High mortality for newly hatched chicks - Bleeding out and deformity

DolphinMD

Hatching
7 Years
Apr 30, 2012
1
0
7
We just had our first batch of eggs hatch. We used an incubator with an automatic egg turner. While we were able to maintain a temp of 97-99.5 for the most part, there was one morning where the incubator somehow got up to 111 degrees (at about day 14). We had 8 out of 11 eggs hatch, but only 5 survived. 2 chicks were born with yolk sacs still attached, and ended up bleeding out. The 3rd chick was born with an extra long neck that was bent at a 90 degree angle. My husband had to humanely dispatch the poor baby. What are we doing wrong? Are we missing some nutrition, improper incubator mechanics? It is breaking my heart to see the poor chicks die. I read that a lack of vitamin A can cause deformities. Will this also impact sac absorption? If so, how do I add more vit A to the hens diet?
 
what about the humidity level? If the yolk sac was still stuck to the chick I wonder if the humidity level was too low.

Also, what about the egg turner. Near the 19 day mark you are supposed to stop turning the eggs and leave the air sac up. Was this the case?
 

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