Chicks pipping but dying in the egg

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Do you still have them on the egg turner. They shoul have been off the egg turner at day 18.

 

[debbie.george]

Your humidity is too high and they are drowning in the egg when they pip the air sac. I am sorry. I lost two whole hatches like this and have done alot of research and we have a avian specialist right here where I live and he said thay are drowning.

 

[iajewel]

What is the correct humidity? I normally keep it around 50-60 and then the last few days jump it up.

 

[Ceinwyn]

I agree with your humidity being the main cause.
The fact that some hatched after you opened them up shows that they were able to partially compensate by drying out a bit.
Try lowering your humidity to 25-30% until lockdown then jump up to 60-65% during lockdown.
The following is an excellent guide that you may find helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=491013

Its good for all species but especially for waterfowl.
Give good explanations on what is happening inside and why you need certain humidity levels at each stage.
Alot of people are having issues this year. I think alot of has to do with the extra rain and humidity we are getting.
I don't think you need to completely change their diet just add a little.
Brewer's yeast is one of the easiest things to add and is really high in needed B vitamins.
Good luck to you and I hope this is the last bad hatch you ever have to experience.

 

[cashdl]

I feed my chickens a really good dry dog food that I soak in warm water till soft. ( not chicken based, usually fish or lamb) to add animal protein along with the layer pellets. They love it. I incubate at 25% humidity then raise to 45% during hatch. I also have a still air incubator, I think with a fan the humidity would possibly need to be a little higher but not much.

I had trouble with weak chicks last year and failure to thrive. I have had very healthy and robust chicks this year since I started adding the dog food to the breeding pen diet.


Lanae