Deformed or week and spread legs

[EggSighted4Life]

Ok sad question. I've had eggs swallow chicks and suffocate them with goop when they make first opening. Another issue is the ones come out week and deformed have just died. They wont eat and I help em drink till dead. What can I do. I been told I could put them down so they dont suffer. I've put down 12 now and unless I know it is right thing to do I'm very sad. Plz help I criedView attachment 2014726

Hi there!

Sorry for hatching trouble.

According to your description... humidity is too high. Please tell the temperature and humidity you are using.

Aside from that... your deformities are likely being cause by only one of a few possibilities... Parental genetics, parental nutrition, temperature fluctuations or temp off in general.

I personally will NOT treat splay leg chicks and that is a condition worth culling for me... Once it's fixed and they grow they start breeding and give their now hidden genetic weakness to the offspring.

Human colds do NOT pass to chickens.

How soon are you trying to get them to eat? I have aspirated many a chick trying to help them drink. Some chicks never actually connect with the food, known as failure to thrive. Crushing it extra into mash instead of crumble has worked well to diminish the issue. What heat source are you using after they hatch?

What color are the eggs and from what breed? How old is the stock? Flock age, inbreeding, nutrition and so many other things can heavily impact hatching.

Also what incubator are you using? Do you have all the air plugs out? Are you chicks hatching on day 21? Are you using a calibrated thermometer or hygrometer? Do you know what is fed to the parent flock on a regular basis?

Also, thank you for being brave and euthanizing those that need it! I KNOW what a difficult choice it is.

Adding your general location to your profile can help folks make the best suggestions possible at a glance.



ETA: power outages cause ALL kinds of issues you might not otherwise face! A great resource for hatching information, including reason for failure or POSSIBLE causes of deformities starts on page 52 in the following link...
Incubation guide

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you had any broody hens? Broody raised chicks have so much less problems. Certain breeds can be more broody than others, but almost half of my hatchery quality hens became broody, so much that they drive me crazy in summertime. I hope your luck improves.

 

[Xzryual]

Hi there!

Sorry for hatching trouble.

According to your description... humidity is too high. Please tell the temperature and humidity you are using.

Aside from that... your deformities are likely being cause by only one of a few possibilities... Parental genetics, parental nutrition, temperature fluctuations or temp off in general.

I personally will NOT treat splay leg chicks and that is a condition worth culling for me... Once it's fixed and they grow they start breeding and give their now hidden genetic weakness to the offspring.

Human colds do NOT pass to chickens.

How soon are you trying to get them to eat? I have aspirated many a chick trying to help them drink. Some chicks never actually connect with the food, known as failure to thrive. Crushing it extra into mash instead of crumble has worked well to diminish the issue. What heat source are you using after they hatch?

What color are the eggs and from what breed? How old is the stock? Flock age, inbreeding, nutrition and so many other things can heavily impact hatching.

Also what incubator are you using? Do you have all the air plugs out? Are you chicks hatching on day 21? Are you using a calibrated thermometer or hygrometer? Do you know what is fed to the parent flock on a regular basis?

Also, thank you for being brave and euthanizing those that need it! I KNOW what a difficult choice it is.

Adding your general location to your profile can help folks make the best suggestions possible at a glance.

A lot of your questions ive answered several times and wish I wasnt suggested and did post in other threads. Id answer all your questions but my phone types like junk and its frustrated me with tge over and over. I'm not forum Davy and its comming out hard. Chicks hatch day 21 to 25. Ive assisted a lot bc of the issues I bet. Breed is fine. Storm and my inexperience I believe is causing them issues. I cant keep repeating myself though right now. Thank you tons I really appreciate your reply.

 

[nchls school]

Testing the eggs under a broody hen would also tell you if the problems are genetic or from the incubator. if the chicks hatch with the same problems under a hen then you know it's the parent stock at fault.

You mention 3 different breeds that the eggs come from. Does the problem involve all three breeds or just one?

 

[Xzryual]

Have you had any broody hens? Broody raised chicks have so much less problems. Certain breeds can be more broody than others, but almost half of my hatchery quality hens became broody, so much that they drive me crazy in summertime. I hope your luck improves.

ireply.i did offer the broody hen a chick to see and it got very quit in hen house. Then she flipped and was all yeah, so chick is doing fine. Was healthy strong kiddo just to see. Didnt go well and kinda funny if ya was there. The hens are very friendly but just wish they treated the rats like that.

 

[Xzryual]

Testing the eggs under a broody hen would also tell you if the problems are genetic or from the incubator. if the chicks hatch with the same problems under a hen then you know it's the parent stock at fault.

You mention 3 different breeds that the eggs come from. Does the problem involve all three breeds or just one?

We eat one and its hatching but not breed aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[nchls school]

A lot of your questions ive answered several times and wish I wasnt suggested and did post in other threads. Id answer all your questions but my phone types like junk and its frustrated me with tge over and over. I'm not forum Davy and its comming out hard. Chicks hatch day 21 to 25. Ive assisted a lot bc of the issues I bet. Breed is fine. Storm and my inexperience I believe is causing them issues. I cant keep repeating myself though right now. Thank you tons I really appreciate your reply.

Yes, repeating is frustrating. The problem is that your posting to different people than before so we ask what we don't know.

 

[Xzryual]

Yes, repeating is frustrating. The problem is that your posting to different people than before so we ask what we don't know.

Makes me very not like forum's bc I have time to do things and im sitting here for hours repeating

 

[CindyinSD]

I don’t understand everything you said in your post above, Xzryual, but I’ll try to talk about your questions. We all do our best here and no one gets paid. We all help the best we can, so please try to be patient and not get upset if you don’t understand people’s answers. We are all just trying to help.

Incubating and hatching eggs is a two-part process.

1. Incubation: lasts about 21 days. The chick grows inside the egg during this time.
   1. Temperature in a still-air (no fan) incubator should be 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If your incubator has a fan, the temperature should be 99.5 degrees. The temp will vary, but try your best to maintain it near the correct temperature for your incubator.
   2. Humidity (during incubation) should be between 35% and 55%. Again this will vary—just do your best. It is best to keep humidity on the low end of the above range. If your humidity is too low, add water to one or more of the channels in the bottom of the incubator.
      You may not need to add water if you live in a humid climate.
      Too much humidity during incubation will make the chicks grow too large. It will also prevent the eggs from losing moisture. The eggs must lose moisture in order to have an air pocket ready for the chicks to breathe from as they work to break out of the egg.
   3. During incubation, you must turn the eggs over at least four times a day, or up to eight times a day. Use a pencil or sharpie marker to make an “x” on one side of the egg and an “o” on the other side. This mark will help you remember which eggs you have already turned. (You do not have to get up at night to turn the eggs.)
2. Hatching: this stage overlaps on incubation time. You should start the hatching process on approximately the 20th day of incubation. You may start on day 19 if that is more convenient for you. Hatching can sometimes take as many as three or (rarely) even four days.
3. Hatching is also called “lock-down” because you’re not supposed to open the lid.
   1. During hatching you should increase the humidity. It should be between 60% and 80%. To get this high humidity level, fill the rest of the water channels in the bottom of the incubator. If that is not enough, put one or more small containers in the incubator. Cut sponges to fit the containers. Wet the sponges and put them in the containers.
      This increase in humidity keeps the eggs’ membranes moist so that they do not cling to the chicks and suffocate them.
   2. During hatching you should try not to open the incubator because opening it will make the temperature and humidity go down. This could hurt the chicks.
      If you do need to open the lid, try not to keep it open any longer than necessary.
      You may need to open the lid to add water when the humidity goes down. Use warm water. Try not to get water on the eggs.
      You also may want to open the lid to take out chicks that have dried off. You don’t have to take the chicks out. They can easily go without food and water for up to three days because they are still nourished from absorbing the egg yolk before hatching. Some people want to take the chicks out though, and doing that is fine once the chicks have dried off.
   3. After 3-4 days, discard any unhatched eggs unless they are moving or you hear chirping when you hold them to your ear.
   4. Clean the incubator with soap and water to get it ready for the next time.

Before you get to the hatching stage, you must get a brooder ready for the chicks to live in after they hatch, but that’s another topic that’s been covered very thoroughly on this forum.

 

[Xzryual]

I don’t understand everything you said in your post above, Xzryual, but I’ll try to talk about your questions. We all do our best here and no one gets paid. We all help the best we can, so please try to be patient and not get upset if you don’t understand people’s answers. We are all just trying to help.

Incubating and hatching eggs is a two-part process.

1. Incubation: lasts about 21 days. The chick grows inside the egg during this time.
   1. Temperature in a still-air (no fan) incubator should be 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If your incubator has a fan, the temperature should be 99.5 degrees. The temp will vary, but try your best to maintain it near the correct temperature for your incubator.
   2. Humidity (during incubation) should be between 35% and 55%. Again this will vary—just do your best. It is best to keep humidity on the low end of the above range. If your humidity is too low, add water to one or more of the channels in the bottom of the incubator.
      You may not need to add water if you live in a humid climate.
      Too much humidity during incubation will make the chicks grow too large. It will also prevent the eggs from losing moisture. The eggs must lose moisture in order to have an air pocket ready for the chicks to breathe from as they work to break out of the egg.
   3. During incubation, you must turn the eggs over at least four times a day, or up to eight times a day. Use a pencil or sharpie marker to make an “x” on one side of the egg and an “o” on the other side. This mark will help you remember which eggs you have already turned. (You do not have to get up at night to turn the eggs.)
2. Hatching: this stage overlaps on incubation time. You should start the hatching process on approximately the 20th day of incubation. You may start on day 19 if that is more convenient for you. Hatching can sometimes take as many as three or (rarely) even four days.
3. Hatching is also called “lock-down” because you’re not supposed to open the lid.
   1. During hatching you should increase the humidity. It should be between 60% and 80%. To get this high humidity level, fill the rest of the water channels in the bottom of the incubator. If that is not enough, put one or more small containers in the incubator. Cut sponges to fit the containers. Wet the sponges and put them in the containers.
      This increase in humidity keeps the eggs’ membranes moist so that they do not cling to the chicks and suffocate them.
   2. During hatching you should try not to open the incubator because opening it will make the temperature and humidity go down. This could hurt the chicks.
      If you do need to open the lid, try not to keep it open any longer than necessary.
      You may need to open the lid to add water when the humidity goes down. Use warm water. Try not to get water on the eggs.
      You also may want to open the lid to take out chicks that have dried off. You don’t have to take the chicks out. They can easily go without food and water for up to three days because they are still nourished from absorbing the egg yolk before hatching. Some people want to take the chicks out though, and doing that is fine once the chicks have dried off.
   3. After 3-4 days, discard any unhatched eggs unless they are moving or you hear chirping when you hold them to your ear.
   4. Clean the incubator with soap and water to get it ready for the next time.

Before you get to the hatching stage, you must get a brooder ready for the chicks to live in after they hatch, but that’s another topic that’s been covered very thoroughly on this forum.

This info is info but not the issue. Thanks