Chicks Dying

[eworms]

Sometimes something as simple as temperature fluctuations and humidity can be enough to affect the developing embryo's. Usually there are more issues with incubator hatched eggs, but even a broody can have issues sometimes, particularly if she's sitting on a lot of eggs and they don't get moved around enough. Failure to thrive is not that uncommon and it can be really hard to know, but they are at the right age for it to be that. Due to experience, I always separate my broodies into a separate pen now. I know many people don't do that, but i've found they are happier and more relaxed, and the chicks are safer til they are big enough to learn to get out of the way. Best of luck with the rest of them.

So, temperature fluctuations while they're in the egg can cause failure to thrive? We had an unexpected frost in the midst of the three weeks she was sitting eggs. Highs had been north of 80 the couple weeks prior. She was also probably sitting too many eggs.

If those can be factors in failure to thrive, I'll be vigilant about that going forward.

 

[coach723]

It can. If the eggs were on the edge of the pile, they may have gotten cooler. Just about anything can happen when they go from blastoderm to fully formed chick in just 21 days. It's pretty miraculous actually. I've hatched in the heat of summer with high humidity (Florida) and that can have an impact as well and can also cause a very low percentage of successful hatch. It's very hard to know for sure since we aren't out there 24 hours a day for 21 days, and the possible variations are infinite. In general the broodies usually do a very good job, but stuff does happen sometimes, and it's often out of anyone's control. Even a minor variation in something at a particular time in development can have an effect. It can also be caused by totally unknown things.