Hatch turning into glue mess :-(

[fatcatx]

I need some guidance with what is going wrong with my hatch and when to intervene.
I will start with that I've read the guides to assisted hatch and realize DO NOT RUSH THE HATCH is the take away message. (I've done minor assists in the past but they were one-off-ers when the rest of the hatch was going ok.)

Details - I am in mid hatch at day 22 of shipped eggs. Mix of so-so decent cells and saddles. Pips started in the middle of day 21. First two hatched without incident beginning of day 22 which was last night. Now I am having gluing issues and I don't know why. One chick started zipping and got stuck. After monitoring it for 6 hours I intervened, chipped along the cap and moistened it (it was definitely glued in and could not rotate.) It is back in the incubator. Another was 70% through hatching and the cap got glued to the back of its neck/head so it was pinned in the tuck position, again for almost 6 hours. I made the call to moistened it to unglue the shell cap and it almost immediately finished kicking free.

I'm trying to figure out which of the remaining 5 are having issues as well and if I need to finish assisting the first chick, but also trying not to compound the problems by opening the incubator. (If it matters, they are in a Brinsea Octagon which recovers humidity within a minute or two.)
1. Why am I having gluing issues? Humidity is at 65-70% and was clearly right for the first two chicks. Normally I don't have issue in this incubator so stumped at the source of the problem. Possibly the poor air cells slowing them down?
2. If it appears they get stuck during zipping, how long should I wait with no progress before intervening?
3. Is warm water the best way to combat the gluing?
4. If it has been 24 hours since external pip, should I give it more time?
5. How long should I give the first assisted chick to finish the job? It appears as if it is stuck and glued again but I don't want to force the hatch if it is not ready.

Thanks! (why do I voluntarily do this to myself?)

 

[Cyprus]

What was your humidity throughout incubation? From my experience, gluing has happened when the egg had too much liquid left when the chick pips.

Answers:
1) above paragraph
2) 1 hour max
3) Yes
4) I wouldn't, because that's always resulted in a dead chick for me
5) 2 days absolute maximum.

 

[fatcatx]

Thank you for the help. Humidity during incubation was about 45% which has not given me any trouble in the past. Normally they pop like popcorn. Maybe I need to send it for calibration. I also wondered if my temp could have been off enough to cause this. However they did pip on day 21 so ???

I've been logging their progress all day so I'm going to access again in about an hour.

 

[JaeG]

If they stop part way through unzipping it means they are stuck so you need to assist.

I've had hens (both chicken and aviary birds) get off their unzipping eggs so as long as your ambient humidity isn't too low I wouldn't worry too much about opening the incubator.

As for those that sit at the pipped stage too long you can carefully peel off some of the shell (after the 24 hour period), leaving the membrane in place. If you still see active veins in the membrane you know they aren't ready yet (I've had quail do that to me). Exposed membrane can be dampened with cooking oil (coconut or olive oil), or vaseline if they start to look brown. White is fine. Once you start interferring you do tend to have to keep helping as things progress.

I looked up incubation troubleshooting and it may have been how the eggs were stored before you got them that has caused this issue. They may have been kept at too low a humidity before being sent, or they may have not been turned during the holding period before they were sent to you.

All you can do is your best.

 

[aart]

Maybe I need to send it for calibration. I also wondered if my temp could have been off enough to cause this.

You can 'calibrate' both therms and hygros at home...and should before every incubation.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...incubator-thermometers-and-hygrometers.73634/

Did you trace air cells while candling on days 7-10-14-18?
This can help monitor for adjusting humidity.

 

[fatcatx]

You can 'calibrate' both therms and hygros at home...and should before every incubation.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...incubator-thermometers-and-hygrometers.73634/

Did you trace air cells while candling on days 7-10-14-18?
This can help monitor for adjusting humidity.

I did check it before setting and thought I had it calibrated right, but given the hatch results, I think the temp was low. (The whole reason I bought this incubator was to not have this headache. The digital display is so far off now it needs to be addressed.) The confusing part is 2 hatched on day 21 in perfect shape, so why 80% of my viable eggs were a sticky mess and a bit late has me stumped. Dumb luck on the first 2?

I did trace air cells as well. I have not incubated shipped eggs very often, but the last batch had similar cells and I did not have these problems.

Thank you for all the feedback. Just as soon as I think I am getting the hang of this I get schooled.

 

[Ms Clucky]

When I have to help, i take an eye dropper and drip warm water in side the egg while i"m getting it off. Careful not to get water in it's beak. It worked. Here is two that I helped. The Silver Sebright pic is little dark. The other is a Cochin/Silkie mix.