Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks by Damerow, Gail -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction Part 1 The Chicks

1 Acquiring Your First Chicks

Selecting a Chicken Breed Care to Give Turkeys or Guineas a Try? Choosing Ducks and Geese Finding the Hatchlings for You The Right Time for Chicks

2 Setting Up Your Brooder

Brooder Features Ready-Made Brooders Homemade Brooders Housing for Tween-Age Birds Providing Heat for the Little Ones Controlling Light

3 Managing Water, Feed, and Bedding

Providing Water Providing Feed Brooder Bedding

4 What to Expect as They Grow

Early Chick Development Day Trips and Camping Out Separating the Sexes Instinctive Behaviors

5 Hatchling Health Issues

Contagious Diseases Sudden Death Physical Defects Environmental Sickness

Part 2 The Eggs

6 The Broody Hen

Broodiness Brooding Facilities Managing the Broody Hen The Hatch Foster Moms: Not Too Picky Discouraging Broodiness

7 Selecting an Incubator

Egg Capacity Turning Devices Airflow Temperature Control Humidity Control Ease of Observation Ease of Cleaning Incubator versus Hatcher

8 Eggs for Hatching

What’s in an Egg? Egg Selection Egg Sources Clean Eggs Are a Must! Egg Candling Egg Storage

9 Operating an Incubator

Adjusting Temperature Adjusting Humidity Ventilation Ensures Oxygen Supply Egg Position and Turning Embryo Development Egg Culling The Hatch Cleanup

10 What Went Wrong?

Record Keeping Breakout Analysis Troubleshooting the Hatch Issues Affecting Hatchability

11 Hatchling Identification

Embryo Dyeing Egg Separators Identification Methods

Appendix: Screwpot Notions Glossary Acknowledgments Resources Index Interior Photography Credits