Help! Our first chick that hatched just died

[funnyfarmmama]

OK, our first baby chick that hatched last night has just died in the bator.
I have 2 other chicks in there running around. Should I open the bator and remove the dead one? I am afraid it will make the others sick, but won't I cause a draft that will also make them sick?

I am so sad that our first baby died. He was about 12 hours old and still had not dried off. How long does that take?

Heat is at 99.5, and humidity is at 56%. It is a hova-bator (styrofoam). Should I move the newborns into their brooder?

 

[KellyHM]

I would crack the lid and take them all out. Dispose of the dead one and put the others in their brooder. If the humidity is high enough they won't dry off all the way until they're in the brooder. Just make sure it's nice and warm.

 

[Akane]

Even after they get out of the bator and dry they will still take 12-24hrs to fluff up completely. Not drying off for awhile really doesn't do them any harm so long as they stay warm enough. It's doubtful he could pass anything to the others. There was probably something physically wrong with him. If you have eggs still hatching it's not a good idea to open the bator. If you don't then you can definitely take them all out. Just make sure your brooder is warmed up. The reason you don't open the bator isn't to avoid chilling the chicks since they will handle short temp changes fine. It's because the dry air and drop in humidity will dry out the membrane in the eggs and any chicks still hatching may get stuck and die.

 

[funnyfarmmama]

Well, we had 2 more hatch, one had it's intestines coming out of a hole in it's side. So, my husband took care of that one and the first one that died. We moved the living one to the brooder, he seems to be doing good. We have it nice and warm for him.

We saw that we had 2 more pipped, but we didn't want the little one to suffer any more so we chanced it and opened the bator. I had my older son mist the eggs that were pipped while we had the bator open, so they wouldn't dry out.

Now we are just waiting for the ones that are pipped to hatch.

Again, the waiting.... is killing me....

 

[Mahonri]

I hope the 'misting' works... If I had one die in the bator, or even born w/ intestines out, I'd leave them there for 24 hours to give the others a fighting chance... but that's just me, I live in EXTREMELY dry AZ.

 

[funnyfarmmama]

My son did watch the humidity, and said it never changed when we had it open. It was the same as before we opened it. I guess I am just a worry wart mom and I have to try to help.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I've found that the HovaBator doesn't lose more than 1-2% humidity when the lid is quickly lifted and replaced immediately. I don't take it all the way off...just open one side.

 

[Akane]

You are also in Florida. Even here in the midwest there are days I wouldn't open the bator for anything. Sometimes humidity here can be practically as high as what's in my bator so it probably wouldn't move much. Other times of the year (I started hatching my first chicks in winter) it can be very dry and the humidity will drop 10-20% when you open the bator. Also when running heating or air conditioning inside it may dry the air out even more. The exact amount of danger to opening a bator during hatching depends on your situation.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
I agree with this, Akane. Even with our a/c on set at 79 degrees (can't afford it set any lower

) the humidity in my house is 49-51% most of the time in the spring and summer. I pretty much dry incubate but with the heat and fan in the bator the humidity can get down in the mid 20's. I used a TINY solo cup, cut the top off and use about 3/4 inch of water in it in my hovabator and it keeps the humidity right at 31%. That's perfect, in my opinion...for my circumstance.