Genetic or egg position issue? -Crooked beak

[ChickenCanoe]

When I had to cull some chicks from my hatch I used the gassing method. I was concerned about being able to cleanly dispatch something so small with shears. It worked well and the chicks did not seem to suffer, there is still twitching, but it looked fairly painless.

So sorry for your loss

Consider a test run with some infertile eggs and a calibrated thermometer to figure out your incubators settings? That way no embryos are risked and you can get a good idea of how far out it is.

Don’t let the setbacks deter you from hatching... if you didn’t feel badly for the chick we would all be worried about you, but you did your best and future chicks will benefit from your experiences with this hatch.

Hugs

How would one determine anything from infertile eggs?

 

[Kris5902]

For mass inside the incubator... there’s got to be enough room for a themometer of some sort in there, maybe not with the turner running... a full incubator holds heat differently than an empty one...

How would one determine anything from infertile eggs?

With my turner running my thermometers kept getting moved about in my incubator. I ran mine at stable temps empty for a week before my hatch, and when I put eggs in it started fluctuating differently.

 

[aart]

Test your thermometers and hygrometers before every hatch:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...incubator-thermometers-and-hygrometers.73634/

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

For mass inside the incubator... there’s got to be enough room for a themometer of some sort in there, maybe not with the turner running... a full incubator holds heat differently than an empty one...


With my turner running my thermometers kept getting moved about in my incubator. I ran mine at stable temps empty for a week before my hatch, and when I put eggs in it started fluctuating differently.

Would a tank thermometer work? I have a few that stick onto the side of the glass/plastic tank and is a strip, it it can bend to the rounded shape of my bator.

When I cleaned out my tanks because I sold off some breeder fish, I noticed that the thermometer still read the temp but for the air.

Also I have little to no room in my bator for an inside thermometer. I will post pics of it with eggs here in a bit.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

Here are the pics of my incubator. It is filled with some eggs so the bator is not plugged in or on. There is hardly any room inside and if I was to put a themometer inside I would have to take it out before lockdown because once the chicks start hatching there is no room to spare.

Sorry its a bit dirty. I didn't get to clean it before taking pics.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

I have another set thats going to hatch in 7 days. (I do dual clutches because I sell chicks and I get 3 chicks at one time then 4 chicks 7 days after that.

I am going to put a tank themometer strip on the side of the bator and I have lowered the bator temp setting to 98F.

Thankfully I don't have any of the older hens eggs in here and will have a healthy hatch (hopefully).


Also, is there any way possible that the baby chick can be saved? My mother does not want me to simply give up on it, but I've explained to her that it may not make it. The chick is doing 100% better. It just sleeps, chirps and snuggles with its sibling for right now.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

Here are some pictures of the chick. Its resting on a shirt of mine infront of a warm heater while I took the pics. Its sibling is also cuddled up next to it.

 

[Kris5902]

It all depends on what you think the quality of life is going to be for the chick... I kept one of mine for almost 2 weeks because she was a fighter, and I really wanted her to make it, until she slipped the second tendon and I realized there was no way I could give her the life she deserved. Keeping the chick that long and hand feeding and watering her only made it harder for me emotionally.

Only you can make that call...

The more thermometers the better. Look at the link aart provided for calibration, and if you can get the little giant Thermometer on the backing I’m sure you can calibrate it according to her instructions and fit it in. They were the ones that fared best in my incubator with the turner running. I do realize how small your Bator is. Keep saving if you plan on selling chicks for that upgrade. I’m hoping bigger is better, and maybe more stable.

Once you have a properly calibrated verified thermometer you can adjust your incubators digital reading accordingly.

 

[Pippomky75]

I thought the safe range for hatching chicks is 99F to 102F. So I had the first batch at 99 and they hatched on day 19 and the others I changed the temp to 100.

It hurts me that it was my doing that caused the chick to be deformed.

I'm so sorry, I know that must hurt. It was not intentional and now you can prevent it in the future. Thanks for sharing, I will be getting a secondary thermometer to double check ours.

 

[lisa69]