Bad hatch, 2 dead, help me know what happened.

[WhitneyM]

This is hard for me to post because it might be fault. I’m going to be honest even though it’s kind of killing me. I’m new to this. This hatch has been horrible. The first egg hatch but then started blowing bubbles. I looked online and it said it was drowning so I opened it a bit more around the beak. She unzipped and is doing great. The next one did great by itself. The 3rd one pipped and barely started to unzip. Very lethargic. It died in the shell. The next one pipped and made a hole and was chirping, but didn’t do any thing for many hours, so I chipped a little around the beak. It was alive, but had not done anything at all for over 24 hours. It was at about 27 hours so I helped it out and this is what I found. Looks like unabsorbed yolk and its navel was bleeding. It had a foul odor so I’m thinking bacteria? I saved one’s life by helping it and I want to know if this little guys death was my fault so I can learn. My incubator was brand new. And it is the worst. I’m sending it back. Nothing worked right. I got it based off of a website’s recommendation, but missed the reviews I guess. It is a horrible incubator and has killed many chicks.

 

[Mary Poopins Love]

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This is hard for me to post because it might be fault. I’m going to be honest even though it’s kind of killing me. I’m new to this. This hatch has been horrible. The first egg hatch but then started blowing bubbles. I looked online and it said it was drowning so I opened it a bit more around the beak. She unzipped and is doing great. The next one did great by itself. The 3rd one pipped and barely started to unzip. Very lethargic. It died in the shell. The next one pipped and made a hole and was chirping, but didn’t do any thing for many hours, so I chipped a little around the beak. It was alive, but had not done anything at all for over 24 hours. It was at about 27 hours so I helped it out and this is what I found. Looks like unabsorbed yolk and its navel was bleeding. It had a foul odor so I’m thinking bacteria? I saved one’s life by helping it and I want to know if this little guys death was my fault so I can learn. My incubator was brand new. And it is the worst. I’m sending it back. Nothing worked right. I got it based off of a website’s recommendation, but missed the reviews I guess. It is a horrible incubator and has killed many chicks.

First of all, just breath. It's not your fault. You tried as hard as you could to save those little guys. You did all the right stuff. Reasons why chicks die when hatching: Bad genetics, hatched to early, shrink wrapped, FTT (faliure to thrive), and more. The chick looked like he hadn't absorbed the yolk all the way, he may have bled to death, or as you said, a bacterial infection.

Sometimes you just don't know what killed them. But rest assured, it wasn't your fault.

 

[FunClucks]

There are some things you can do to give them the best chance, but so many factors are outside of your control. I do what I can to control what I can in an optimal way, but the rest is really outside your control and therefore not your fault. You did the best you could. Give yourself grace, learn from the experience, and try again.

If I were you, I'd hunt around in the Articles section and read everything you can find on hatching. That's what I did, and it helped me know what I could and could not control, and find some ideas for why things may have happened as they did to a couple of my chicks. There are so many ways the process can go wrong, it's really a miracle that it goes right as often as it does.

A good incubator is essential for a stress free hatch, but it's only part of the equation.

Don't give up, and don't beat yourself up - correct what you can, and try again. Practice helps.

 

[WhitneyM]

There are some things you can do to give them the best chance, but so many factors are outside of your control. I do what I can to control what I can in an optimal way, but the rest is really outside your control and therefore not your fault. You did the best you could. Give yourself grace, learn from the experience, and try again.

If I were you, I'd hunt around in the Articles section and read everything you can find on hatching. That's what I did, and it helped me know what I could and could not control, and find some ideas for why things may have happened as they did to a couple of my chicks. There are so many ways the process can go wrong, it's really a miracle that it goes right as often as it does.

A good incubator is essential for a stress free hatch, but it's only part of the equation.

Don't give up, and don't beat yourself up - correct what you can, and try again. Practice helps.

you guys are seriously the best. Thank you for the encouragement. I had 4 out of 12 hatch and only 2 survived. Not a fun way to start. I am going to get a new incubator and try again. Thank you so much!

 

[WhitneyM]

First of all, just breath. It's not your fault. You tried as hard as you could to save those little guys. You did all the right stuff. Reasons why chicks die when hatching: Bad genetics, hatched to early, shrink wrapped, FTT (faliure to thrive), and more. The chick looked like he hadn't absorbed the yolk all the way, he may have bled to death, or as you said, a bacterial infection.

Sometimes you just don't know what killed them. But rest assured, it wasn't your fault.

You guys are so darn sweet! Thank you for the encouragement. It was just a crappy way to start! I will be starting a new batch soon in a new incubator. Thank you so much for your reply!

 

[Mary Poopins Love]

Did you get the eggs from mail order?

 

[WhitneyM]

Did you get the eggs from mail order?

No they were from a friend. She had just had a great hatch rate of 11/12 a bit ago. Although, when I candled 4 of them weren’t even developed.

 

[Mary Poopins Love]

No they were from a friend. She had just had a great hatch rate of 11/12 a bit ago. Although, when I candled 4 of them weren’t even developed.

They were either not fertile or too old

 

[WhitneyM]

They were either not fertile or too old

That’s Good to know. Thank you!

 

[Mary Poopins Love]

Yeah, of course!