Help my chicks are dying

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Firewillie

Firewillie

In the Brooder
5 Years
Feb 6, 2014
13
0
22
I have a cabinet incubator and a small foam incubator, I'm incubating with the cabinet for the first 18 days at 99.5 temp and 53-55% humidity , at the 18th day I'm putting the eggs in the little giant incubator at 99.5 temp and 68% humidity . the problem I'm having is the chicks are growing fine for the first 18 days , but when I set them in the foam incubator they don't hatch they die in the shell , I cracked a dead egg open to see what's going on and the chicks are fully formed but dead , can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong.
 
foam incubators are hard to clean, so it may be a bacteria problem. you should clean it with a non-bleach cleaner and warm soapy water.
jumpy.gif
 
It may also be that your humidity the first 18 days is too high and they are drowning in the shell. Usually you don't want above 50% humidity. If you crack an egg open that doesn't hatch and it looks liquidy in there it means your humidity was too high and the chick drowned when it tried to hatch. You might want to try lowering your humidity some.
 
It's different for each area, and the easiest way to see if you're at the proper humidity level is the air cell. Here is a diagram of what it should look like through incubation:

1000



If the air cell is too big, increase humidity. If it is too small, decrease humidity. The most exact way to see how your egg is doing as far as moisture loss is to actually weigh it each week as you incubate. An egg should lose 15% of its weight through incubation due to moisture loss, so weighing it each week will tell you where you're at. If it hasn't lost enough weight, decrease humidity. Too much, increase.

Hope this helps!
 
Monitoring the air cells the few day before hatching is your best bet. If I think they are too small I don't add water from about day. 14 to 18 to let the egg dry out some... humidity is most important the last week it needs to let water out so aircells get big enough , and it aides in the hatch.
 
I am feeling very discouraged.. I have ordered 4 sets of hatching silkie eggs from ebay and my hatch rate is anywhere from 0 to 40%. I am losing a large percentage from the 14th, second candle to the 18th day when I candle before lock down and then a few, this time 4 out of 8 don't hatch even if there was movement on day 18. Any ideas?
 
^ Temp? Humidity? Have you tried a test hatch with eggs that are NOT shipped! Calibrated your thermometer(s) and hygrometer(s)?

We need more info :)
 
Last edited:

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