Chick dying after hatching?

[Idpiano]

Hello,

Please help.

I am incubating eggs for the very first time. I started with 8 fertile eggs. My incubator is LG 9300 Still air, kept temperature at 99.6-100.00, humidity was 45%. Candling at day 18 revealed they were all alive. Bator has been on lockdown since then, humidity has been between 60-70%. I have a sponge, three shallow dishes with rolled up wet paper towels and have been adding water 2-3 times daily to keep moisture up. Temp has stayed steady, and so has humidity.

Today is day 22. There were four pips last night, the first chick that pipped hatched second. Only two have hatched 24 hours after the pips.

The first one that hatched is doing well. The second hatched (the first to pip) took 18 hours to come out. It started moving around after hatching, but was not steady. then some blood came out of its rear end, and now it's laying on its back, and twitching. Won't stand up anymore. It's been like this for an hour.

The two that hatched have been trampling the other eggs. I am not concerned about this, I know it's good for the other eggs, but now I can't see the pips on the other two eggs because the two chicks have rolled them around, and we have had no other activity.

I guess I am wondering two things: First of all, if humidity is 65-70%, will they even dry out? And how long should I keep them in? I can't see what's going on with the other pips but I know there are pips. I know taking them out tonight might hurt the others that are trying to hatch.


The second thing (and this is really quite heartbreaking for a first-timer), I think the one just isn't going to make it. And if it dies, should I remove it right away? I can't do that without opening the bator.


I apologize if this has already been asked. I did try searching the site but there are thousands of posts.

Thank you for any input.

 

[kuchchicks]

Quote: Yes at 65%-70% they will dry out. That is a great humidity for hatching. As for removing them, there are several different schools of thought. I personally like to take the chicks out once they start to become active. I have left them in in the past and had several of my pipped eggs get rolled over and then not hatch. I cannot say for certain that that is the reason they did not hatch, but I also can't say it had nothing to do with it. With your humidity being that high then you should be able to remove your chicks quickly. Your humidity will probably quickly return to where you had it previously. If for some reason it does not you can add a wet sponge or paper towel. Keep your fingers crossed about the others. They may surprise you - life will find a way. My last hatch took over 18 hours start to finish. Good luck!