How do you avoid shrink wrapping chicks

[Buck Creek Chickens]

so called 'shrink wrapping' is caused by to much moisture between the shell and membrane, so it not shrunk at all its loose then gets stuck when the chick hatches because the moisture in the egg is always higher than the incubator no matter what you do. what gets stuck is the 'white' that is left is on the chick/membrane and not absorbed because the humidity is to high and there is to much.

I know this will not be liked, but remember you are the chicky mama, mama hens do not sit on water/wet spots/wash rags and sponges, there is no way they can get that humidity up to even 50% much less more than that

also I open my 'bator just before/durning hatching all the time, I do not get so called shrink wraped chicks and never have

 

[youngjedi32002]

Quote:
Why would you not touch the chick? Like they said, if there are no other pips you can open quickly and statch that chick out and put it in the brooder. If there are pips....do not open.

It is okay to pick the chick up....give it as much time in the incubator to dry as you can first.

I just heard that you should not touch a wet or damp chick because you could damage them. If you saw how tight the eggs are in my incubator, you probably would understand my concern. I am just going to do my very best. Hopefully, one will be earlier than the others and I will make some room! The local farmer who gave us the eggs said he wanted to give us a better chance at getting at least 2 and no roos! If all 4 hatch, we will still only keep 2 and the others have homes lined up already! *fingers crossed*

 

[BawGock]

Quote:
I am in total agreement with what you're saying.
The only chicks that I have get "shrink-wrapped" did not dry down properly during the first 18 days of incubating.
The membranes are sticky and wet. When the chick zips completely, the top part of the egg is glued to the chick and ends up drying out and sticking to the chick.

Carolyn

 

[chics in the sun]

Quote:
That is very interesting info - thanks! My incubator is in the very back of my house, about 6 feet from the back door. I bet if I open the back door and let the warm, humid air in for a few minutes before I open the bator the humidity will barely change at all. I always wondered about the humidity thing when there is no way a broody mama hen can keep things THAT humid/ consitent 24/7.

 

[Whiskey Bay]

Quote:
This is a great thread, thanks for starting it. I have marked my eggs for turning purposes with a black sharpie - is that really bad? They aren't even my eggs, so I hope not!

I use Black sharpie's all the time with no problems.I keep one out in the bantam house to mark eggs as i pull them.I have very few of them that dont hatch.And so far none of my bantams have had any shrink wrap or other hatch issues.Have had them with shipped eggs,but we know how that goes...

 

[linker12]

We've hatched guineas but never chickens. The guineas were a piece of cake comparatively. I've got one live chick & 2 dead so far, out of 9. One died last night, my husband heard it pip in the night but when we got up it was dead with just a little hole and his beak out. The other chick was the same. Now I've got one lonely chick! I don't know what we're doing wrong. They are big eggs, and the chicks are big and look to be fully formed. The rest of the eggs are going on 23 days. Seems like if we had got to that chick when he pipped we could have gotten him out. Can chicks be too big?

 

[BawGock]

Quote:

What was your humidity during incubation?
Yes, chicks can be too big to hatch when the humidity was too high during incubation. The eggs do not dry down enough and the chicks grow into the space that is not taken up by the air cell. The air cell becomes quite large in a properly dried down egg and this leaves plenty of room for the chick to move so they can pip and zip.

Also, with an egg that isn't dried down enough the chicks my drown when they pip the air cell and are met with a face full of fluids.

Carolyn

 

[bgma]

so called 'shrink wrapping' is caused by to much moisture between the shell and membrane, so it not shrunk at all its loose then gets stuck when the chick hatches because the moisture in the egg is always higher than the incubator no matter what you do. what gets stuck is the 'white' that is left is on the chick/membrane and not absorbed because the humidity is to high and there is to much.


I know this will not be liked, but remember you are the chicky mama, mama hens do not sit on water/wet spots/wash rags and sponges, there is no way they can get that humidity up to even 50% much less more than that


also I open my 'bator just before/durning hatching all the time, I do not get so called shrink wraped chicks and never have

So what do you keep your humidity at during incubation and on lock down?