I put my chicks on pasture at a day old and find they get under the lamp when they are cold and go cruise around away from the lamp when they are not too cold and I raise only cornis rock cross which tend to be a lot more sensitive to such things than the heritage birds. When I had hens every now and again one would be allowed to brood eggs and hatch them and I noticed many frosty mornings the peeps running around in the frosted grass and when they got too cold they would run to mom and snuggle in her feathers. From that I learned chicks do not need constant warmth but do need to be able to get to heat when they need it. So put them outside and they should be fine as long as they have access to a heat lamp.

Well, I've got a few years of chickens behind me now, so I will venture an explanation. This is my take on the subject, not textbook information. The hen sets until the first eggs hatch and since the chicks do not need food or water for a couple of days, she will continue to set for awhile longer. Unless the eggs are at various stages of development (i.e. the other hens have added eggs days later) the remaining viable eggs will be close to hatching. Chicks in the shell communicate with mom and with each other by peeping. So the hen has a pretty good idea of what's going on and she clucks to the eggs to encourage them. When there are no eggs still peeping, mom considers the hatch complete and goes into caregiver role... takes the chicks for their first walk, shows them how to eat and drink etc. Occasionally there will be an egg that hatches after she leaves the nest, but after a certain point the mother hen has to put the needs of the hatched chicks ahead of the needs of a latecomer. If this happens and I find the late chick still alive, I take it into the house and put it under a lamp to dry off, give it a bit of sugar water and return it to mom using the "2 for 1" trick. "2 for 1" is simple and has always worked for me. I chicknap one of the babies and it hollers to its momma to save it. Momma gets indignant, then upset, then furious. When she is all worked up and the chick is screaming, I return the chick to her... and also the newcomer. Momma is pacified by the return of her baby and never realizes she got extra as well. Isn't it handy that hens can't count? As to why you had one dead chick, chances are pretty good that mom stepped on the egg, forcing the premature hatch and the chick was too injured or too weak to survive.

Thanks for responding, Velvet Sparrow. I was hoping that you would see my plea. This is my first time to incubate eggs -- usually I let the hens do it, but they haven't been too successful lately. One chick hatched out today -- and it has been moving around the incubator disturbing the other eggs. Some of the others have pipped a little triangle, but nothing more. This one seemed to hatch out in about an hour or so. I hope the unhatched chicks will survive the rolling -- do you usually take the chicks out and place into a separate box while they dry?? I thought I would give it another day to dry off and fluff out, then take it out to the hen tomorrow night. I will keep you posted how it goes. Thanks again.

Thanks birdguy. Since time was of the essence, I looked further online and was able to find a NY State Wildlife Rehabilitator and got her on the phone. I was only seeing one Robin adult on the ground, sitting in the corner of the garden below the pear tree. It had been sitting there for several minutes, which seemed odd. I had seen either this one or another hopping around, but for over an hour there was no adult getting INTO the tree and taking care of the one hungry chick I could see. She recommended that I go outside and walk near the adult that was sitting in the garden to see if it would fly to the nest or away. When I went out to test the situation, it hopped away and hid under another bush as I approached, and I could see that one of the wings had feathers askew. The rehabber thought that I should get a towel and try to bring both the wounded adult and the remaining chick(s) to her house where she rehabbed many birds, since nobody was getting into the tree to feed the chicks and the adult may also be in danger. I went into the house to get some boxes and towels (she recommended separate boxes for the chick and adult to reduce stress on the adult), came out and the adult was no longer in the area. Perhaps he/she was just mildly injured and could not make it into the tree, but could fly or hop away to a more secluded spot to recuperate and rest. At any rate, no adult Robin was in the picture, the chick had not eaten in some time, so I got up on a stool and took the nest down. As I suspected, there was only one chick in the nest. It was only partially covered in a soft downy fuzz and was mostly pink and grey. So, my suspicions that there had been some sort of battle for the nest and chicks the night before were correct. Two chicks were taken, and either the parents had decided to abandon ship or were injured beyond ability to care for the remaining chick. Perhaps that injured adult that was hanging around was hoping to get the strength to care for the chick, but was unable to do so. I feel that somehow I was meant to see the situation. I took the nest in a towel, covered the top (left space for air) and put it in the box gently, and hit the highway to get to the rehabber. I could hear the chick chirping occasionally, and from time to time it would lift its head with open mouth waiting to be fed. It was heartbreaking. At every red light I looked down to confirm that the chick was still breathing, which I could easily see through the gap in the towel. I got to the rehabbers house and she couldn't be nicer. She had many small chicks of all varieties in paper towel-lined baskets in bins, with heating pads underneath to keep them warm. She immediately gave the chick some fluids with minerals subcutaneously, and said that you have to wait a while for that to take effect before giving other foods or the chick would not digest the foods properly. I had to leave shortly due to some business, but I'm waiting to hear if the chick made it through the day. The rehabber said that some chicks will make it for a few days, but then will fail to thrive and not make it, so I think she was preparing me for a 50/50 chance. The rehabber told me that every spring and summer she gets many Robin chicks with deformed feet, and that she suspected lawn and garden chemicals since Robins eat mostly worms and other insects that may have consumed these chemicals as well. She said that veterinarians always dismiss her theory about the chemicals, but I don't! I resolve to stop using any lawn chemicals from this day forward (my garden areas are already chemical-free). I have learned a lot from this episode, I hope the chick makes it, and next time I hear such a screetching sound and a nest is reachable, I will not hesitate to help if I can help. I feel so bad for the little family that I photographed so happily the day before. I know it's nature's way and that not all chicks will make it, and that there are eternal rivalries for food and territory among and between species, but it's still sad this evening when I look out the kitchen window and don't see the nest, the attending adults, and the chicks. Perhaps I'll prune the branches of that pear tree to discourage other robins from using it, as this is clearly not a good territory for them to nest in with so many bluejays and starlings around. Thanks again birdguy.