Dead Externally pipped silkie chick :(

[Briannaquinn16]

Hi, so I’m still fairly new to hatching but the incubators I purchased were 5 star incubators with accurate humidity and temperature! During incubation period temp is 100f and humidity was always 40-55% no higher no lower and day 18-21 is 65-75% but mostly stayed at 65-68% until some chicks hatched and it spiked then went back down…..but unfortunately, yesterday the chick was externally pipping and I was so happy…..and this morning I didn’t see any progress, so I assumed it was gonna keep it up later…and so 7 hrs late I come home from work and the membrane was dried…and no progress as the already hatched babies were just rolling its egg over and stuff, so I took it out, and the chick felt cold, and so I peeled the egg a teeny bit more and I saw the face, eyes closed and beak as the head was laying on the side of the leg…….the chick was dead and will be buried tomorrow….and all the alive chicks and eggs are still doing good

But does anyone know what could’ve possibly happened ? Kuz this chick was pipping fine a day before and today I found it dead in the egg and no progress to the pip hole….thes ARE shipped eggs that were handled very roughly…could the shipping possibly messed up and killed my baby?

 

[CloneFly]

Hi, so I’m still fairly new to hatching but the incubators I purchased were 5 star incubators with accurate humidity and temperature! During incubation period temp is 100f and humidity was always 40-55% no higher no lower and day 18-21 is 65-75% but mostly stayed at 65-68% until some chicks hatched and it spiked then went back down…..but unfortunately, yesterday the chick was externally pipping and I was so happy…..and this morning I didn’t see any progress, so I assumed it was gonna keep it up later…and so 7 hrs late I come home from work and the membrane was dried…and no progress as the already hatched babies were just rolling its egg over and stuff, so I took it out, and the chick felt cold, and so I peeled the egg a teeny bit more and I saw the face, eyes closed and beak as the head was laying on the side of the leg…….the chick was dead and will be buried tomorrow….and all the alive chicks and eggs are still doing good

But does anyone know what could’ve possibly happened ? Kuz this chick was pipping fine a day before and today I found it dead in the egg and no progress to the pip hole….thes ARE shipped eggs that were handled very roughly…could the shipping possibly messed up and killed my baby?

I'm so sorry about your baby... which side of the egg was he popping from? Sometimes chicks pip from the wrong side and it makes the hatching process more difficult. If the membrane was dry, he probably just got too stressed and quit... it sadly happens from time to time

 

[Briannaquinn16]

I'm so sorry about your baby... which side of the egg was he popping from? Sometimes chicks pip from the wrong side and it makes the hatching process more difficult. If the membrane was dry, he probably just got too stressed and quit... it sadly happens from time to time

Right at the top directly at the top, and when I opened it the head was tucked into the leg sideways…the pip hole was covered by his back feathers

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It sounds like it got shrink-wrapped. If they pip externally and the hole stays open a long time without progress and the membrane can shrink and prevent the chick from moving.

 

[Briannaquinn16]

It sounds like it got shrink-wrapped. If they pip externally and the hole stays open a long time without progress and the membrane can shrink and prevent the chick from moving.

It weird kuz my humidity was absolutely spot on 67-68% day 18 and on

 

[LyleVertigo]

Hi, so I’m still fairly new to hatching but the incubators I purchased were 5 star incubators with accurate humidity and temperature! During incubation period temp is 100f and humidity was always 40-55% no higher no lower and day 18-21 is 65-75% but mostly stayed at 65-68% until some chicks hatched and it spiked then went back down…..but unfortunately, yesterday the chick was externally pipping and I was so happy…..and this morning I didn’t see any progress, so I assumed it was gonna keep it up later…and so 7 hrs late I come home from work and the membrane was dried…and no progress as the already hatched babies were just rolling its egg over and stuff, so I took it out, and the chick felt cold, and so I peeled the egg a teeny bit more and I saw the face, eyes closed and beak as the head was laying on the side of the leg…….the chick was dead and will be buried tomorrow….and all the alive chicks and eggs are still doing good

But does anyone know what could’ve possibly happened ? Kuz this chick was pipping fine a day before and today I found it dead in the egg and no progress to the pip hole….thes ARE shipped eggs that were handled very roughly…could the shipping possibly messed up and killed my baby?

My first hatching attempts last year ended up shrink wrapped.

I run a dehumidifier in the house and when opened the incubator to remove a chick that was in there more than a day the sharp drop in humidity caused the others to get shrink wrapped.

One way I found around this is to take the incubator into the bathroom and run the hot water in the shower for a bit.

This makes an environment high in humidity to safely open the incubator.

Also always add a cheap tiny humidity and temp monitor on the outer part of the incubator to get a more accurate reading. Humidity in the center will be higher than the outer, for me the difference is as much as 10%.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It weird kuz my humidity was absolutely spot on 67-68% day 18 and on

Mine was too and I still had it happen. I intervened though and managed to save the chick. Not because I know what I’m doing but because my mom figured it out and told me what to do over the phone lol

 

[Susan Skylark]

A 10% failure to hatch rate isn’t necessarily a sign of trouble but rather is part of the process, some chicks just don’t make it, especially with shipped eggs, if you have saddled air cells it may approach 50%. I’ve had them zip and die, I’ve made giant holes and they still won’t hatch or die shortly after, it is heart breaking but these chicks have issues we can’t see and just won’t survive even with the best intentions and most timely efforts. Take joy in your live ones, learn from the ones that don’t survive, and don’t beat yourself up, you did not do anything wrong, these things are part of life.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Don’t fret about the humidity and shrink wrapping, I’m sure a certain tiny percentage die of shrink wrapping but most people blame shrink wrapping for any failure to hatch chick, though the actual cause is genetic or developmental issues we often can’t see. We want to be able to control things, to fix them if possible, but we don’t get a say in this sort of thing!