Has anyone had fully developed chicks that fail to pip internally?

[chick-a-bone2]

I just ran my first batch of serama eggs and out of 15 eggs, 4 were clears, 2 hatched just fine, and 9 were fully developed but never pipped internally (or externally, obviously.) My guess would be that I ran my humidity too high for the first 16 days (52-57%) and they drowned before hatching, but I thought that the drowning thing happened after they pipped internally. The air sacs on these looked small and there was a fair amount of fluid around the unhatched chicks within their sacs. Temps were between 99.5 and 100.2 throughout the incubation and humidity was raised to 65%, give or take, for the last 3 days. Any thoughts? It's really a shame to lose so many chicks in their eggs at the last moment, especially since they were shipped, which always takes its toll on serama eggs. Any serama gurus have any advice?
-Chris

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I'm not a serema expert, but I feel your pain. My set that was to hatch Saturday had the same thing happen. I had two make it out and eight to die in the shell. None had pipped internally. All I can figure is that the cold front on day 19 that dropped the bator temps down to 97 for the night killed them. They looked like they had made it to that point. The two that lived must have been in the warmest part of the bator. My temp fluctuations dropped the humidity from the high 70s/low80s to the low 70s as well. Perhaps that was a factor too. Dunno. I understand the loss though.

 

[sonew123]

My 40 egg silkie batch did that to me-not enough humidity the last 3 days-and most 24 out of 40 were shrinked wrapped and couldnt move to pip! Trust me after openeing up all of them and seeing those gorgeous babies gone I cried and then really crank humidy the last 3 days and have had better results-it still happens with the shrink wrapping just not nearly as much! good luck and Im sorry for your loss:-(

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, when all others hatched with no problem. Just this morning, Day 22, opened the egg to see if it was still alive. The chick had its head down, just never got into position to pip at all. Fully formed, yolk absorbed. Sometimes, it's not an incubation issue, but something internally wrong with the chick.

 

[chick-a-bone2]

Cynthia, should there be fluid around them when they are ready to hatch or should it be, for the most part, "all chick", inside their sac?

 

[Jarhead]

I have had it happen to duck eggs, but only when a chicken was used to brood them.

 

[JestersEye]

After reading this post, I went ahead and opened up the eggs in my 'bator that didn't seem to be hatching. I had a feeling they weren't gonna make it, since I didn't see any signs of movement when I candled this morning. It turns out all five of the remaining eggs are dead!

At least three looked fully formed, but the other two were not quite all the way along. I think the incubator malfunction we had on Day 18 must have done them in. Maybe only the ones that were in the warmest part of the 'bator, or those that were hardiest or farthest along lived through it. Either that, or they drowned because there did seem to be a lot of liquid in all five of the dead eggs. Poor babies!

Oh well, that's the end of our very first hatching experience... 5 live chicks from 18 eggs. (The last chick is still in the process of emerging, though, but it seems to coming along fine so far.)

 

[speckledhen]

When they are ready to hatch, there should be no fluid around the chick, chick-a-bone.

 

[chick-a-bone2]

k thanks, that's what I needed to know!

 

[Chickenaddict]

Chick-a-bone Serama eggs are harder to hatch in the bator, I set a bunch in my LG and all was well thru the whole process, Day 23 I opened the eggs and extracted fully deveoloped chicks with all yolk sacks absorbed and in the pip position. No deformities what so ever. I had decided no more serama eggs in the bator, only under the broodies but even then there are a few that don't make it. sorry about your loss