… It’s the wait that gets even the best of us breeders. You thought you saw an egg wiggle; a sure sign of cute little life about to explode from it’s calcium-clad pod! But then…things go quiet again, and eggs are very still. Years go by (okay… it’s really only hours, but it FEELS like years), and then suddenly…there’s a crack…the tiniest of holes in one egg’s shell! OH JOY the process has begun! Like a frantic father in the maternity ward, you’re searching for SOMETHING you can do to help. SO…go prepare your brooder box! That’s a great project to work on while you’re waiting for your chicks to hatch ♥ There are a lot of different ways to create a comfy nest for your new chicks; the essential points being:

• Make it safe from children and pets!

  • We use large, clear plastic tote boxes with breathable wire mesh lids ♥ To make the lid, you can cut a big rectangle out of the center of the lid that came with your tote box. Then cut a piece of hardware cloth 1 inch bigger than the hole in your lid. Drill some holes in the lid around the edges your just cut, then attach the hardware cloth using small machine screws, washers and nuts. It sounds complicated, but it’s actually really easy! Note: 1/4 inch opening hardware cloth works best to provide ventilation and good protection for your chicks. Now that you have a safe box, the next step is to…

• Make it warm! The first week you’re shooting for a floor temperature of 99.5 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit. You will decrease the temperature by 5 degrees every week there after. Your last step is to…

• Make it easy to walk on and relatively dust free. We use 2 inches of pine bedding pellets covered with puppy pee pads (or incontinence pads), then remove the pads after the first 5 days. This gives the chicks a pretty level and solid surface to walk on for the first few days, then acclimates them to a surface that moves a bit that they can dig in.

If there are any chicks that start to break out, but cannot break all the way out after 24 to 48 hours, please watch YouTube videos on how to assist-hatch a chick (Key points: go SLOW, stop if there’s blood, attempt to just pull the shell away from the membrane around the middle of the egg, keep the membrane moist during the process, and work in multiple sessions if needed