My eggs have hatched over the last three days, with a few issues and I wondered if the combination of issues pointed to anything in particular that I may have done wrong during incubation or was it bad luck at the end?
Incubator....Rcom Suro, fully automatic humidity, temp and turning.
I had 15 fertile developing eggs at day 14 but one looked like maybe it had died very recently as it was at a similar stage but no movement and signs of a blood ring. I left it in the incy 'just in case' but to no avail.
14 eggs....all looked good, plenty of movement and veins visible at day 14.
Day 21....two hatched without problems, moved to brooder after they dried,
Day 22....five more hatched without issue, moved to brooder when dry.
Day 23...two more hatched overnight, one of which seemed weak and wobbly, even once dry. A third hatched mid afternoon. Final chick zipped two thirds of way then stopped. Got glued fast in membrane and had to be removed from shell after soaking and nipping away of shell with finger nails.
All four chicks from day 23 have issues....two are mildly spraddle legged and are now in braces in a seperate brooder to the rest of the chicks. I think these will be fine as they are otherwise vigorous. Third chick was quite sticky and wouldn't dry off properly so was bathed and blow dried. She seems mildly spraddled too but will brace tomorrow, once she's fully dry and had a rest.
The fourth chick from day 23 had to be fully immersed in warm water (apart from head!) in order to soak off egg goop and membrane as her feathers were glued flat to her body and she was being prevented from proper movement by the tightness of the glue. She was then partially blow dried and checked over. Her foot was bent into a claw so I applied a 'shoe' to straighten her toes. She is very spraddled on one side but again, feel she will need to recover some before attempting to brace.....assuming she lives....but oh my gosh, she is a fighter. Lots of peeping and thrusting up on her little legs!
So....I was actually away on a school residential during hatch and had to leave it in the hands of a colleague, hence why the final chick got glued....she didn't notice before she went home and by the time I got there three hours later, the chick was stuck fast.
Were these problems bad luck? Were they incubation problems? Is a three day hatch and sticky chicks caused by particular circumstances? Any comments please.... xx
Incubator....Rcom Suro, fully automatic humidity, temp and turning.
I had 15 fertile developing eggs at day 14 but one looked like maybe it had died very recently as it was at a similar stage but no movement and signs of a blood ring. I left it in the incy 'just in case' but to no avail.
14 eggs....all looked good, plenty of movement and veins visible at day 14.
Day 21....two hatched without problems, moved to brooder after they dried,
Day 22....five more hatched without issue, moved to brooder when dry.
Day 23...two more hatched overnight, one of which seemed weak and wobbly, even once dry. A third hatched mid afternoon. Final chick zipped two thirds of way then stopped. Got glued fast in membrane and had to be removed from shell after soaking and nipping away of shell with finger nails.
All four chicks from day 23 have issues....two are mildly spraddle legged and are now in braces in a seperate brooder to the rest of the chicks. I think these will be fine as they are otherwise vigorous. Third chick was quite sticky and wouldn't dry off properly so was bathed and blow dried. She seems mildly spraddled too but will brace tomorrow, once she's fully dry and had a rest.
The fourth chick from day 23 had to be fully immersed in warm water (apart from head!) in order to soak off egg goop and membrane as her feathers were glued flat to her body and she was being prevented from proper movement by the tightness of the glue. She was then partially blow dried and checked over. Her foot was bent into a claw so I applied a 'shoe' to straighten her toes. She is very spraddled on one side but again, feel she will need to recover some before attempting to brace.....assuming she lives....but oh my gosh, she is a fighter. Lots of peeping and thrusting up on her little legs!
So....I was actually away on a school residential during hatch and had to leave it in the hands of a colleague, hence why the final chick got glued....she didn't notice before she went home and by the time I got there three hours later, the chick was stuck fast.
Were these problems bad luck? Were they incubation problems? Is a three day hatch and sticky chicks caused by particular circumstances? Any comments please.... xx
