Oh it was awful. I am seriously traumatized. I had so many problems with so many different reasons.
Many of the chicks drown in their shell. I did eggtopsies and realized (with some research) that my humidity was too high throughout the incubation. It was at 50%, which I wouldn't think was too high, but they showed EXACTLY what happens with high humidity - piped internally but not externally, couldn't turn around, jelly-like substance, heads at the small side of the shell (despite incubating in a tuner) - all the signs of high humidity.
The chick in question was fine, and others like it. I have learned that the pic I showed is most likely normal membranes. Because...there were 2, at the end, that were shrinkwrapped and it did NOT look like this. Now, unfortunately, I know that when they say the membrane is stuck to the chick, it is STUCK to the chick like glue. I had to take the chick, shell and all, and run it under warm water and rub the membrane off the feathers. It was bad. Really. Really. Bad. Stomach turnign bad.
I have never had such a bad hatch. In the end the hatch rate was 38% on shipped eggs, but I have always done better than that. I am incubating again at a lower humidity, 35-40% and I will kick it up to MAYBE 50% at the end. I don't know. I just am so confused at why this hatch was all over the place and soooooo bad. I did open the incubator, but not alot, and the humidity stayed high so I don't know why those chicks were shrinkwrapped. 5 chicks died after the hatch, so I wondering if there is something genetic going on. (They aren't Araucana, which can have some death after hatch.)
I had already ordered more eggs, but if they weren't already on their way, I would not incubate for a LOOONG time. That was rough. I am hatching right now at a lower humidity and I am not opening the top at lockdown even if a chick knocks on the incubator window and flashes a $20 bill at me.
Sorry for the bad news. My lesson and good news in this:
#1 - The pic above is NOT shrinkwrapping, IMO.
#2 - I am going to go against the majority of people who focus on humidity, humidity, humidity and trust a few people who have told me lower humidity is the way to go.
#3 - We have a Jesus chicken who was in that hatch and was DEAD or at least 99% dead for 2 days. I let it be, let it lay there not moving or even opening its eyes, couldn't cull it, and on Easter it was up and walking around eating and preening.
I do think marans are different because our orps and EEs will hatch with good percentages and the marans in the same batch won't.
