First time incuvating eggs!!

[berna]

Hi, i have a question, why some of my chicks died inside the shell?? They were pipped but they didnt make it, is my first time hatching eggs , 24 out of 30 , around 6 died inside the shell

 

[Egghead_Jr]

That's a great hatching rate and wouldn't bee overly concerned with those results. In reality those would be the weak birds and not ideal for raising.

What happens during the hatching is humidity levels get extremely high as chicks are zipping and drying. That far too high humidity makes the inside of shell sticky like glue. Last hatched chicks may need a bath to wash it off and wont fluff up right away due to that album glue. To combat this I take chicks out of incubator as soon as they get their balance and are active. They are still damp and finish drying in the brooder. By opening the incubator one side just enough to grab out a chick or two your letting out moisture. I try to keep the humidity at 65%. If it gets to 70% I'll lift the lid quickly to let out some moisture even if no chicks are hatched.

People will say never to open the incubator during hatch. I'm not afraid of "shrink wrapping" chicks as my humidity is high enough for that not to happen and I'm not lifting the entire lid or for long. I've never had the membrane shrink onto a chick.

 

[berna]

That's a great hatching rate and wouldn't bee overly concerned with those results. In reality those would be the weak birds and not ideal for raising.

What happens during the hatching is humidity levels get extremely high as chicks are zipping and drying. That far too high humidity makes the inside of shell sticky like glue. Last hatched chicks may need a bath to wash it off and wont fluff up right away due to that album glue. To combat this I take chicks out of incubator as soon as they get their balance and are active. They are still damp and finish drying in the brooder. By opening the incubator one side just enough to grab out a chick or two your letting out moisture. I try to keep the humidity at 65%. If it gets to 70% I'll lift the lid quickly to let out some moisture even if no chicks are hatched.

People will say never to open the incubator during hatch. I'm not afraid of "shrink wrapping" chicks as my humidity is high enough for that not to happen and I'm not lifting the entire lid or for long. I've never had the membrane shrink onto a chick.

Maybe thats what happed, i put a lot of water for umidity and sometimes it used to reAch to 99% i didnt know what do to is my first time doing this

 

[scflock]

I also want to reiterate what Egghead said. 24/30 is a great hatch rate, especially for a first hatch. If you kept the climate controlled well enough to hatch those 24, the other 6 were probably too weak to hatch anyway. I would take 24 of 30 anytime

 

[berna]

I also want to reiterate what Egghead said. 24/30 is a great hatch rate, especially for a first hatch. If you kept the climate controlled well enough to hatch those 24, the other 6 were probably too weak to hatch anyway. I would take 24 of 30 anytime

They pipped but they didnt make it, only 1 chick died when was really tiny inside ,

 

[berna]

 

[berna]

 

[berna]