chicks after hatching....problem

[epmchickens]

I seem to have an issue with my chicks after they hatch. I'm about ready to throw in the towel because I can't seem to get it right. All of my hatches have had very few chicks make it and none have survived. In my 2 chicken attempts this year I've had chicks born with smallish heads and droopy wings. I can't seem to find a straight answer on what likely causes this but I know it isn't genetics as both hatches were from different parents. They also have really weak legs and don't stand up like they should. They sorta shuffle on their whole leg but otherwise they are normal. I have a hovabator 1602N. And I keep it at. 100-101 degrees (still air). And the humidity between 40-50% and then boost it to 70% at lockdown. I know my temps are correct as I calibrate my thermometers and I also calibrated my hydrometer before my last hatch. It may have been off by about 5% for the first hatch. Any ideas? I really want to be able to hatch chicks myself, its been something I've wanted to do as long as I can remember! I did buy a new farm inovarions incubator about a week ago and I have it running right for a few days now and I'm gonna try quail this time but first I want to know what I'm doing wrong. Help please and don't be shy about telling me I'm making obvious mistakes. I really need help.

 

[conquest780]

Do the eggs belong to the chickens you keep or do you buy them? Do you candle the eggs too much?

 

[chooks4life]

Different parents, if you got the eggs from someone else, could still be from the same general family group, potentially bearing the same recessive genes that when matched up will cause faults.

Or it could be something as simple as the feed, or a toxin/pathogen present in their environment. To me it suggests possibly a severe dietary deficiency or bad genes, but I've never used an incubator so I don't know if that could somehow cause this. I'm sure someone who uses them will tell you more.

The chickens can be on an insufficient diet and seem fine. But they could be producing dud offspring due to a shortage. The chicks will either live or die depending on what went into the eggs they were hatched from, too. A hen may be receiving just enough of one vitamin/mineral for herself and not her clutch, for an example, or even if she is getting enough for a clutch, but there is a sneaky pathogen or issue present, her body could be utilizing the extra to heal or maintain, or it could be failing to synthesize it or pass it on correctly. All this can happen while the chooks look perfectly fine to even the trained eye. She could have been low for just a few days on one necessary dietary element and the whole clutch is ruined. And of course the rooster himself could be throwing duds. Some people do not rest them after vaccinating or medicating, and it is recommended for many meds that the animal is not bred for often quite a while after the treatment. Because it will throw failures in that state.

Another thing to consider is that mistakes, accidents, and uncontrollable events happen regularly with feed, medicines, environment, breeding selection (etc) all the time and many are not spotted until 'duds' start showing and people start looking for the culprit. Unfortunately none of these elements can be fully guaranteed in perpetuity. It's not a blame game of pointing fingers, because it is mostly an innocent mistake at best or something completely out of everyone's control. Often the cause is never known. Many people do not know what genes their flock are passing on to a big enough degree to be able to certify their true health. In a commercially driven industry the rush and cost of everything can mean we pass over some aspects we should be watching carefully.

Anyway, I don't think you should blame yourself or give in, unless you don't think you're ready for the work of raising a flock which will of course come with some failures. If you're not up to that, who can blame you? But I hope you persevere, this doesn't sound like your fault at all. Even if it were, we all make mistakes. Best wishes.

 

[epmchickens]

I'll look into their diet. That sounds like a good place to start. I have a flock of 70 in my backyard and I feed them layer crumbles with scratch grains mixed some days. They have grit and oyster shells available too but I agree that vitamins sound like a big maybe. Thanks I know the parents are all different because the eggs came from my flock and the roosters have changed between hatches and the mother is no longer with me. But its weird because my broodies hatch eggs just fine and produce healthy chicks....its just when I get my hands on the eggs for a go it doesn't turn out right :-(. Thanks so much for your advice

 

[chooks4life]

I thought of another thing that may be a culprit; this is just an example but worth remembering because it tends to randomly happen, even though it's a long shot... I have a certain vine that grows wild all around here, it's a pest. But anyway the chooks 'never' eat it, so I don't worry about it. Except, one or two hens did start eating it at some point, and this led to vitamin B12 deficiencies in their eggs which didn't kill the offspring but did bring problems.

Everyone's got that one thing in their yard their chooks 'never' eat --- except sometimes they randomly do. Often these are toxic things. It's not like my hens weren't old enough and experienced enough to know better! And they were proven mothers, fertile and sound, so to get sub par offspring from them was a surprise. At least I know what caused it. I often check out the various resident toxic plants to see if chooks have been eating them --- quite often they will without warning decide to taste a plant they've always left alone before. Thankfully they're a bit like goats in terms of their poisons tolerance. Tough things!

Crumble and pellets for layers aren't as rich as they need to be for some breeds, since different breeds have different needs, so non commercial layer breeds do not tend to do as well on these foodstuffs. The proprietary crumbles and pellets tend to be quite low in some nutrients because intensive production layers tend to get fat too easily, among other issues. Most commercial layer breeds/hi-production hens I see are chronically low on essential fatty oils, omegas, etc. This leads to early cessation of production and death, increased susceptibility to diseases, high risk of eggbinding, etc. But its not a real commercial issue because they are culled before they reach the 'brick wall' so to speak, usually around two years. For home owners who tend to keep them after two years it's more of an issue. I don't know what sort of hens you've got, but in my experience pellets and crumbles led to troubles in general. It's often labelled as 'complete' feed but that is a very loose term that basically translates to 'a feed that they will not immediately die on' --- animals can tolerate malnutrition for years before dying of it. But that's easily helped with some multi vitamin/mineral supplementation.

I'm happy to have less eggs per hen, and feed them more expensive stuff, to get higher quality eggs for longer and at the end of it all have a feed of high quality chook meat as well. For us it's a health issue not commercial. But each to their own. (Some people say eggs are all the same chemically, but that's a fallacy, the basic makeup may be the same but actual nutrient levels vary widely depending on what went into the hen; some don't see the connection between what you put in and what comes out, lol).

I hope you find the issue with your flock. Best wishes.

 

[epmchickens]

I didn't know that so much was missing from commercial feed! I'm very glad to know it now. As far as breeds I have a little bit of everything lol. From RIR to orloffs to all kinda of bantams. Like I said, a little of everything ;-). Can you suggest things to add to their diet? I'm always happy to do better by my babies. They do free range in the woods and I have a "chicken garden" with sunflowers,, corn, cucmbers, pumpkins, carrots, herbs, etc. But they've gotten no goodies from it yet.

 

[gimmie birdies]

every bodies hatches are different. I have home made bator, I hand turn and dry hatch. I hatched out about 3 batches this year and with every hatch the dryer the hatch more chicks hatched. my last batch was 100%. I am doing my last batch of the season. I think it is good to experiment and find out what works best. Keep notes. and it is okay to take a break too.

 

[epmchickens]

every bodies hatches are different. I have home made bator, I hand turn and dry hatch. I hatched out about 3 batches this year and with every hatch the dryer the hatch more chicks hatched. my last batch was 100%. I am doing my last batch of the season. I think it is good to experiment and find out what works best. Keep notes. and it is okay to take a break too.

I've noticed all of the sudden, it seems, that people are trying dry hatches and it works for them. Maybe I should try too. Thanks

 

[gimmie birdies]

I dry hatch and candle to make sure they are not losing too much liquid. I put in a bit more water after they have pipped. when they hatch they come out clean.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Sounds like you're on your way to having some happy chooks, lol. Since they're free ranging they will be supplementing with all sorts of good stuff. No matter what you feed a caged chook, in my experience, it won't compare to a free ranged one.

For multivitamin and mineral supplementation I would mix a pinch of kelp per bird per day into their feed. I get the granulated or powdered stuff they sell at produce stores for horses/cattle etc, it's good for all livestock. In the wild various animals are known to make pilgrimages to the sea to obtain kelp. It's great for human health too. One of the main issues with commercial feed is that it's cooked, and most vitamins and minerals and oils do not come through cooking in anywhere near the state they went in.

Anyway, best wishes. I plan to make a chook garden in future too, rather than just having them raid the veggie garden, lol.