[kegs]

Hi Nuzuki,

You're not going to have any room in the "brooder" once you add food and water

The chicks will also need some space to move around and an area that isn't under the heat lamp.

I agree with Casey76.  Even without food and water there certainly isn't room in the box to use it as a brooder for 18 potential chicks.  You'll be surprised how soon they start moving about, exploring and testing their wings, so you need to make sure they can't burn themselves on the bulb too.

Good luck with using it as an incubator though.  The results will be interesting.

[Tony H]

yul be suprised how much room the chicks need i have a 3x2 viverium with 3 chicks in they grow quick and even now doesnt look much room for the 3  

[nuzuki]

Evening all,

I have an area in a barn partitioned off with 2 heat lamps. The area is about 6ft by 4ft so this will be the main brooding area. If the weather is particulary cold still then I shall setup a make shift brooding box inside the house or conservatory. I have just placed the eggs in the incubator and they all just about fit. I had to trim down the poly boxes a bit though. So 21days from now I shall hope to see some results although the date they are predicted to hatch (9th March) is the weekend I am away on a stag doo so shall have to ask the girlfriend to keep an eye on them 

[nuzuki]

I just read the post from grannie annie, I do have some anti slip matting but was worried it might melt in the brooder. I shall grab it now and remove the poly boxes. For the barn brooding area I have a rubber matt (the kind you might find in a gym) 

[GrannieAnnie]

lol, if it was warm enough in the incubator to melt the anti slip matting, it would kill the embryo's or the chicks.

If you can keep the area in the barn warm enough for them, 35.5C for the first week, then lowering the heat by around 2C each week until they are 4-6 weeks old, it would be a good idea to build a circle or oval inside that area. 

Corners are not good for chicks.  If they did get cold or something frightens them, they will rush to the corners and can smother each other.

Otherwise, rig up a brooder indoors for the first week or so.  In an emergency, I even taped the top and bottom of a banana box together to give the chicks in there plenty of room to run around.  The lamp I had was plenty warm enough for them, but not hot enough to burn the cardboard box! 

I also thought the incubator wasn't big enough for 18 eggs, but I didn't want you to thnk I was being totally negative!   

[nuzuki]

Ive swapped out the poly boxes to anti slip matting with a clean tea towel on top. The eggs are now further away from the heat source and loads easier to "turn" 

[nuzuki]

Yesterday was day 18, the day before I candled the eggs and it looks like I have at least 4 hopefulls. Ive upped the humidity so now its just a waiting game, just slightly different from the other part of the waiting game 

[kegs]

Good luck Nuzuki.  Hope you remembered to tie your hands behind your back too so you're not tempted to keep lifting that lid which will reduce the humidity? 

[nuzuki]

Yep  though I have to lift it to fill the dishes with water maybe everyday. I topped them up just now so will have to see how they last. I'll check the guage before I lift the lid.

I am worried about there not being any marbles or stones in the dishes, im thinking I may open it up and find a dead chick drowned in water. So I wondered can I just use some washed gravel? I have plenty of that on the drive 

[GrannieAnnie]

The new chicks don't need food or water until they are dried off and fluffy.  You can leave them in the incy for 24 hours.

Their yolk sac can keep them nourished for up to 5 days, but I used to put them over into the brooder box with food and water once they were dry and fluffy.

I found the little mushroom drinkers best for chicks, and once you introduce them to food and water.  just in case they don't notice it at first, just stand them next to the feeder and drinker.

If you think one is not drinking, just carefully dip its beak in the water so it gets the idea.  But be careful you don't get water up its nostrils.  It could drown from water in the lungs.

Hope you get at least some chicks nuzuki, after all your efforts!

[nuzuki]

Thanks My biggest fear is them hatching when I am not near the incubator and then them drowning in the dish used to up the humidity. How likely is this to happen?

[GrannieAnnie]

How high are the sides of the dish?  Could you put perhaps a taller container in there so they can't fall in?

[nuzuki]

Its like a little plant pot tray/dish. I shall swap it for a glass of water instead and that will put my mind at rest. Tomorrow is technically hatching day though if I dont have any luck how long should I keep the incubator turned on for?

If in the worst case scenario I have no chicks by sunday should I leave it on another week or will things be apparent by say monday?

Thanks for your replies Grannie Annie

[kegs]

Any news Nuzuki or am I too early?

[nuzuki]

A little too early kegs  , tomorrow and saturday are the days (I put 12 in on the friday night and 6 in saturday morning as they didnt all arrive at the same time). Im actually on a stag do on the saturday day and night so will be eagerly phoning the girlfriend for updates. I should be back to post an update on the sunday afternoon or evening