Help!! Chicks not Hatching

[HBuehler]

I know there is lots of opinions on the humidity levels and also your location is part of that.I hatch at 73% humidity and have only had 1 not hatch and it was severely deformed.
I would really suggest adding a fan to your bator as well..it really helps. Being a still air how much oxygen are they getting? Not enough can really effect a hatch and cause lots of fully formed but not hatched little chicks.

 

[shining08]

Bumping this thread
last batch didn't hatch

Broke one of the eggs today that was due on the 12th
chick inside was still alive but the membrane surrounding seemed very thick and I even had quite a bit of trouble penetrating it
the hatcher was run on a higher temp and humidity was again around 65%
I think I will decrease humidity in the incubator a little to see if that has any effect

 

[kathyinmo]

If they are developing and doing well in the incubator, and the problem begins when you move them to the hatcher .... maybe consider there is a problem with the hatcher. Just an idea.

Good luck.

 

[Lolliegee]

How frustrating for you. Were you able to save the chick from the egg your broke into? If it was "full-term" there's a chance it could still make it. How about the other eggs from that batch? I wish I could give you some good advice, but it seems you've already gotten pretty good advice. I'll just sit back and hope to hear some good news from you.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Hi, Where are you located at? If you live in a dry climate like I do, then I believe that you are using too low humidity at hatching.

I keep mine at 75-85 the last three days. Otherwise the membrane is too tough for them to break through.

What you have mentioned, happened to me when I #1 opened the incubator during lockdown and #2 used too low humidity during lockdown.

I have one incubator (same brand and age as the rest) that just doesn't hold the humidity like the others do. So I have to fill the troughs with water and add sponges when I put them in lockdown.

 

[happi752]

still air should be 85% humidity at lockdown precisely on day 18 and the temp should be 102 F from day one through til hatched. otherwise the membrane is to tough for them to hatch through and they will die inside the egg.

for goodness sake open all the eggs and salvage what you can.

 

[shining08]

Okay as you say

will increase humidity to 85%
Tried opening the eggs to rescue the chicks but they died in the process

I haven't opened the incubator at all during hatch period
Also the eggs of the chicks that I opened still had that yellow yolky stuff (not sure what it's called) attached to them

 

[Germaine_11.20]

That was the yolk sac not fully absorbed. It will usually absorb while they dry out in the hatcher.

It is very tricky to help them out of the shell. I candle first to see where the air cell is and then I crack the shell. With a pair of tweezers and a spray bottle filled with warm water I proceed to take the shell off of about 1/4 to 1/3 of the egg. (Not the membrane though) Then wet the membrane down and try to see where the beak is. That is where you want to start opening.
Once you find the beak, make a tiny hole and then watch to see if it bleeds. If it bleeds, spray it very quick and put it back in the hatchers for a hour or so. If it does not bleed, then open it a little more. I spray often so I can see where the veins are that will bleed and how big they are.
Once you have the beak out and the chick can actually peep then you have quite a bit of time that you can continue.
I will take up to 12-24 hours to help out a chick. I go slow and put them back in the incubator if they bleed. Sometimes I have the entire shell off and just work the membrane. After about 8-12 hours you can usually wet the membrane down well (with warm water) and slip them out.
You will need a seperate hatcher though because you do not want to open a hatcher that has other eggs in there that are trying to hatch.

 

[walkswithdog]

If all of them had visible yolk sacs none of them were actually ready to hatch and you assisted them out too aggressively. Assistance can take a day, never making the chick bleed, letting them rest hours between small amounts of assistance.

If all of them had visible yolksacs after 22-25 days - then your incubator is still running too cool and you didn't calibrate your thermometer.

 

[shining08]

Hooray we have pips!!
Thankyou everyone for your valued advice,
these pips are a couple of days late but it is a huge improvement on what we had