Humidity has been constant, why are the chicks getting glued to the membrane?

[NickyPick]

The humidity has been constant at 84-87%, but I've had 3 chicks get glued to their membrane and they can't move. One, I got to in time, and was able to wet it down and remove the glued on portion and she got out really quick after that. One, I didn't get to in time, and she died. This morning, there's another. What gives????

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might want to look through these for help.

Shrink wrap photos.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=491421

Eggtopsy photos
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=363717&p=1

Are you talking about lockdown humidity or humidity throughout incubation?

To me, it sounds like your humidity was not right during the incubation phase. Humidity too low during the incubation phase can cause shrink-wrapping. Humidity too high can cause sticky chick.

There is a fairly wide range of humidity that works but the “right” humidity can be different for all of us. There are a lot of different things that can affect it. Just moving your incubator from one side of the room to another can change the microclimate that incubator is in. All I can suggest is to look at those threads and try to adjust your incubation technique for the next time. If you learn from your incubation attempts you will get better.

 

[NickyPick]

Lockdown. During incubation, I kept it at 48-53% humidity. Every 3 days, I'd come home from work and it would have dropped to 30%, so I'd add more water and it would go back up. We started lockdown Wednesday night and the humidity has been steady at 84-87%. 9 chicks hatched with no problems whatsoever, so I don't understand why 3 would have such problems.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That’s a whole lot harder to explain for sure. No wonder you’re not sure what’s going on.

Did you open the incubator during hatch? I know doing that does not cause shrink-wrap each and every time but it can occasionally.

Were the ones that hatched sort of soft or maybe just a bit late? That could be signs your humidity was a little high during incubation. Each egg can be different. For example, some hens may lay eggs with thicker whites than others for various reasons. The ones with thicker whites will lose moisture slower than the ones with thinner whites. Or maybe some egg shells were less porous than others. I know I’m grasping at straws for an explanation, but maybe your humidity was at the high end of the level you needed to use for those eggs. Maybe next time you could try dropping your humidity range maybe 5 degrees and see if that makes a difference.

I can’t explain it, just wish you luck on your next hatch.

 

[NickyPick]

Ok, well, I didn't open the incubator during lockdown until the first egg/chick was stuck with that dime size hole for over 18 hours, then grabbed her really quick. According to the monitor, the humidity didn't drop any when I did that. I didn't open it again until this morning, about 16 or so hours later to grab 2 - one was already dead and the other was moving; although, I'm not sure she's going to make it. During all that time, I had other eggs hatching away. They are a mixed bag - different hens, different breeds. I lost one of my best hens, so I was really hoping all of her eggs from the previous week would hatch, but it looks like only 2 did. They better not be boys!

I need to get the live chicks out, I think. It's been almost 48 hours since the first chick popped out and I'm not seeing any more pips on the remaining eggs. Could I get these chicks out and still keep the rest going? Or accept that this is it and toss the rest?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can take them out and leave the rest for a while if you wish. That thing about shrink-wrapping them does not happen that often and is probably worth the risk.

Your hatch is probably over though, especially if you don’t see any pips. You can always do the float test. Take any eggs that have not pipped and put them in a bowl of calm water, say around 100 degrees. If anything is alive in the egg, you’ll see it wiggling on the water pretty soon. Just put those back in the incubator. If they don’t wiggle, you’re done this time.

 

[BayGoose]

Could your hydrometer be off? Did you candle the eggs just before hatch and see the air cell? Throughout incubation, I like to keep my humidity in the 30s. I don't go into lockdown per se. I just up the humidity once I see the first external pip. Around 60%. Though I do leave the incubator alone almost always. If you need to open the bator, just add hot water. That'll restore the humidity very quickly. Just some suggestions.

To me, it sounds like either your hydrometer is off or the eggs didnt loose enough moisture over the course of incubation (too high humidity). You want a nice big air cell just before hatch.

What kind of incubator are you using? Hatching is a lot of trail and error. Tweak here and there till you see improvements in your hatch rates. Took me awhile and a lot of mistakes till I got the hang of it.