Emu incubation

[Sneakyturtle]

I would be hesitant to suggest a good humidity until it’s tried and true. I hatch around 40% and have excellent hatch rates. No dead in shell.

But what works in one area, may not work in another.

True, I’m just saying since they don’t seem to be having the best luck with 49% in their area, they might wanna lower it. Just what I would do, based on what I have read in the emu farmers handbook and seen emu breeders do. But always take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt and do what works best for you

 

[Sneakyturtle]

These document are what I based my humidity and temp off to start with, and it worked well for me except for one emu dying in the egg, but your mileage my vary.

 

[cnicoley505]

Update Update!! We sadly cut our loss on the first batch of 3 eggs after 60 days..however today we hatched 2 out of the 4 in the second round!!! We have emus!! The other two are still wiggling so I still have hope!! I've never felt so accomplished and proud in my life!

 

[allbirds4me]

they take a lot of time , patience and monitoring for sure.
Think of it all like this:
# 1 you have to have , of course, fertile eggs to start off with.
#2. proper weight loss...on a daily basis... to have a successful hatch, this goes for all eggs from any kind of bird. Weighing your eggs will tell you what your humidity/temps. need to be.
With all eggs I find they want to lose too much weight in the 1st and last weeks, reason for upping humidity during those time but ...with that being said...you HAVE to monitor the weight losses and adjust your temp. and/or humidity accordingly.

#3 . Proper turning is very important .
I have GQF sportsman incubators that turn 45 degrees every 3 hours...I give EXTRA 180 degrees turns to the eggs... in addition to that ...2x a day.

Lockdown, per se, is not always good.
IF you shut down the vents/didn't open the bator/hatcher much during " lockdown" you seriously risked losing them due to suffocation but hey..you did good on the second batch !

 

[cnicoley505]

In the Brooder​

I recently hatched 4 emu chicks. The first one to hatch was by far the smallest has been fine for a week but mid day today I started noticing odd behavior. He/she seems lethargic the other 4 are up and alert this one always seems to be sleeping. When he is awake he seems fine but crashes hard and fast. When he is crashed he balls up and you can pick him up and he seems week and limp. Anyone know what is going on?

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

In the Brooder​

I recently hatched 4 emu chicks. The first one to hatch was by far the smallest has been fine for a week but mid day today I started noticing odd behavior. He/she seems lethargic the other 4 are up and alert this one always seems to be sleeping. When he is awake he seems fine but crashes hard and fast. When he is crashed he balls up and you can pick him up and he seems week and limp. Anyone know what is going on?

At one week old, it shouldn’t be that “tired”. That tiredness should only last about 4 days. Have you witnessed it eating and eating well with the others? I would suspect it’s lacking something nutrients wise. What type of food are they eating?

 

[cnicoley505]

At one week old, it shouldn’t be that “tired”. That tiredness should only last about 4 days. Have you witnessed it eating and eating well with the others? I would suspect it’s lacking something nutrients wise. What type of food are they eating?

Yes just a few hours ago he was up acting normally with the others. Pecking the the feed and veggies. They have mazzuri ostrich and ratite starter as well as fresh green and vegetables. They have fresh water as well with rooster booster vitamin and electrolyte booster. I suspected dehydration so I have been syringe feeding water with the vitamin supplement since this afternoon. I'm very worried.

 

[cnicoley505]

At one week old, it shouldn’t be that “tired”. That tiredness should only last about 4 days. Have you witnessed it eating and eating well with the others? I would suspect it’s lacking something nutrients wise. What type of food are they eating?

He had only started acting this way about 8 hours ago was fine until about 1pm today. It's now 730

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

Yes just a few hours ago he was up acting normally with the others. Pecking the the feed and veggies. They have mazzuri ostrich and ratite starter as well as fresh green and vegetables. They have fresh water as well with rooster booster vitamin and electrolyte booster. I suspected dehydration so I have been syringe feeding water with the vitamin supplement since this afternoon. I'm very worried.

Poor little dude. Just be careful not to get it in its airway. Wouldn’t hurt to try tubing a bit of nutrition into it. Unfortunately I don’t know what to recommend. Hopefully someone can chime in. Try posting in the emergencies section or the 22/23 emu hatch along.

 

[allbirds4me]

at his age best guess would be a retained yolk sac.
Have you notice Wheezy chirping, ( put him up to your ears and listen closely ) dull dry feathers, fat/tight distended belly at all , skinnier shriveled up legs more that the others, swelling of inner eye lids... gummy eyes at all ?
Does he waddle when he walks?
Being smaller than the others is a big clue as to something not good going on with it.
Not much you can do to help that ( if that's what it is ) short of surgery which is very expensive and not guarantee it'd work.