As the winter wonderland is in full swing, it is important to think about our feathery friends in the barn, especially if we are incubating or have recent hatchlings. Incubating eggs are under constant stress during the winter months because of the changes in humidity and ambient temperature. Likewise, the first few days post hatching are very important because they are still developing their ability to control internal body temperature, which doesn’t fully develop until they are about 6 weeks old. Here are a few ideas to help get our chicks or poults off to a good start.
The first thing to focus on is how we are incubating our eggs. There is not one single answer that yields the best results. Some companies recommend high humidity with a slightly lower temperature and others the opposite. What the focus should be is on what works best for your setup. Take a look at how well your hatch is. If it seems lower than what it ought to be, try taking a different approach to how the eggs are handled and incubated. Proper egg storage prior to incubation is imperative to a good hatch. Keeping early laid eggs at a physiological dormancy, between 55?F and 60?F, will help keep those eggs in good condition until incubation. The condition setup within the incubator is the first place that we can go to for improving our hatch. Incubation temperatures are extremely important, not only to ensure that our chicks or poults will hatch, but also for their future development.