunClucks]

 

[NatJ]

I don’t have any sponges laying around and I’m too nervous to leave them alone with two on the brink of hatching currently.

A piece of folded cloth can do the same thing as a sponge. You could use something relatively small (washcloth, handkerchief), or you could cut a piece off something larger (old t-shirt or old towel).

 

[ChickenTenderKesha]

I too agree that its not ideal at all I would certainly not leave that unattended until you have the sponges in and their is no open water for them to get in. Where the eggs sit is that able to be removed at all? Is there water under there and all round the edge?

I’m unsure if the red piece with holes where the eggs sit can be removed or not and I unfortunately did not think to check that beforehand..

Thanks for the photo. My ideas of filling the water reservoir with gravel or marbles or putting a hardware cloth covering over it won't work.


You can't know for sure but with this there is a pretty good chance it just was not right from the start, some type of birth defect, and just wasn't meant to make it. That happens sometimes and there isn't really anything you can do. I know it hurts but don't beat yourself up too bad.

I had thought about the marbles/pebbles as well but thought that might not work and just overflow the water/cause the humidity to go down.

The NurtureRight 360 is my incubator of choice - I love it.

But yeah, I don't love the one you are borrowing at all.

Instead of sponges, you might consider plastic mesh (craft mesh) or shelf liner. Just one large piece covering the entire area where the eggs sit. Use plastic zip ties to tie it in place if you want to, but that may not be needed.


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I had thought about the craft mesh actually!! It looked like what was in a few other incubators to keep the chicks away from the water. Is there any issue with the plastic getting up to 38°C at all? I know some plastics can release fumes when heated so I want to avoid that at all costs.

A piece of folded cloth can do the same thing as a sponge. You could use something relatively small (washcloth, handkerchief), or you could cut a piece off something larger (old t-shirt or old towel).

And just set it in the reservoir to fill it or how much would you think? I have some old hand towels I can cut up so I am able to run out to get some sponges to put in there instead for ease of mind and being able to possibly get my laundry done like I had wanted to go out to do but instead I’m watching over my slowly hatching chicks :’)

 

[NatJ]

And just set it in the reservoir to fill it or how much would you think? I have some old hand towels I can cut up so I am able to run out to get some sponges to put in there instead for ease of mind and being able to possibly get my laundry done like I had wanted to go out to do but instead I’m watching over my slowly hatching chicks :’)

I think you want enough towel to pretty much fill the water reservoir, and you want there to be enough water that the whole towel gets wet. That way water can still evaporate to moisten the air in the incubator, but there is no puddle of standing water where chicks can drown.

 

[ChickenTenderKesha]

Is there water under there and all round the edge?

You can see where the water sits in this photo below !

I think you want enough towel to pretty much fill the water reservoir, and you want there to be enough water that the whole towel gets wet. That way water can still evaporate to moisten the air in the incubator, but there is no puddle of standing water where chicks can drown.

Like this?

 

[FunClucks]

I had thought about the craft mesh actually!! It looked like what was in a few other incubators to keep the chicks away from the water. Is there any issue with the plastic getting up to 38°C at all? I know some plastics can release fumes when heated so I want to avoid that at all costs.

If you look on the plastic (in the USA), somewhere on the plastic or its packaging it will say the recycling number. You can look that up to determine what type of plastic it is. Then you can look the type of plastic up to get a typical melting point for the material. The chicks are at 99.5F. Most of the plastic mesh I'm familiar with is polyethylene (PE, recycling number 2 or 4). Melting point for that is 230F (110C). Most other common plastics have higher melting points. PE is great because it generally doesn't outgas and is safe for food use in most applications. There's a lot of commercial products made from PE. Polypropylene, recycling number 5, has a higher melting point than PE, so it's fine to use too.

In short, using plastic craft mesh should be just fine. It doesn't soften until about 80C, so using it at 38C is fine.

 

[ChickenTenderKesha]

If you look on the plastic (in the USA), somewhere on the plastic or its packaging it will say the recycling number. You can look that up to determine what type of plastic it is. Then you can look the type of plastic up to get a typical melting point for the material. The chicks are at 99.5F. Most of the plastic mesh I'm familiar with is polyethylene (PE, recycling number 2 or 4). Melting point for that is 230F (110C). Most other common plastics have higher melting points. PE is great because it generally doesn't outgas and is safe for food use in most applications. There's a lot of commercial products made from PE. Polypropylene, recycling number 5, has a higher melting point than PE, so it's fine to use too.

In short, using plastic craft mesh should be just fine. It doesn't soften until about 80C, so using it at 38C is fine.

Oh thank you!! That helps with a lot more than just in the incubator as well!!

 

[JaneenT67]

It’s my first time hatching eggs. It’s in someone else’s incubator who didn’t give me many instructions when incubating. Besides fill the water up and turn the eggs daily.

I’ve had a few chicks hatch successfully but then this morning one hatched and then drowned an hour later while I was allowing it to dry off before moving it to the brooder. I had left the room to hopefully be able to leave to do laundry and then came back to a deceased chick with its head submerged in the water.

I read in another thread on here sponges could be used in the water trough inside the incubator and I’m definitely thinking that if I incubate eggs in the future, that I will definitely be doing that instead of leaving it open for this risk again.

I’m mainly wondering if there’s a problem with removing the chick before it’s fully dry? If there is, could maybe towelling it off and then placing it in the brooder with the other chicks, would that be okay to do as well? I have 9 more eggs to hatch and I don’t have the means to cut up a bunch of sponges currently and stuff them in there during chicks pipping/zipping.

May I ask why there is water in the incubator? I'm thinking it must be different from mine as the chicks are not able to get to the water in mine. I'm a newbie so I probably just don't understand. LOL. Also, I do use sponge's in mine if I'm worried about the humidity level while I'm gone. Often, I'm gone for almost the entire day #realtorlife so I'll use the sponge to help.

 

[ChickenTenderKesha]

May I ask why there is water in the incubator? I'm thinking it must be different from mine as the chicks are not able to get to the water in mine. I'm a newbie so I probably just don't understand. LOL. Also, I do use sponge's in mine if I'm worried about the humidity level while I'm gone. Often, I'm gone for almost the entire day #realtorlife so I'll use the sponge to help.

The standing water in this incubator is in the water reservoir along the outside of where the eggs are placed. You fill up the reservoir to increase the humidity, take some out to help bring humidity down a touch. I’ve learned that cold water brings humidity down a touch until it warms up and starts evaporating again, warm water shoots the humidity up and eventually it settles back down once the water cools back to a steady level inside the incubator. This is the first incubator I’ve used so I hope that properly explains why there’s standing water in it!

I’m not sure how else this is down in other incubators but I don’t have a lot of room for sponges unless I put all the eggs to one side or they are really small sponges

 

[FunClucks]

May I ask why there is water in the incubator? I'm thinking it must be different from mine as the chicks are not able to get to the water in mine. I'm a newbie so I probably just don't understand. LOL. Also, I do use sponge's in mine if I'm worried about the humidity level while I'm gone. Often, I'm gone for almost the entire day #realtorlife so I'll use the sponge to help.

I'd be careful when trying to put sponges in the incubator. It's not the amount of water that controls the humidity, but the surface area of the water. For instance, a cup of water will put out a certain amount of humidity. Add more water to the cup, and it still puts out the same amount of humidity, but for a longer period of time. The humidity does not increase because the water surface in the cup did not change size. Instead, the level of water in the cup went higher - which means it will last longer before refilling.

But if you stick a sponge in the cup of water, depending on the size of your sponge, the surface area is suddenly hugely increased, so the humidity can skyrocket. You may want this, or not, but you should be aware it's happening and plan for it. Also, you may run out of water in your cup much faster than when you didn't have the sponge in it because there is SO MUCH more surface area on the sponge, and water will evaporate from ALL that area.