Hatching, smell?

[KaldakurFarm]

I have 10 chicks hatched in the bator (yay!). They have been hatching since last night, this puts me a little less than half done. I know I have one pipped one that is dead in the shell since this morning, his beak has been sticking out and not moving. He looks gooey or something from the appearance at the pip hole. I smell a smell when I put my face close to the bator - is this normal or is it the stinking dead chick? I'm going to take some of the dry chicks out when my husband gets home to help me (my humidity is in the 70's and I'll add a sponge when I open it) - including the dead one. My question is, is there normally a smell from the egg shells/membranes, etc.? Or is it the dead one getting stinky?

I had 5 Dark Cornish shipped eggs make it to day 18, 3 have pipped but none have hatched. I'm trying to be patient, but admittedly I am worried they are done. A couple were pipped last night. The rest are Icelandics and they are lively little things! I see active pipping in a lot more of the Icey eggs, but it's hard to keep track with the 10 bulldozers that are in there now moving all the eggs around.

 

[lazy gardener]

There's the normal incubator funky smell, then there's the "dead thing" smell, and you should be able to tell the difference. If you've got a death smell in there, I'd go ahead and move the hatchlings out along with the dead one now. Get a nice deep container, and snatch the hatchlings out, put them in the paper towel lined container. Then you can get it closed up, and get that humidity cranked back up. Others may do it differently. It's your bator, your choices. No one right/wrong way to do it.

 

[KaldakurFarm]

There's the normal incubator funky smell, then there's the "dead thing" smell, and you should be able to tell the difference. If you've got a death smell in there, I'd go ahead and move the hatchlings out along with the dead one now. Get a nice deep container, and snatch the hatchlings out, put them in the paper towel lined container. Then you can get it closed up, and get that humidity cranked back up. Others may do it differently. It's your bator, your choices. No one right/wrong way to do it.

Thanks Lazy Gardener for the input. I think it was the normal incubator smell. We got the chicks out and the dead one. I added a small wet sponge and got the humidity back up to 70 in about 20 seconds, so I think I did OK. My husband opened the bad egg and the chick appeared to be drowned. He was much gooier than the others. It didn't seem very stinky, so I think the smell was just the incubator and all it's contents.

I was pretty worried about opening it. After I got it open I noticed one zipping that I hadn't seen when I was getting ready - then I was really worried but it all turned out. Little guy hatched, humidity jumped right back up, everyone else can go ahead and hatch now without getting bowled all over the bator .

Thanks again for the input!

 

[lazy gardener]

You're very welcome.