Did I kill my chicks?

[GrannyFran]

I started trying to hatch 32 eggs, on day 19 the hatch started, day 20 I had 17 chicks. They looked like they were gasbing for air so I took them out of the incubator. I had about 6 that had little pack marks but on day 24 have not hatched. Did I kill these babies by openning the incubator to soon ?

Thank You

Granny Fran

 

[ScissorChick]

No way could that have killed them

I open mine all the time taking babies

out, Never problems. If somthing happened to them, opening the lid just to take the

others out is not what happened to them.

 

[Tropical Chickies]

I have never used and incubator before, but what I have read and from my friends that use them, you can open the bator without killing them.

It wasn't you

Humidity and temperature is a big factor, which I know nothing about. This is why I use my silkies...they know what to do much better than I.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
Do you mean (pack) pips? Taking chicks out to soon when pips are going on sometimes ruins the rest of the hatch. Chicks gasp learning to breath, try to get their wobble legs going, need to fluff and rest. They can be left in the bator for upto 3 days, living off the yolk sac they have absorbed.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
Do you mean (pack) pips? Taking chicks out to soon when pips are going on sometimes ruins the rest of the hatch. Chicks gasp learning to breath, try to get their wobble legs going, need to fluff and rest. They can be left in the bator for upto 3 days, living off the yolk sac they have absorbed.

Poster is correct in opening a bator you risk shrink wrapping your eggs. If you ever open your bator and its a circulated bator you need to open it very very slowly so that a big cold draft doesnt rush in there.

 

[Bedste]

Quote:
Do you mean (pack) pips? Taking chicks out to soon when pips are going on sometimes ruins the rest of the hatch. Chicks gasp learning to breath, try to get their wobble legs going, need to fluff and rest. They can be left in the bator for upto 3 days, living off the yolk sac they have absorbed.

Poster is correct in opening a bator you risk shrink wrapping your eggs. If you ever open your bator and its a circulated bator you need to open it very very slowly so that a big cold draft doesnt rush in there.

"Do you mean (pack) pips? Taking chicks out to soon when pips are going on sometimes ruins the rest of the hatch. Chicks gasp learning to breath, try to get their wobble legs going, need to fluff and rest. They can be left in the bator for upto 3 days, living off the yolk sac they have absorbed"

I AGREE! I do not know anything about a rush of "cold air" because in Texas it is usually 80 plus most of the year..... but I KNOW that I have stopped all the others from hatching when opening the incubator too soon.

 

[Bedste]

if I open the bator real quickly sometimes they still hatch......... but most time not

 

[Bedste]

so I guess it is true opening the bator in the middle of the hatch can keep the ones hatching from hatching......

 

[debilorrah]

Differing opinions here so I am going to give you facts:

1) If you open the bator during a hatch, when there are other pips, you should take the bator into a steamy bathroom.
2) When you open the bator during a hatch, you take a chance on "shrink wrapping" the pipped eggs.
3) If the chicks inside the pipped eggs are skrink wrapped, yes it was your mistake (you are NOT the first to make that one, me included)
4) If the chicks inside the egg have a very large air sac and are wet, humidity was too high.
5) If the air sac was very small, not high enough humidity.

The only way to know what went wrong is to open the eggs and inspect the birds. You could also take pics and post them here in this thread so we can actually see the bird and help you more.

The likelyhood that you "killed" your chicks is very low. Some hatches are good and some are not so good. Yours was about 50% so not too bad at all. Don't kick yourself!

 

[deerman]

Quote:
lot depend on type of incubator , the small styrofoam yes, but not the better incubators.

NOWAY should a chick be left in the incubator for 3 days, at most 24 hrs. yes they can live off the yolk, but best get them drinking asap