Malpositioning

[bigbum1984]

I started off incubating 18 eggs, threw 10 away that weren't fertile or died before day 18, and was left with 8. Out of the 8 that were ok I put them into lockdown, I am now on day 23 so I decided to candle them. Out of the 8 that I candled only 3 were moving and chirping so I opened the 5 that hadn't pipped into air sac and they were all in the wrong positions with their heads between their legs. So they weren't ever gonna make it, out of the other two I have helped pip one is in the wrong position with its head down the pointy end.. Does improper storage cause malpositioning?

 

[sumi]

Incorect storage and handling of the eggs can have an effect, but it usually only influences a small percentage of the eggs. There are a few factors that can cause malpositioned chicks. Most of the time it's because the eggs were set incorrectly in the incubator, i.e. pointy end of the egg is up or slightly higher than the fat end.

Another factor is inadequate turning of the eggs during incubation. Frequent turning of the eggs helps the embryo position itself correctly and during the last 3 days the eggs should not be turned at all as this is when the chick gets into position to hatch and pip in the air sac at the beginning of the hatching process.

Other factors causing malpositioned chicks/embryos is: Inadequate moisture loss of the egg during incubation. Eggs should lose between 11% and 14% of their weigh during the incubation process. Too high humidity causes the egg to lose too little moisture resulting in an air sac that is too small and a chick that is too big to manoeuvre itself round the egg in order to pip, zip and hatch. Storing eggs for too long (over 14 days) can also result in malpositioned chicks.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

agree with sumi please refer to https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 for how to properly turn and store eggs. plus see the links for "what happened to my hatch"