Chicks not fluffing quickly

[SharW75]

We are just finishing up a pretty successful hatch, but I've noticed the babies seem to have a lot of "hatching goo" attached to them, which dries and makes their down hard. We took a toothbrush and gently brushed it off, and now most are super fluffy. They're all very healthy and hatched quickly, so we were wondering what the issue was. The temp fluctuated as they hatched, but averaged about 100, and humidity was in the 55%-65% range.

The latest chick to hatch is the worst and hasn't fluffed at all. Should we bathe it? I know they need their down fluffed to regulate temp...

I've upped the humidity to about 70% for the last few stragglers. What could I do differently next time to ensure quicker fluffing chicks?

 

[SharW75]

Anyone? We ended up giving the little one a bath by taking a soft wet toothbrush and brushing it through the chick's down. It has fluffed up considerably, but there's still some gunk stuck on.

Our May hatch has finished with one last chick that was fashionably late. I do have some more eggs coming, and I'd love to know what we could do differently to ensure that the next chicks don't have as much stuck on goo.

Here's the little one with its fluffy-butt siblings.

 

[Peppercorngal]

I don't really know, I haven't had that problem myself. I do think your humidity should be 75% during lockdown. Could that be the problem? I don't know.

 

[SharW75]

I've read numerous threads, and everyone's humidity levels seem to differ depending on where they live. My hatch was pretty successful besides them just not fluffing quickly. Come to think of it, it seemed to be the later chicks who were worse. I don't know.

 

[GRacer3648]

This has happened to me, especially with the last one to hatch. I use Q-tips and warm water to get rid of the stuff on the back, and top of the head. The other chicks sometimes help get the stuff off. After a few days they puff up quite nicely. I'd just wait. As long as he's not having trouble walking, I'd leave him with the others.

 

[SharW75]

Thanks! The little one is doing great, aside from the fact that it's "do" looks like it's slicked back with hair gel. The rest of its body is fine.

 

[Peppercorngal]

I've read numerous threads, and everyone's humidity levels seem to differ depending on where they live. My hatch was pretty successful besides them just not fluffing quickly. Come to think of it, it seemed to be the later chicks who were worse. I don't know.

Really, humidity differs by locations? I would think it should be what it should be no matter where you are. Now I'm confused. I have 15 in the incubator right now. I'm maintaining 45% (or a little above) for now, but I raise it to 75% at lockdown. Done this twice with no problems. Am I wrong, should it be something different? I'm in sunny California, expecting 90 degrees by the weekend. ?????????

 

[Peppercorngal]

Thanks! The little one is doing great, aside from the fact that it's "do" looks like it's slicked back with hair gel. The rest of its body is fine.

They are all adorable! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SharW75]

Really, humidity differs by locations? I would think it should be what it should be no matter where you are. Now I'm confused. I have 15 in the incubator right now. I'm maintaining 45% (or a little above) for now, but I raise it to 75% at lockdown. Done this twice with no problems. Am I wrong, should it be something different? I'm in sunny California, expecting 90 degrees by the weekend. ?????????

Yeah, I worded that way wrong. I meant that the humidity that works well for one person wouldn't necessarily work for someone else because of the altitude of where they live or the ambient humidity of their location. It worked great for me at about 35%, upped to 60%-65% at lockdown.