Beware of graphic pics attached!
What would cause a fully developed chick to start unzipping and then die? Will attach pic of the chick below. The egg had a normal size air cell at lockdown, and it pipped last night. Sometime this morning it started unzipping. It unzipped about halfway and then stopped. When I decided to check it this evening, I saw no movement, and opted to remove a few pieces of shell from the airsac end. What I found was a fully developed chick that had died. There was no airspace left inside, and the chick completely filled the shell. The yolk sac was completely absorbed and the vessels were dry. The inside of the shell was not bloody or discolored. The chick was tucked in the proper position with beak under right wing, although the beak of the chick was not near either end of the unzipped area. I am wondering if it was too big to turn properly in the egg? Is that possible? I am devastated that I didn't try to assist earlier, but I still have several pipped eggs in there and did not want to open the incubator. The only reason I opened it when I did is because it was getting very crowded and the chicks that hatched early this morning were trampling and pecking the newly hatched ones.
To include relevant details: Today is day 21. I am using the Nurture Right 360, and have followed the manufacturer instructions. This includes temp 99.5 degrees F, humidity 45-55% for first 18 days and 65-75% during lockdown. The only issue I have is living in Louisiana, our ambient humidity can get kind of high even this time of year, so I have to be very careful with how much water I add at a time. Humidity varied a little high and a little low a few times, but never for any extended period. The air cells looked good to me when I checked them at lockdown. I have incubated twice before with this incubator and only had 1 egg that didn't develop. This hatch, I had 4 early quitters out of 22 eggs. I've read of so many different recommendations on humidity levels and even dry hatches, so I'm a little confused as to whether small variations in humidity are really that relevant but I've never had a fully developed chick die at hatch, so I am very upset and would like to know why!
What would cause a fully developed chick to start unzipping and then die? Will attach pic of the chick below. The egg had a normal size air cell at lockdown, and it pipped last night. Sometime this morning it started unzipping. It unzipped about halfway and then stopped. When I decided to check it this evening, I saw no movement, and opted to remove a few pieces of shell from the airsac end. What I found was a fully developed chick that had died. There was no airspace left inside, and the chick completely filled the shell. The yolk sac was completely absorbed and the vessels were dry. The inside of the shell was not bloody or discolored. The chick was tucked in the proper position with beak under right wing, although the beak of the chick was not near either end of the unzipped area. I am wondering if it was too big to turn properly in the egg? Is that possible? I am devastated that I didn't try to assist earlier, but I still have several pipped eggs in there and did not want to open the incubator. The only reason I opened it when I did is because it was getting very crowded and the chicks that hatched early this morning were trampling and pecking the newly hatched ones.
To include relevant details: Today is day 21. I am using the Nurture Right 360, and have followed the manufacturer instructions. This includes temp 99.5 degrees F, humidity 45-55% for first 18 days and 65-75% during lockdown. The only issue I have is living in Louisiana, our ambient humidity can get kind of high even this time of year, so I have to be very careful with how much water I add at a time. Humidity varied a little high and a little low a few times, but never for any extended period. The air cells looked good to me when I checked them at lockdown. I have incubated twice before with this incubator and only had 1 egg that didn't develop. This hatch, I had 4 early quitters out of 22 eggs. I've read of so many different recommendations on humidity levels and even dry hatches, so I'm a little confused as to whether small variations in humidity are really that relevant but I've never had a fully developed chick die at hatch, so I am very upset and would like to know why!
