hi,
my sons math teacher gave my son a dozen different colored eggs to "see what happens". i ended up buying a small little incubator and have been coming on here and reading other messages to stay "up" on what i should be doing. we are turning the eggs 3 times a day. we candled 2 the other day and we have lift off!!

ok, the directions on the incubator say to get a brooder. i sure would if i knew what it was. i understand that its a house for the chicks. but, how do i make one side warm and the other not? what do i make it out of? oh and what am i supposed to do with the chicks when they hatch? the instructions say to only open the incubator one time a day, so if they hatch after ive already removed one, im supposed to leave it in there? oh, and what in the world do i feed them? i read that i need to put rocks or something in their water dish because they will try and drown themselves. we are on day 6. i feel like i am "nesting" lol. got to get the nursery ready!

thanks in advance for your help. im sure ill need more!

oh, one more question. i read somewhere that the chicks need a vaccine. do all of them need it?
thanks so much,

nervous mom

Nervous mom,

This was the first time for us, too...I totally can relate to your "nesting" comment! We just hatched a dozen chicks and are using a plain old cardboard box (with high sides) for a brooder, as advised by our local 4-H. For heat we have a goose neck lamp at one end of the box with a 60 watt bulb...it is doing nicely, as chicks all seem very content. You can adjust the light closer if they seem cold, or further away if they seem to be "panting"...the chicks will also go to the other side of the box if they are too warm. We were also advised to put rocks in the water dish for the reason you mentioned...but the chicks seems happier with a shallow jar lid. As for feed, we got some chick starter at our local feed store ($5.83 for a 50lb. bag)...they told me it has medicine in it. I don't know anything about a vaccine, so am anxious to see what other replies you get. Also, when the chicks began to hatch out a couple or so at a time, I let them dry a few hours and moved them to the brooder box. I couldn't leave them in there, as they were stumbling all over the other eggs...so I wouldn't worry too much about opening the incubator up more often at that point. Of course, you will probably get better advice from others here who have much more experience...I am a novice at this, too. It is exciting...hope you and your son enjoy this first attempt!

My favorite brooder is one of those plastic child swimming pools. When the chicks get to be about 2 weeks old, they can almost hop out and at that point I simply get some 2' chicken wire and wrap it around the pool. This holds them until 4 weeks, at which point they are feathered out well enough to be moved to outdoor accommodations. You can also use a cardboard box. Or you can put them somewhere like a garage floor, and make a loop of cardboard around them. Anything like this will work. You just simply need to contain them. I like the plastic pool because I don't have to worry about water spills or things like that and it's easy to clean when the babies are through with it.

You will need a chick waterer, chick feeder and some chick starter (their food). You can probably get all three from a ranch supply or feed store and spend less than $20 on the whole deal. You'll need to decide on some sort of litter. It's best to start your day old chicks on a surface that they can get a grip on easily (not newspaper). Some use paper towels. I have used a couple of old bathroom towels and just took them outside once a day and shook them out. After a couple of days, you can use newspaper, pine shavings, straw, etc.

About vaccines, yes it is recommended that chicks are vaccinated against Marek's disease. However, I don't believe that the vaccine is available in small quantity for the "home hatcher" with a small flock. It used to be but I understand that it is no longer packaged and marketed that way. So just don't worry about that one.

Yes, don't open the incubator too often. It's best for a chick to stay in there until it dries out anyway. That can take several hours. If you have a chick that is big and active enough to actually bother the other hatching eggs, go ahead and remove it even if that means opening the incubator more than once a day. Really though, they will all probably hatch within 24 hours or so of each other so this probably won't be a big issue for you.

Believe me, that 21 days will be up before you know it. And be ready early! Get your brooder all set up and mess around with adjusting your light (get a small thermometer to check the temp right under the light) a few days before you expect your hatch. I just let a momma hen hatch 8 chicks and they came about 2 days early. I had JUST come home with the necessary chick supplies so barely made it!

Keep asking questions as you think of them!
Susie

oh wow, thanks you guys!!!

1st timer, wasnt this the most exciting thing? last night after reading how to candle them better than i had been doing, my two sons and i watched one swim away from the light!!!!!! this is supposed to be an experiment from my sons MATH teacher (this teacher is the kind you dream that your children will get, my son is getting A's B's in his class, just to please the teacher! =) anyway, im afraid i will probably end up keeping a few. i wonder how many a family of four really needs? maybe two? how many are you going to keep?

susie, thanks so very much! i wrote down everything you told me. i am just so excited. i really cant believe how "attached" we are becoming to chickens! and what a great experience for my kids. if i do keep some of the chicks, should i still not bother with the vaccine? the neighbor behind me has a bunch of chickens that are allowed to wander everywhere.

im sure i will have more questions but am too excited right now about getting the brooder ready. should i cover the box? (small house, full garage, cat and dog!)
thought a box would fit our needs better. approx how big should the box be so that the chicks can decide if they want heat or not. oh and after a week, what do i do with them? lol
i certainly hope my sons math teacher doesnt give him a baby calf next time! =) we would put a leash on it, call it spot and treat it like a member of the family! lol

again, to both of you, thank you so very much! and good luck with your chicks!!!

terri

Terri,

See if you can lay your hands on something like an appliance box. You could cut down the sides to make it easier to clean and do things inside. Something 3' x 3' would give you more than enough room and it would be totally fine to start smaller and keep hunting for a better box. You can get a clamp light at any hardware place and clamp that to one side, then put food and water on the other side of the box. You will definitely want to protect them from your cat and dog. Most cats aren't a problem with older, bigger chickens but chicks are probably tempting!

You can keep them in a box/brooder for a few weeks. In one week, they'll still be tiny!

If you're wanting to keep some, I'm assuming you would want hens? You won't be able to reliably tell the sex for about 4 weeks or so. If you want hens for eggs, think an egg per day per hen (they won't lay until about 20 weeks old or so) and see what would work out to give your family fresh eggs. And as far as the vaccine, maybe you could ask your neighbor if they do it. If they have lots of chickens, they may have some vaccine or may know a source. It is highly likely you won't be able to get it. I don't worry about it. It's a risk but there is nothing I can do about it unless I order chicks from a hatchery.

It is TONS of fun to raise chickens and the hatching thing is fun, no matter how many times you do it! With chicks that just hatched out here about 10 days ago, we have spent more hours just watching than I can count. And on hatching day, we must have sat there for 5 or 6 hours just gazing. Ours are with a mother hen and I couldn't resist checking under her all the time just to see the progress! We stayed up half the night. It's better than anything on TV! LOL!

Be sure your kids understand that not every egg hatches and not every chick lives. I'm sure they are learning a lot and not all of the lessons are "fun". There is a good chance that everything will go just great but always the possibility that a chick will hatch and die or even die in the shell. And make sure that they also understand it can take them several hours to get out of that shell and there is no need to help a chick out. In fact, it can kill them to do so. It takes a lot of patience to wait for chicks to hatch once they start breaking through that shell!

You might also check your local library. There are several great books on raising chickens that are geared toward the "backyard flock". You'd probably have a lot of fun reading up on it right now while the interest is high and you're waiting for chicks!

Have fun and keep us posted!

Susie

Mama and Sons,

Just thought I'd let you know that when you keep chickens, your family size becomes irrelevant, cause eggs make a perfect gifts to friends and relatives :))

I keep 13 hens, and between our family of 4, I sell some at work and give some to our relatives too. So, keep as many as you will be happy with, but I think a dozen will probably do you good. Not to mention, that if you keep a rooster, having very few hens would be to hard on them, with his amorous advances.

P.S. If you ever get over the "brooding insticts" when you do the incubation yourself, please write us all about it and let us know how you did it :)))))

hi susie and aram! thank you again for your advice. i dont feel alone at all with you guys right here by my side! =)

just turned the eggs. oh they are getting heavy!! i dont think i will get over feeling like i am the mother hen aram. i cant believe how much i like the eggs even at this point! lol

this is day 8 for us. all three of us (husband keeps poking an eye over his newspaper) are so involved.

susie, i understand that when we candle an egg, that for some reason the embryo can stop growing, but i didnt know that after they hatched they might die. what causes them to do that? probably anything, since even touching an egg without washing your hands can kill them.
ill be sure to talk with my kids about this.

the teacher that gave these eggs to my son, said that his rooster was killed by a coyote, so these were the last eggs from him. it would be great to get one to give to him. as we are all big time animal lovers, but there is no way i would keep a rooster! lol

i cant wait to watch them pipeing out. is that pronounce like smoking a pipe? =) dont want to hatch chickens and not talk the talk. i know we will be watching them like you mentioned you and yours were.

ok, i guess im set. perhaps i should start making a chicken pen too. hmmmm, all this from an experiment with a math teacher! lol

thanks again guys!!!!!
terri

Hi Terri,

The only thing I know of that would kill an embryo when candling is if you are holding that egg too close to a hot bulb and the egg gets too hot.

Probably a zillion reasons why a chick would die soon after hatching. For the *most* part, a chick that is strong enough to make its way out of the shell, is healthy and strong. Anything from genetic issues to the health of the "parents" are issues, just like with people. And then there are issues surrounding the incubation like too low or too high humidity, fluctuations in temperature, etc. that can contribute to hatching problems. Sorry, don't mean to send you off in a whole different direction with depressing thoughts! But I have read many messages here of people doing what you are, with their kids, and sometimes they aren't prepared for the possibility of losing a chick so I just thought I'd mention it.

Pip = rhymes with sip. I have heard it pronounced both ways.

Chances of male vs. female...it's a 50/50 thing so chances are you'll have a rooster for the math teacher!

Keep us posted!

Susie

Hi, Terri!

Yes...it has been *very* exciting for us! My husband has complained about all of the time I've been spending with my new "babies," and of course the kids are having a ball watching these amazing little guys. They are so neat to watch and they really seem to know me. Unfortunately, we are not keeping any...we live in the heart of town and can't. A friend is taking them on her farm...she loves chickens, so they will be in good hands...plus we can visit them. We hope to keep them another week or so, before we have to give them up. I am already sad at the thought of them going :(

By the way, Susie is right...it is best to prepare your kids that not all of them make it. We had 12 out of 12 hatch (one I had to help out...but he is thriving now!). The last egg hatched 3 days after the others, and he was very weak and not breathing very well. I put him under a light right right away to get him warmed up and he seemed to be doing better, but he died several hours later. My 2 littler ones didn't understand, but my 8 year old was absolutely DEVASTATED and cried most of the day. I was pretty upset and shed a few tears myself, I have to confess. We had a nice little burial for him, though...and it did make for an opportunity to discuss the circle of life.

Anyway, the rest of the chicks are doing wonderfully...they will be a week old on Tuesday, and most are already getting some wing feathers!! They are still adorable little yellow puffballs, though.

Keep us posted on how it goes!
1st Timer aka Carey :)

carey,
im so sorry about the one you lost. its so hard to see our kids hurt over things we have no control over.

i tried to post to susie two times now and have my fingers crossed with this one. i want you to know susie that i would much rather know whats ahead of me than to think we are in the clear and be surprised.

carey, i thought they were born with feathers. you know, cute little yellow critters? we live in the city too but are allowed to keep four. part of me wants to, but the realist part says, ah, no, not right now. i dont know. we do have a chicken that wanders the neighborhood now and really isnt anybodys chicken. she lays her eggs in a dog kennel i set up for her. off the ground, water proof, cedar shavings. shes a cutie and certainly no trouble, but do i really want to own my own chickens?
probably will answer that when we see them!

oh susie, the math teacher found his rooster, scared hiding under a bush! not eaten! yippee! the pressure is off, but he is still getting any roosters!

ok, hope this posts to you guys.

oh, forgot, we cracked an egg last night. didnt harm the membrane though. put tape on it and so far as far as we know, all is well. dont have high hopes,, but my dad said he saw it done on the alligator hunter. lol

night all!
terri

Hi again, Terri!

The chicks are born with down...very fluffy, but ours have started getting actual white feathers on their wings already...amazing how quickly it's happened!

Thanks for the sympathy about the lost chick...it was really sad, but my son is feeling much better now.

I would love to be able to keep some, but even if we could keep them...realistically I do not have the time to devote to them, not to mention lack of space to safely keep them :( I have 3 children (2 of them toddlers) and I homeschool my oldest. So, I have my hands pretty full at the moment! Our dream is to move to a farm someday, though...maybe then we can become chicken farmers lol I actually grew up on a small farm, and I really do miss that life.

I don't know what to tell you about the cracked egg...I'll be curious to see what happens with that. Although, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that cracked eggs don't do well...and that there is a possibility of them going "bad" (aka rotten) and exploding in the incubator. Maybe someone else here can shed some light??

I'll be reading your continuing chick experience with great interest!
Carey :)

About the cracked egg - if it starts oozing anything out its pores, or oozing green smelly stuffy, its best to discard it before it explodes and sprays bacteria all over your other eggs.

My son and I also enjoy hatching eggs in our incubator and have found that most of the female chicks will be born with a little bit of wing feathers and also are the first to sprout tail feathers. We raise orpingtons & araucaunas and males usualy start to show the sprouts of a comb fairly soon (they'll have bumps within one day, while the females will develop them around 5 days). I can't speak for all breeds but its something interesting to watch for! We paint the toenails of the suspected little girls red (have to keep repainting every couple of days but that's okay cuz we handle them daily to tame them anyway!) and its fun to see what percentage we're correct about! So far we've been 100% but on the Cornish Cross we raised this winter, even the chickens seemed totally confused! Hence, our ongoing saga on Webshots.com entitled "Matilda the Rooster!" (He really did end up to be a rooster after all!) Best of luck and its such a wonderful educational opportunity in life for your son... no matter what! Enjoy!

susie and carey,
omg , i will check the egg on tomorrows turning...well, maybe ill sneak a peak now. that does ring a bell now. that they explode!

carey, do you have twins? you mentioned two toddlers.
i do! they are a handfull and homeschooling too? plus hatching chickens? pat yourself on the back! thats great!

susie, thats too cute about painting the toe nails. i will have to try that. have been talking to my boys alot about not keeping any. i think its sinking in.


hope so. i really dont have the room that they would deserve. they sure like to peck at the ground alot and i would have to have them in a small area. not nice.

ok, off to look for green ooze. crossing my fingers!

thanks you guys so much. i really would feel so lost without you!

terri

carey and susie,
just took a peek at the "taped" chicken. its fine!! still growing!...well, atleast i think it is. there was still a mass in there and it appeared to be larger than the last time i checked. not by much, but its still a mass, so thats a chick, right? =)

night!

we saw a chicken!!!! and the little veins!! was the coolest thing in my life....well, it was pretty cool anyway. maybe not the coolest. i couldnt believe it!!

i did discover, there are masses, and then there are MASSES and then there are real chicks. im thinking that some of the masses are just the yoke. the bigger black masses, i dont have a clue why they arent chicks, but we will find out next thursday anyway!

i feel like jacque coustou (spelling) in the chicken world. lol

What day are you on now? You should see those veins in every fertile egg that is developing properly. It can be more difficult to see on blue or green eggs or really dark brown though. What color are your eggs?

Yes, it is VERY cool! Sort of like a home ultrasound! Ha!

Susie

hi

we are on day 13. we have brown , lighter brown, and blue i guess. we really only saw a "real" chicken in one of them. one of the blue ones i believe. some of the eggs that felt heavy to turn dont seem to be getting heavier. we do see alot of black little dots in the middle of some of the masses. some of the masses are black and about half of the egg.
some of the masses appear to me to be just a yolk. i cant wait to find out how many there are.
the one egg, that we really did see a chicken and the veins appeared to have two small cirlces. my boys said one was the head and the other the bottom. i dont know, all i know is i kept screaming, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. lol it is like an ultra sound. is it bad to candle them every day? i just cant stand looking at them knowing i could be looking AT them, watching them turn and wiggle in the shell. i will probably kill them just from looking at them so darn much. is that bad? will they die if i looked at them, say, oh every day?

oh, when i said alot of black little dots, i meant in each egg. only one black dot in an egg.

Terri,

Hi! Glad to hear it is still going well. You sound just as excited (and nervous!) as I did.

We just took our li'l chickies to their new farm home yesterday...the kids cried, and I nearly did :( The lady that took them is great, though...she is taking such good care of them and giving us updates. I want to do it all over again, now!

No twins here! My oldest son is almost 9, daughter is 3 (still sort of a toddler, to me!), and 1 1/2 year old boy.

What method are you using to candle your eggs? I know, it is so hard to resist examining them...at least you have less than a week to go now!

Carey :)

I'd be surprised if you're seeing a large mass and it turns out to just be the yolk. In my brown eggs, I can't even see the yolk. An infertile egg candles "clear" for me. I think it's easier to see a yolk in a white egg but I don't think it would look like a dark mass.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens with yours! I don't know if it's bad to candle them everyday. I really can't imagine why it would be as long as you're washing your hands. Then again, how sanitary are a hen's feet and belly? LOL!

Just hang in there and keep us posted! You'll know soon!

Susie

As far as daily candling, the only 2 factors would be bacteria and inadvertent shaking. We just lost our last 2 batches of eggs to bacteria (each batch from separate sources) -- They developed but didn't hatch and when we broke open the eggs the liquid was greenish. We were using a larger incubator that my sister the kindergarten teacher gave me since it held more eggs and haven't had a successful hatch with it! Any thoughts about sterilizing incubators? Apparently, a good cleaning wasn't enough, or the eggs (one batch from my hens, one purchased) was carrying a bacteria which permeated the shell. I've never disinfected eggs before, but it seems I might need to learn how before I try again -- its so sad to turn eggs for 38 days (2 batches x 19 days turning each)and come out with bad results - I've always had a great hatch rate up until this incubator and I gave the smaller one away! Any thoughts?

oh orpicanunajo,
so sorry about your sad chick situation. since im new at this, thats about all i can offer. hope your situation gets cleared up soon!

hi car and suz, (good friends now huh? =)

things are going great. candled the chicks again...gee, bet youre surprised to hear that from ME! lol we are counting 7 and then some with just masses. i dont have a clue. susie im excited to see what they are. "taped" chick is FINE!!!! =)))))

question: can i use a used but clean 29 gallon rectangle aquarium to put the babies in for the "brooder"? that way, we can watch them all the time without even having to get out of our chair!

i was able to get a huge box, but was curious about the aquarium. guess i should get the chick feed and the light now. only 5 more days to go!

thanks for your opinions.

oh carey, we are candleing them by using my sons desk lamp, a box with a hole about the size of a quarter(shoe box with a hole in it) my boys kind of watch me as i am the egg holder and i get so involved looking at the eggs, sometimes the box starts to smoke! lol i know, i know, these lil guys are fragile! apparently they arent even bothered by it, its a quick couple of seconds and back to bed they go. they dont respond to the light. its just so fasinating. carey, what did your children say they learned from this. such an experience isnt it. they learned, the beginning of life, death, love and then letting go. what a great lesson and all in 21 days! i dont want to have to give these guys away, but am thinking, like you, we could just start over!
i was so sorry to hear that it was kind of tough for you all. i think i ignored that statement as i am going to have to be the one that says they need to go. tough being the adult.
its late here. happy mothers day!!!!
night all!
terri

Terri,

An aquarium will work for a little while assuming you can fit a waterer and feeder in there -- and of course depending on how many chicks you end up with. But it will work for starting out and I'm sure you'll know when they need a little more room. Just be sure it is kept away from sun coming in a window!

Yes, get that chick food ASAP so you'll be all ready! In case you don't know, the best thing to do is just wait on food and water until all the chicks hatch and are dry. Then you can start by putting a little sprinkle of food on a paper towel. The contrast in color helps them see that food. They should start pecking. Then you pick up each chick and dip its beak into the waterer, hold it up and after once or twice of doing that it will drink the drop that sticks to its beak. That's all there is to it. They'll figure out to return to the waterer when they want a drink. I usually keep a close eye out and try to make sure I see each one eating and drinking. They are good to go after hatching for a couple of days or so without food or water but the sooner they get started, the better. With no momma hen to show them food and water, you are it!

Can't wait to see how your hatch turns out and also to hear how the kids react to them hatching! Should be fun at your house in a few days! :-)

Susie

susie!!!

i had no idea i was supposed to teach them how to eat!
i sure wouldve had some bad news for you guys after a few days..poor starving chicks. thank you so much!!!

ok, just to get this straight. they do not need the food or water for a few days after being hatched???

wow, this really is great. yes i will let you know how it turns out. can i post pictures on here? you know, first borns? lol so funny. i love this so much and although i am so excited to see the lil babies, i am enjoying the waiting and taking care of them so much, its sad that its coming to an end. ah, but there are more hens laying eggs as we speak and my job of mother hen can continue! i think, there is a true farming woman in me somewhere. although, i dont think i would enjoy milking a cow....unless it was chocolate! =) j/t

thanks again, susie! you and carey have been my mid wives during all of this!

by the way,

i am not "allowed" to candle everyday. my son(the actual "owner" of the eggs) said im "mothering" them too much and they need to be still.

so, thats, that!

i have one more question. if im not going to keep them,
dont laugh because of the "if", when am i supposed to take them to their new home? how old do they have to be? i keep thinking maybe i will keep a couple of them. darn it. would you believe that at one point in my childrens lives, they were given "rats" from our neighbor. they were adorable, stinky little rodents and we loved them. near the end of their life cycle they each developed huge lumps on their bodies.
we literally, took the rats to the doctors! was a sad ending, but peaceful.
another time, my sons hamster lost all of her hair.
another trip to the vets for a rodent!
i am a sucker for animals of all kinds! =)
some day, if i feel i trust you guys enough, i will tell you about the frozen fly! lol now that was silly!
ok, ill tell you. i opened the frig one summer day and sitting in my frig, (yuk) was a dead fly. well, i told the boys that the fly was probably in a hibernation type state and of course they laughed at me. i took that fly outside and put him on the table in the shade and waited for him to "defrost". my kids were laughing so hard at me, i wouldnt move because if i turned my head and the fly was gone, i wouldnt have known if the wind or something blew him off the table (i would not have searched the grass for a dead fly, and i was too stubborn to miss this opportunity to see if i was right!) or if he flew off. so now, my boys and i are sitting outside together talking about "cryogenics" lol, and you probably guessed it. that fly defrosted and flew away!
now they joke when they see dead insects. "mom, do your cpr on him! lol"
ok, thats enough embarrassing stories about me.

Hi Terri!

A chick absorbs the yolk in the egg and that process finished just before hatching so they are, in essence, born with a full belly. This is why you can order baby chicks and have them shipped across the country. They don't need food and water for 2 or 3 days. However, the sooner they get started the better. I'd let all of them hatch and dry out. It takes them a few hours to dry out and get up and walking around good. Then show them the food on the paper towel and dip everyone's beak in the water and you'll be all set. In nature, they follow mom and mom also has a noise she'll make to show them food. It's really cool to see! But yours will get the hang of it quickly. However, don't be surprised if they don't eat a whole lot at first. They'll peck around a little bit for a couple of days. Next thing you know, they'll empty their feeder quicker and quicker!

The chicks could go to a new owner at any time after hatching and drying out. But they need to be kept in a brooder, with heat, for 3 -4 weeks. If their next home is going to be outdoors, 4 weeks is probably the bare minimum.

Yes, you can post pictures to this board! It's pretty simple and neat because you can do a direct upload from your computer. The menu on the left of the screen has a section for "formatting" and then instructions for "images". It's a simple insertion of some code and then when you post your message you'll be prompted to browse your hard drive and identify the photo you want posted. I'd love to see pix!

You can see pix of my current chicks on a web page I threw together for my friends, if you're curious. The page is:
http://www.geocities.com/susied67/

Probably will take a couple of minutes to load all the pictures.

Susie