Aug. 11, 2025

Nature vs. Nurture: Hatching Chicks With Hens, Part 1

Show Notes
Transcript

Thinking about letting a hen hatch her own chicks instead of using an incubator? In this Poultry Keepers Podcast episode, we explore the pros, pitfalls, and fascinating realities of hen hatching.

Learn why some breeds—like Silkies—are famous for broodiness, how a mother hen’s natural care can boost chick survival and growth, and the environmental factors that trigger broodiness. We share practical advice on feed timing, managing aggressive flock members, and when (and if) you should move a broody hen and her chicks. Whether you raise backyard birds or manage a breeding program, this discussion will help you decide if hen hatching is right for your flock.

What You’ll Learn:
• The surprising benefits of hen-hatched chicks over incubator-hatched chicks
• Breeds known for exceptional broodiness
• Tips for encouraging natural foraging in young chicks
• How to manage hens that aren’t great mothers
• Feeding strategies to boost chick health and development

Listen now and discover how nature and nurture work together in your poultry yard at www.thepoultrykeeperspodcast.com

#PoultryKeepersPodcast #HenHatching #BroodyHen #Silkies #BackyardChickens #PoultryBreeding #ChickCare #RaisingChickens #PoultryManagement #NaturalHatching #ChickenBreeds #HomesteadingChickens

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WEBVTT

00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.650
Hello and welcome to the Poultry Keepers Podcast.

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In this episode Jeff Mattocks and Carey Blackmon dive into the often-overlooked art of hen hatching.

00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:21.949
While incubators dominate today’s poultry conversations, natural hatching is how chickens survived for centuries before technology came along.

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We share real-life stories, tips, and hard-earned lessons on broodiness, chick care, breed tendencies, and why some hens make exceptional mothers.

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From Silkies as“America’s incubator” to why feed timing matters for chick development, this conversation is packed with practical advice for anyone curious about letting nature take the lead in the coop.

00:00:55.366 --> 00:00:56.697
Now here's Carey and Jeff.

00:00:57.335 --> 00:01:04.924
Tonight we're gonna talk about chicks, specifically hen hatching or using a hatcher.

00:01:05.825 --> 00:01:09.965
Several people have mentioned this to us.

00:01:10.864 --> 00:01:16.444
There's lots of stuff about incubating hatching eggs, like it's all over the place.

00:01:17.344 --> 00:01:18.724
Different this different that.

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Tonight we're gonna talk about hen hatching because number one, a lot of people don't do it.

00:01:27.545 --> 00:01:30.094
A lot of people are scared of it because nobody talks about it.

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So tonight we're gonna shed a little bit on it because yeah, it is a thing.

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But there wouldn't be any chickens if there wasn't hen hatching before incubators came along so

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well.

00:01:45.694 --> 00:01:51.754
And so the first time I hen hatched was probably last year.

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And, I had a, I also, I raised some large fowl and I also raised some game fowl and I had a hand, it was.

00:02:05.185 --> 00:02:11.694
About this time of year, she went, Brody, and I was like, you know what I, I'm not messing with you.

00:02:11.814 --> 00:02:12.655
It's too hot.

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I'm gonna feed you.

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I'm going to change out your water.

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I'm gone.

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I let her lay on.

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Those are probably some of the most vigorous birds I have ever put on the ground.

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I think.

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I think they were like two, maybe three.

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No, they were less than a month old.

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And I believe I told you about it.

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I know I told Rip'cause I was in shock.

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The roost in this particular breeding pin, there's one at about two and a half feet, and then there's another one at six feet because birds love to get high, game foul don't weigh much, and they like to fly.

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I'm not gonna get in touch.

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I'm not gonna argue with'em on it.

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And I go out there one night to check on my birds.

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It's starting to get cold, and I just hear chirping, but I can't find them.

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I'm like, oh crap.

00:03:05.030 --> 00:03:05.569
They got out.

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Where are they?

00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:06.979
What are they doing?

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I'm looking around, and I finally, I look up to see if I can see the hen or anything, looking at'em.

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And they were underneath her on the roo pole, six feet up in the air.

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Less than a month old.

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Ever since then, I've been a huge believer in it.

00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:29.509
Looks like we got some other folks that's big fans of it too.

00:03:29.750 --> 00:03:30.259
Oh yeah.

00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:33.349
Let's see this right here.

00:03:33.379 --> 00:03:34.784
This gets me every time, Jeff.

00:03:35.685 --> 00:03:36.824
Sue has Silkies.

00:03:37.724 --> 00:03:40.664
Yeah, and I love Sue.

00:03:41.564 --> 00:03:49.664
She just does not seem like the lady that would have Silkies because she really loves her CRE and her Rhode Island reds.

00:03:50.564 --> 00:03:52.094
And they're okay.

00:03:52.155 --> 00:03:55.245
I guess the craft curve's got the fuzzy head like the Silkies do.

00:03:55.634 --> 00:03:56.865
She's putting them to work.

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Okay.

00:03:57.379 --> 00:03:58.080
This is, oh yeah.

00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.465
This is actually a very common practice.

00:04:00.854 --> 00:04:10.264
There is, I talk to people pretty frequently, that keep silkies around because they go so broody so easy.

00:04:10.314 --> 00:04:14.544
And for the most part, they're decent, they're really decent mothers.

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And, they'll stay on the nest as good as any and yeah.

00:04:19.435 --> 00:04:25.935
So look, silky, I know what you, how you feel about Silky, and we're not gonna say it on air, but you know what?

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To each own, right?

00:04:27.944 --> 00:04:28.004
Hey,

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They're straight up America's incubator.

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They're

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incubator of the foul world.

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Dude, if I told you the value of Silkies, okay, we got barns here in my area that are doing.

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10,000 Silkies at a time.

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Okay.

00:04:47.750 --> 00:05:02.839
Grow out 10,000 silkies at a time because the ethnic live bird market in New York City per, there's groups up there that prefer eating silky over anything else?

00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:04.040
All right.

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I ain't making this up.

00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:07.000
So there's money in Silky.

00:05:07.189 --> 00:05:07.480
Okay.

00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:15.800
I know that like I, I have a line of feed that's specifically geared towards Silky and people buy it, huh?

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Like I, I know that they're silky are a thing, and they definitely have their place.

00:05:21.889 --> 00:05:24.350
You know why there's so many different breeds of chickens out there?

00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:27.470
Because there's so many different of people, right?

00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:28.129
Okay.

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So there ain't no right or wrong.

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Whatever works for you and you're happy, that's what you need to do.

00:05:35.750 --> 00:05:36.199
There you go.

00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:36.680
Okay.

00:05:37.579 --> 00:05:40.790
So you shouldn't condemn people for their choices in chickens.

00:05:40.790 --> 00:05:44.300
There's other things you can condemn'em about, but not their choices in chickens.

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Just let it be.

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I don't condemn'em for their soapies,

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right?

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It's, I'm a Turkey guy, when I retire and disappear into the wilderness, I'm gonna have turkeys.

00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:55.000
Yeah.

00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:56.829
I like their personality.

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They like people, they're personable.

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Anyway, we're getting off subject.

00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:01.699
Look,

00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:03.370
Mine are very personable.

00:06:03.370 --> 00:06:09.310
They will, if you're not careful, they will trip you up when you go in there to feed'em because they're curious.

00:06:09.310 --> 00:06:10.600
They wanna know what the crap you're doing.

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They just, I don't know.

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They like people.

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They, and they make

00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:15.290
that you raise them

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right when they're chicks.

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They'll follow you around like a dog.

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And

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they will.

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Yeah.

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And they're

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happy.

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Yeah.

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So anyway, let's get back to incubator head hatch.

00:06:27.814 --> 00:06:28.475
They're all right.

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Whether you love the natural touch or the control consistency of technology, we got something for everybody in this one.

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And it is what it is.

00:06:39.750 --> 00:06:44.454
What are the pros of letting a hen hatch their own chicks?

00:06:45.355 --> 00:06:48.639
Yeah, you almost always have a higher hatch rate.

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Almost always have a higher hatch rate because if it's a good hand, if it's a good mother she, she stays on there, right?

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Her external body temperature is perfect and she's emitting body moisture, so the humidity stays on the higher side.

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Yeah.

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The big pros are when those chicks hatch, she shows'em how to eat, she shows'em where to drink, she shows'em how to act, she shows'em how to scratch the ground.

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She shows'em right, she shows them what chickens are supposed to do, right?

00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:26.029
Yeah, that is true.

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The only the big winner why hens are superior to any incubator.

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Is the parenting factor, right?

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The teaching'em what to do, the garden'em, right?

00:07:38.985 --> 00:07:44.754
She teaches'em where to go, when you finally let'em out where they can free range and do their own thing, right?

00:07:44.814 --> 00:07:48.564
She teaches'em where to go, where not to go, who to stay away from.

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She protects'em and if she's a good, he, if your hen ain't doing that, she needs to be in the stew pot.

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Okay, that's, there's no if, ands or buts about it, right?

00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:04.819
But a good hand, she guards those chicks really well and there ain't nobody gonna mess with them

00:08:05.029 --> 00:08:21.019
so I've actually thought about getting a grow out of Silkies because of their broodiness, because I love my Rhode Island Reds and I love my American breasts, but them son of a guns don't ever go broody.

00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:34.690
Like my, my, so most of my Rhode Island reds, if I'm outside, when they start making that chattering sound and they pop an egg out in the box they get out and they're like, what is that?

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What am I get that outta here And they'll, they'll look at me and be like, Hey there's something in my next box.

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I wanna get back in it.

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But you need to get that out.

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They will go broody.

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You just have to give'em time.

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It, so I'm try, I, for years, I'm trying to figure out what's the secret of broodiness.

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You know how to prevent it, how to, trigger it, whatever.

00:08:57.330 --> 00:09:02.580
And a little bit of reading in the Hubbard manual Yeah.

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For keeping breeders, and some other places it's we hit it, we hit like a certain heat, a certain humidity and it depends on the breed, but something in their mind triggers based on environmental conditions.

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Yeah.

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And they just go right now, like we discussed, some breeds are more prone to broodiness than others.

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Like the silkies not a problem.

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And a lot of the duck breeds not a problem, right?

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They're, they, it's just more of an instinct, build into'em.

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But,

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People ask me to explain it.

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I'm like, Hey, look.

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That's a female, and it's a phenomenon that men are not supposed to understand.

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Women.

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I don't try to with the hands either.

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There's no rhyme or reason.

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It just is what it is.

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You're gonna get shot.

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You just, you need to stay in your lane here, buddy.

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Hey, look, I embrace it all

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right?

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Because there's no I wouldn't do it.

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There's no way.

00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:28.899
Another question that I see because a lot of times prepping for these, I take the questions that our viewers give us, but I also look the interwebs for questions and I see this a lot and it's, to me and probably the U2 and several people watching live now, it's funny, but I see people asking a lot, can a hen hatch eggs from other breeds?

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They can that any egg, right?

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I, I guarantee you Sue Silkies aren't like, whoa, hey, that's a Rhode Island Red Egg.

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That's not one of mine.

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Get it outta here.

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That's not happening.

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I, my one thing that I do wonder though, and if somebody's done this, I'd like to know the answer, otherwise I might have to try it, but I'm curious.

00:10:51.789 --> 00:10:54.850
What would happen if a silky hatched a Turkey?

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And how long would it take for the Turkey to outgrow the silky?

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Yeah, about six or eight weeks.

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You need to try that.

00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:04.809
I like that idea.

00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:06.490
So that's perfect timing too.

00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:07.000
Yeah.

00:11:07.899 --> 00:11:09.460
Let's look over here.

00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:12.639
Oh yeah, this one, she had a bad experience.

00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:24.370
She said her husband, her son's Banham coaching, which Banham and coaching to me just doesn't really go together'cause coachings, I don't even think banham coachings are small.

00:11:25.269 --> 00:11:26.909
But this one's squished.

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Three outta four chicks.

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See, I don't know how that's strange.

00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:34.379
Okay and I don't know anything about Kayla's situation, right?

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So I'm only going on speculation, but I'm wondering if the nest box was too small.

00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:42.240
Okay.

00:11:42.690 --> 00:11:43.289
That's the only thing.

00:11:43.289 --> 00:11:50.865
I'm wondering if there wasn't enough room for her to get in there, turn around enough room for her and the chicks to be comfortable.

00:11:51.075 --> 00:11:54.345
I'm just wondering if the nest box was just a little too small.

00:11:55.034 --> 00:11:56.024
So I don't know.

00:11:56.384 --> 00:11:56.924
I don't know.

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That would be my guess,

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That's unfortunate.

00:12:00.725 --> 00:12:06.725
And when you've got a bird, especially a good quality show, bird that.

00:12:07.355 --> 00:12:14.095
Has the stance, the station, the color you can't help but to hatch those out and carry that on.

00:12:14.995 --> 00:12:17.095
And it really sucks that you don't have a good bomb.

00:12:17.995 --> 00:12:19.705
And maybe it was their first time too.

00:12:19.825 --> 00:12:20.605
So pulls

00:12:20.904 --> 00:12:21.504
are reckless.

00:12:21.504 --> 00:12:22.044
That is true.

00:12:22.225 --> 00:12:22.585
Yeah.

00:12:23.184 --> 00:12:24.595
Pulls are really reckless.

00:12:24.654 --> 00:12:28.735
So you know, it's 50 50 with a pull hatching out.

00:12:29.615 --> 00:12:31.264
But you gotta try it to see

00:12:32.075 --> 00:12:32.345
Yeah.

00:12:32.975 --> 00:12:34.115
If she's gonna be good or not.

00:12:34.264 --> 00:12:45.184
But you, when you find that good hand that meets your qualifications, you probably wanna start keeping pulls from her and hope that instinct moves forward.

00:12:45.664 --> 00:12:47.225
It, I get it to come back.

00:12:47.274 --> 00:12:49.754
It is an instinct, it is a genetic thing.

00:12:49.904 --> 00:12:51.345
See, Sue says.

00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:54.139
That I think this is a two part comment.

00:12:54.139 --> 00:13:01.669
The first one is right here it says, her older reds stay by the house and they have a whole acre to explore.

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They don't know how to forage

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all.

00:13:04.370 --> 00:13:05.210
She wants them to

00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.450
forage to be confident instead of looking at her.

00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:09.259
Okay.

00:13:09.605 --> 00:13:11.195
I'm not picking on Sue.

00:13:11.315 --> 00:13:16.804
This is for anybody else out there, but if there's food always in the feeder.

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For people who like to free choice feed, they for sure are not gonna go very far, right?

00:13:24.345 --> 00:13:25.634
Especially in the middle of the day.

00:13:25.634 --> 00:13:29.115
If it's hot, no shade, not enough trees.

00:13:29.710 --> 00:13:32.919
Again, I haven't seen Sue's yard, so I'm only speculating.

00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:44.710
But so one of the reasons why I am pro, limiting feed, give a, give just a little bit in the morning to wake'em up with and then give'em the bulk of their feed.

00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:52.200
An hour before they go to the roost is that stimulates them to do more foraging.

00:13:52.889 --> 00:13:54.720
And get out and look around.

00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:57.929
If the feeder's empty, they'll go looking for something to do.

00:13:58.620 --> 00:13:59.549
Feeder ain't empty.

00:14:00.054 --> 00:14:01.075
They not so much.

00:14:01.125 --> 00:14:02.115
They go hit the buffet.

00:14:02.865 --> 00:14:03.254
Yeah.

00:14:03.304 --> 00:14:06.125
That seems to be the case for many birds.

00:14:07.024 --> 00:14:10.294
Oh look, Kayla says no nest box.

00:14:10.384 --> 00:14:12.365
She thinks the hen's a few marble short.

00:14:13.264 --> 00:14:14.465
That could be right.

00:14:14.784 --> 00:14:17.514
But again, you know when you got a beautiful bird.

00:14:18.414 --> 00:14:19.654
And you'll want more.

00:14:19.950 --> 00:14:25.149
You got to do whatever to get'em to carry forward.

00:14:26.049 --> 00:14:26.289
Yeah.

00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:27.789
Let's see.

00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:34.509
Esther says, I feel like chicks are less accessible for daily handling and weighing with the broody.

00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:37.269
Mom and dad get defensive.

00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.029
I miss a lot of data that I should be tracking.

00:14:40.809 --> 00:14:42.039
That's a hundred percent true.

00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:42.100
Yeah.

00:14:42.190 --> 00:14:47.215
So the first two weeks you're not gonna get your data, you just leave them alone.

00:14:47.764 --> 00:14:51.125
The only way around this is you create this.

00:14:51.799 --> 00:15:00.200
Like low level feeding space for the chicks where you can put special feed, chick feed or something in there.

00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:03.850
And you can almost trap'em when they come in.

00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:14.490
If you can lure them in there, a place where mom and dad can't get to, you can lure'em in there, trap'em, and that's one way to, that's one way to get'em in.

00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:16.674
So you can collect your data, but.

00:15:17.575 --> 00:15:20.554
Yeah, just in an open environment like that

00:15:20.735 --> 00:15:21.034
it's tough.

00:15:21.245 --> 00:15:22.174
A good mom.

00:15:22.235 --> 00:15:25.914
And it sounds like Esther's got really good chicken parenting going on.

00:15:26.514 --> 00:15:31.434
Yeah, they're doing their job, so you may not be able to get your data for the first two weeks.

00:15:31.945 --> 00:15:32.485
And one thing

00:15:32.544 --> 00:15:39.865
that I've done is I'll take the dip net, you know that most every chicken keeper has that they chase'em around with.

00:15:40.225 --> 00:15:40.809
I'll take that.

00:15:41.544 --> 00:15:44.184
And use that to scoop mom and dad back.

00:15:44.184 --> 00:15:47.754
If you do it real gently, they don't get as uptight.

00:15:48.325 --> 00:15:56.065
And sometimes you can grab a couple of the chicks at least to be able to wing band them and grab some of your data.

00:15:56.455 --> 00:16:04.220
But Jeff said, if you wait till they're about two weeks old and they start regulating their temperature better and stuff like that, you can separate'em.

00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:06.860
And start grabbing your data better.

00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:09.669
Two weeks old, they can regulate their own body temperature.

00:16:09.669 --> 00:16:15.409
So it's fine to separate'em, put'em in a brooder somewhere depending on what your outside temperature they're doing.

00:16:15.529 --> 00:16:28.153
But look, the growth rate, okay if you're doing everything right, the growth rate of hen hatched will be incubator hatched chicks all the time.

00:16:28.889 --> 00:16:39.298
Now the caveat, one of the caveats being is as soon as they hatch, you're putting mom and the chicks on starter feed, which is a good thing, right?

00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:57.745
So we wanna rebuild her body get, put her on starter feed with the chicks, and, let her, rejuvenate herself and she may come back into We've got reports of some hen are so good that they're actually sitting on four clutches of eggs a year, right?

00:16:57.745 --> 00:17:03.725
And if they're hatching 10 out of 12 of every one of those clutches, that's 40 chicks outta one hand.

00:17:03.774 --> 00:17:05.515
That's a pretty decent number.

00:17:06.234 --> 00:17:10.194
So depending on the breed, but that's still a pretty decent number.

00:17:10.404 --> 00:17:15.829
So if you can get her back into lay and get her mated, it may not be such a bad trade off.

00:17:16.730 --> 00:17:17.089
Yeah.

00:17:17.210 --> 00:17:26.460
Because, if they had, if the birds have good qualities, then at two weeks move them out, she's ready to start laying again.

00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:29.309
He probably hasn't left her alone.

00:17:30.089 --> 00:17:33.640
So you'll might be able to get another clutch.

00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:34.509
Yep.

00:17:35.410 --> 00:17:36.430
Let's see.

00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:38.589
Victor says good evening.

00:17:39.490 --> 00:17:40.180
Drop a light.

00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:41.019
Love you guys.

00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:41.980
Thanks for being here.

00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:44.170
We moved 2,600 miles away.

00:17:44.289 --> 00:17:47.859
Ooh, that's not, that can't be a fun move.

00:17:48.579 --> 00:17:49.809
Working on it, Jeff.

00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:53.319
They do get locked out of the coop after breakfast.

00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:54.640
Okay.

00:17:55.420 --> 00:18:00.720
Hopefully breakfast is limited to one ounce each and make'em work for the rest of it,

00:18:00.825 --> 00:18:01.305
let's see.

00:18:01.305 --> 00:18:05.954
Victor says, I started doing that method ever since I met Jeff.

00:18:06.855 --> 00:18:09.130
I think he's talking about the feed, split the feed.

00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:09.944
Yeah, limiting the feed.

00:18:10.035 --> 00:18:14.075
Yeah, probably yeah, I heard a napkin.

00:18:14.375 --> 00:18:16.414
Banum will hatch anything.

00:18:17.315 --> 00:18:18.005
I have no clue.

00:18:18.904 --> 00:18:19.414
Me either.

00:18:20.315 --> 00:18:24.404
Yeah but you know that, that is definitely a Rip question.

00:18:25.305 --> 00:18:31.305
And hopefully he may see that in the comments sometime in the next few days and get back with you.

00:18:32.204 --> 00:18:32.654
Let's see.

00:18:32.654 --> 00:18:39.884
Rob said, I've seen people who use Silkies to hatch and raise all sorts of exotic pheasants.

00:18:40.694 --> 00:18:40.934
Okay.

00:18:41.835 --> 00:18:43.755
I wonder if I could get'em to raise coil.

00:18:44.654 --> 00:18:45.289
Yeah, why couldn't you?

00:18:46.190 --> 00:18:46.480
Okay.

00:18:46.545 --> 00:18:48.884
The silky is not All right.

00:18:48.944 --> 00:18:49.664
Be careful here.

00:18:49.670 --> 00:18:50.420
I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to

00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:52.099
get some silkies just to try all this now.

00:18:52.289 --> 00:18:52.579
Okay.

00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:55.670
So here's one thing you want to be cautious of.

00:18:56.450 --> 00:18:56.599
Okay.

00:18:56.599 --> 00:19:01.400
Whatever you hatch with the silky, if you don't separate'em early enough in life.

00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:01.819
Oh yeah.

00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.430
It just takes time and management.

00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:04.700
It takes time.

00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:05.869
Yeah.

00:19:05.869 --> 00:19:07.730
I, so an incubator hat.

00:19:08.615 --> 00:19:09.664
Could be right.

00:19:09.845 --> 00:19:23.755
Hypothetically, I'm gonna say it this way because it could be as good as a hen hatch if the person, if the poultry manager is gonna go visit that incubator.

00:19:24.654 --> 00:19:26.035
Eight, 10 times a day.

00:19:26.125 --> 00:19:33.444
And show the chicks where to eat and show the chicks where to drink and spend a lot of time with them and do a lot of imprinting and Right.

00:19:33.505 --> 00:19:36.984
And, but most of us still have a day job.

00:19:37.204 --> 00:19:39.454
We work somewhere, we have other things to do.

00:19:39.845 --> 00:19:43.664
We can't go to the brooder, every two hours and check on chicks.

00:19:44.535 --> 00:19:46.184
What's the hen doing all day long?

00:19:46.404 --> 00:19:47.755
She's checking on her chicks.

00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.819
I have checked in to see if emotional support checks was a thing.

00:19:53.690 --> 00:20:01.130
Unfortunately I don't think that they actually can provide any kind of value, so it might not fly too well in, in the workplace.

00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:01.829
Come on.

00:20:01.829 --> 00:20:02.519
You can do it.

00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:03.480
You can do it.

00:20:04.380 --> 00:20:07.740
I will say this, I have actually hatched them out before it worked.

00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:08.849
Yeah.

00:20:08.910 --> 00:20:10.079
And it was a hit.

00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:11.250
Everybody loved it.

00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:12.210
Yeah.

00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:12.890
It worked out.

00:20:12.944 --> 00:20:17.474
John Gunderman did it at the university, at the Sterling University with the daycare.

00:20:18.029 --> 00:20:19.048
In the daycare lab.

00:20:19.917 --> 00:20:20.817
That was a winner.

00:20:20.897 --> 00:20:27.057
Who was it in here that, took some chicks into the nursing home and did it in there and it was a hit there.

00:20:27.057 --> 00:20:32.907
I remember seeing the post on either Pulse Keeper 360 or but I know, yeah, I can't remember her name,

00:20:32.907 --> 00:20:34.798
but I know it's one that's a nurse.

00:20:35.157 --> 00:20:35.397
Yeah.

00:20:35.478 --> 00:20:40.488
Either a nurse, some type, I don't know what she does, care provider, but yeah, she's in the healthcare.

00:20:40.817 --> 00:20:41.928
Yeah, it was a senior.

00:20:41.928 --> 00:20:42.498
That was pretty cool.

00:20:42.498 --> 00:20:42.887
Utility.

00:20:42.948 --> 00:20:43.938
Yeah, it is.

00:20:43.938 --> 00:20:55.268
So there, there is, oh look, if there wasn't emotional support from chicks, then Tractor Supply and Rural King and all those other farm stores would be out of business, man.

00:20:55.268 --> 00:20:55.657
Come on.

00:20:56.167 --> 00:20:56.557
Oh yeah.

00:20:57.458 --> 00:20:57.907
I may

00:20:57.958 --> 00:20:58.178
who

00:20:58.653 --> 00:20:59.792
I may do it, I may do it again.

00:21:00.633 --> 00:21:01.353
Yeah, do it.

00:21:02.252 --> 00:21:14.712
Hey, you know what I have somebody sending me, they actually will be here tomorrow, some indigo antes I think it's eight or nine eggs that they're sending me.

00:21:15.613 --> 00:21:16.992
I should definitely take them.

00:21:17.803 --> 00:21:19.752
Into the classroom and incubate'em.

00:21:20.653 --> 00:21:24.512
Yeah, that sounds, it, it's could be a good science project.

00:21:25.413 --> 00:21:41.182
One other thing that I saw a person that, I'm not gonna describe'em because people on here will know who they are, but they did a video and they suggested that you not feed chicks the first 24 hours.

00:21:42.083 --> 00:22:03.593
When you take them outta the hatcher what do you think about, not only that statement, but what would you do in the first 24 hours when you took them, let's say you were taking them outta the hatcher, or you find out that mother hen sucks at being a parent.

00:22:04.492 --> 00:22:08.722
You need to take that and do it for'em to keep the rest of the chicks.

00:22:09.472 --> 00:22:12.472
What are you doing in the first 24 hours with those birds?

00:22:13.373 --> 00:22:15.022
All right, let's back up a step.

00:22:15.083 --> 00:22:15.413
What?

00:22:15.413 --> 00:22:17.512
What is the hen doing with those chicks?

00:22:18.022 --> 00:22:23.363
As soon as the last one, as soon as she's confident that they're all done hatching, right?

00:22:24.053 --> 00:22:26.153
She goes and eats, she goes and drinks.

00:22:26.573 --> 00:22:33.042
And she is not waiting 24 hours to show those chicks and people say, oh, they got a yolk sack.

00:22:33.042 --> 00:22:44.383
They can live up to three or four days on that and they don't need, I can dig it up if somebody wants to see it, but they've already done the studies that the sooner in life that you get a check.

00:22:44.938 --> 00:22:50.988
Learning how to develop its appetite and learning how to eat and drink.

00:22:51.887 --> 00:22:54.768
The faster it grows, the faster it will develop.

00:22:55.278 --> 00:22:55.548
Okay.

00:22:56.327 --> 00:23:06.857
And they know that a chick in the first 48 hours after it arrives on a farm somewhere, actually really in the first 48 hours that.

00:23:07.643 --> 00:23:09.232
That is a critical time.

00:23:09.262 --> 00:23:16.012
There's actually something in the brain that sets their eating habit or sets their appetite.

00:23:16.913 --> 00:23:20.722
So getting them on feed as, as soon as you can.

00:23:21.623 --> 00:23:22.732
This is my opinion.

00:23:23.633 --> 00:23:26.417
But the sooner you can get'em on feed, the better they're gonna be.

00:23:27.077 --> 00:23:27.347
Okay.

00:23:28.218 --> 00:23:31.123
And I see this all the time with people who get chicks shipped.

00:23:31.123 --> 00:23:35.292
And I, on my commercial side of what I do, poultry, nutrition wise, right?

00:23:35.413 --> 00:23:38.772
People getting broiler chicks shipped all over the country, all right?

00:23:38.827 --> 00:23:52.772
So the overnight shipment, the people that get overnight chicks, like within 24 hours, 36 hours, they always outperform, and then you talk to people that the chick was stuck in the mail for three days.

00:23:53.673 --> 00:23:57.843
Mortality rates are always in the 15 to 20% range.

00:23:57.873 --> 00:23:59.192
Yeah, they're definitely higher.

00:23:59.373 --> 00:24:06.413
So you're never gonna convince me that, the chick is okay for a certain length of time without food.

00:24:06.413 --> 00:24:07.373
Yes, they are.

00:24:07.613 --> 00:24:09.502
That we know that they have a yolk sack.

00:24:09.502 --> 00:24:17.272
They're good for three or four days, but I will tell you that the sooner you get'em on feed, the better they're gonna develop.

00:24:18.173 --> 00:24:18.877
A hundred percent.

00:24:19.188 --> 00:24:19.577
See.

00:24:19.637 --> 00:24:30.528
My, my same, my question that I had to that person was, if it doesn't matter how soon they get feed, then that means that you feel it's irrelevant.

00:24:31.428 --> 00:24:34.847
So why do you spend so much money on feed for your breeders?

00:24:35.748 --> 00:24:40.788
John Gunterman and I keep throwing John under the bus and not really, but I'm using him as an example.

00:24:40.788 --> 00:24:41.087
He did a

00:24:41.087 --> 00:24:43.188
really good study with his,

00:24:43.268 --> 00:24:45.488
He hatched quail right?

00:24:45.667 --> 00:24:53.518
In that classroom environment, but inside the Hatcher he had food and water.

00:24:54.087 --> 00:24:54.327