THE
VIRTUAL HATCHERY
After Hatching
When chicks are
hatching they should be left alone. At first they are wet and look a bit bedraggled. It
will take several hours before they move about properly - remember they have been curled
up inside the egg for 21 days! 
Their fluff will gradually dry out
and as it dries they will move about the incubator to await the arrival of their
'brothers' and 'sisters'. If all eggs were fresh at the beginning of the incubation
process, hatching may begin as early as the 19th day. Older eggs and those from
certain breeds will need to be incubated for the full period of twenty-one days.
Upon completion of hatching the chicks should remain in the incubator overnight. They
need no food for the first 24 hours after hatching because they are still absorbing
the last of the yolk. The chicks can be observed to be 'resting' in this period because of
all the energy needed to break out from the shell. You can also observe the 'egg
tooth' at the tip of the beak, which was used to break through the shell of the egg.
It is important to prepare a 'brooder' for the chicks. The brooder is a device
designed to provide heat for the chicks in the absence of the natural mother. The
brooder can be heated by a variety of fuels. Paraffin or oil were once common, but
an electric source is now commonplace. The heat source is suspended
centrally, usually underneath a canopy. If dull emitter ceramic infra-red lamps or bulbs are used they
do not need a canopy but are suspended over the area where the chicks are to be reared. Whatever type
of appliance is used it should be warmed to a temperature of 90
The chicks will make various 'notes' to show their 'mood' and it will soon become known to the observer what these mean. When conditions are right and the chicks are thriving they will sit together, but not bunched up, and 'purr'. If they are too hot, they will lie about, usually as far away from the heat source as possible, and gasp. Should their brooder not be warm enough, the chicks huddle together and 'cheep' all the time. These voices, together with the state of droppings and general appearance are good signs as to the health of the chicks. The chicks can be gently and carefully handled at this stage.
Chick rearing is greatly simplified if ready-mixed feed is used, commonly known as 'chick-crumbs'. It is usual to feed chick-crumbs in the first month, and a constant supply of fresh clean water is essential. Appropriate containers should be used, in the case of water to ensure the chicks do not drown. The lids of coffee jars are about the right size for the first few weeks. Although baby chicks are small, they are not delicate and do need nourishing, satisfying food to enable them to thrive and grow the necessary plumage. The feeding programme can either be several small meals a day at intervals of not more than four hours or freely from a trough during the hours of daylight.
According to their breed and the time of year, chicks are usually brooded for six to
eight weeks. The heat is gradually reduced as the chicks get older and grow. If using a
suspended heat source, this can be raised higher periodically. If using light
bulbs, the wattage can be reduced gradually.
It is interesting to observe how the chicks increase in weight and size as they get older.
Feathers will be observed to grow from the wings after only a few days. It is amazing to
think that the strong, healthy, active, chick managed to come from inside a small egg!