During the same period, Chinook egg-taking operations are ongoing at a facility on the Little Manistee River. In the spring, when the steelhead spawning run occurs, eggs are also collected at the Little Manistee unit. After collection and fertilization of the eggs at the river spawn-taking sites, the delicate eggs are transported to the hatchery's incubation room at the north end of the main hatchery building. Up to 20 million salmon eggs can be incubated there at one time. Due to the fragile nature of the young eggs, this room is not open to public viewing.
Hatching occurs in about eight weeks after eggs are brought to the facility.
After hatching, the young coho and chinook remain in incubators for three to four weeks. In January, they are transferred to one of the 12 indoor starter tanks. There, they are fed an artificial diet. As these future sport fish grow, they are moved into additional tanks or ponds. Chinooks are reared in the hatchery for only six months before they are planted, while coho are reared for 18 months before planting.