HELP! Intestines?? *PIC*

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

I always took my babies out of the bator after 5-10 hours after hatch...and I just opened the top plug to let out some of the humidity if it got above 70% They always did fine being under the brooder light rather then staying in the bator. Never had one die yet from that.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

It is a fine line to walk, that's for sure! You're probably right...85% is too much. I have a clear tube from the outside of the bator into the water dish. If it gets too high, I suck water out with a syringe. I don't use a sponge for this reason. I have more control.

After they pip, you just have to know that you have enough humidity to keep the membranes inside the egg from drying too much and sticking to the chick.

The last chick that hatched from my last bunch had to be helped out. It had pipped but couldn't seem to move. After many hours, I opened the pip hole a bit larger and could see that it looked like it had been saran-wrapped into the shell. I quickly peeled the top of the shell and had to run it under warm water to be able to get the membrane off of the chick. It was stuck so hard I even pulled off a tiny fleck of down from it's wing.

I still think more chicks die of drowning in too much fluid rather than membranes that are too dry.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Oh...then maybe I'm wrong - maybe this last chick was too DRY because that's exactly how the membrane was stuck on it too, except the bator never got down below 65%.

I followed your advice when setting my bators up and did use the plastic tubing into the well also. Worked beautifully

So maybe the humidity varying too much instead of remaining fairly constant was a factor. That I could see being a definite possibility. So much to learn.

 

[Akane]

I had the same thing with the chick I helped. I saw this stuff poking out and thought oh no something pulled out of the chick. I tried to gently push it in but that didn't seem right. So I ripped off a piece of paper towel, dampened it with warm water, and wrapped the chicks lower half before putting it back in the incubator. That chick was very lethargic and slept for pretty much the next 24hrs. Now at 3days it's a normal fluffy active little chick.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

I'm very glad to hear that! Mine was very lethargic too but by this morning I couldn't tell it apart from the others. Glad we were both successful!!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Mine didn't get below 65% either. I think when they're pipped for a long time they're just going to dry out.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

That makes sense. I assumed that since the humidity kept fluctuating so high that it would keep the membrane moist. Now I know better.