90% Hatch rate club anyone?

[casportpony]

Kathy,if the eggshells are too thin the embryo would lose way too much weight while incubating and would never make it to hatch.

Have you seen this before? If so, what can cause it? I've had two like this so far, both under hens.



This what it looked like the day before.








-Kathy

 

[frenchblackcopper]

It looks as tho the airsack was pipped in the wrong location. If your an astute observer like I am and occasionally help chicks out of the shell where they break thru the egg blood isn't present in the membrane. But if you break shell away in a clockwise location from the pipped shell you will get blood still from veins in the membrane, ,if you break shell away in a counterclockwise location away from where the shells pipped,no blood is found. There seems to be a very distinct process-direction the blood leaves the membrane and goes into the peachick. Your lower 2 pics under the lite proves the chick was alive at least 2 days before hatchdate but if you candle eggs a day before pipping the airsack becomes much more elongated than yours in the pics.. I would guess your chick was malpositioned and either pipped or it's toenail broke thru the membrane too soon causing it o bleed and die.??

 

[AugeredIn]

It does look badly positioned. I don't think it bleed to death not enough blood loss. I think it just piped wrong and then shrink wrapped.

If you candle an egg say two days before pipping there is generally a concentric air sac. At about 12-24 hours before pipping the air sac elongates along the front of the body as the body changes position and fluid begins to be withdrawn into the body. Your pictures don't show that elongation or at least it is not very pronounced. Did it ever occur beyond the little bit shown?

 

[zazouse]

Did you put the egg back in the exact position you took it from after you candled it?

 

[AugeredIn]

I actually would not have necessarily put it back in the same position. Given what I see in the last picture I would have placed the right side up. We candle all eggs as they are placed in the hatcher to find the midline. It is marked with a sharpie and that line is placed up. Alternatively, if you just lay the egg on a flat surface the egg will roll to be midline up. This eliminates a lot of in shell maneuvering and improves hatches. Of course if you are incubating on the sides a significant portion of the time the chick is already oriented midline up at lock down.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

That peachick inside that membrane does not look shrinkwrapped yet. I associate shrinkwrapping when the membrane has started changing color to an off yellow from getting dry and then sticking to the peachick. It does look deflated but it's not tight enough around the chick to distinguish the body parts of the peachick. Air has to get between the peachick and the membrane to shrinkwrap to dry the membrane from the inside. If the membrane is not punctured anywhere to allow air to creep between the chick and the membrane it cannot shrinkwrap, rather the membrane if exposed on the outside only will get tougher-leathery. Shrinkwrapping in my definition is when you manually need to pull or wet the membrane to free it off the peachicks body because the membrane has dried onto the new feathers. Am I wrong in this assumption??

 

[AugeredIn]

No, I think you are correct. It really does not look as bad as they can get, but it certainly is in the process of drying out. I guess only she could tell us how tight it was. I think my point was more to those situations where there was a pip and the head withdrew and the original hole may have sealed.

 

[PlatteRiverPs]

I just lost one last night that looked like that. Was under a hen also.

Chick was big, pressed firm against the membrane but I found the chick was surrounded by liquid. My chick was upside down and Id guess it drowned.

 

[casportpony]

I'd like to thank everyone for their comments on my egg pictures and what I need t do is go back through my notes and do another post that has all of the info from my notes. Maybe that will paint a clearer picture for diagnosing this problem.

Thanks again,
Kathy

 

[Pfauenfreund]

100%

The breeding season for this year is done. I had 15 fertilized eggs and got 15 chicks.
After such a perfect result I can now go into my summer holiday.
Regards