Lost my entire hatch!

[hilltopchicks77]

So first time Hatcher here. We did a set of 4 eggs which all turned out to be infertile. I put a second set of 6 in on day 7 of the 4. 5/6 had great signs. I tossed the 4 on their day 14 (cracked them open none were developed). One day 14 for the set of 6 my husband found 2 eggs he though were good and stuck them in as well. 2 days later there was a horrible smell and I realized those 2 eggs weren’t good and tossed them. One popped when I did. On day 21 I had 1 hatch in the evening and 2 pip. In the morning I had 3 chicks in the incubator and 3 eggs (1 I was fairly sure was bad). 2/3 chicks were dry and getting around great so I took them out of the incubator and put them in the brooder on paper towels. I don’t have a thermometer in there but I’ve been incubating a few batches of chicks for 3 months now. It’s hotter on one side colder on the other. The third chick had a piece of shell stuck on it which was why I left it. Chick 2 died suddenly that morning. It seemed lethargic with labored breathing then died. That night I took out #3 it seemed so much stronger than #1. At this point both were eating and drinking but 1 was lethargic. We cracked the remaining eggs to see if we could tell what went wrong. 1 was infertile like I guessed. The other 2 had developed to day 14-17 I’m guessing based on some charts I found. Last night (24 hrs after hatch) both chicks died. Not sure what happened as it was when I was asleep.
I did some reading and I’m guessing bacteria from the bad eggs killed the 2 developing ones and maybe the other 3 caught whatever when they hatched? Any other ideas? Would love to eventually hatch again and I don’t want to make whatever mistake I made here again.

 

[ronott1]

So first time Hatcher here. We did a set of 4 eggs which all turned out to be infertile. I put a second set of 6 in on day 7 of the 4. 5/6 had great signs. I tossed the 4 on their day 14 (cracked them open none were developed). One day 14 for the set of 6 my husband found 2 eggs he though were good and stuck them in as well. 2 days later there was a horrible smell and I realized those 2 eggs weren’t good and tossed them. One popped when I did. On day 21 I had 1 hatch in the evening and 2 pip. In the morning I had 3 chicks in the incubator and 3 eggs (1 I was fairly sure was bad). 2/3 chicks were dry and getting around great so I took them out of the incubator and put them in the brooder on paper towels. I don’t have a thermometer in there but I’ve been incubating a few batches of chicks for 3 months now. It’s hotter on one side colder on the other. The third chick had a piece of shell stuck on it which was why I left it. Chick 2 died suddenly that morning. It seemed lethargic with labored breathing then died. That night I took out #3 it seemed so much stronger than #1. At this point both were eating and drinking but 1 was lethargic. We cracked the remaining eggs to see if we could tell what went wrong. 1 was infertile like I guessed. The other 2 had developed to day 14-17 I’m guessing based on some charts I found. Last night (24 hrs after hatch) both chicks died. Not sure what happened as it was when I was asleep.
I did some reading and I’m guessing bacteria from the bad eggs killed the 2 developing ones and maybe the other 3 caught whatever when they hatched? Any other ideas? Would love to eventually hatch again and I don’t want to make whatever mistake I made here again.

It is impossible to know for sure without a necropsy. Here in California you can send in two birds a day and for about $20.00 They will come up with a cause of death.

https://cahfs.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/locations/davis-lab

Some other states have a similar service

 

[hilltopchicks77]

It is impossible to know for sure without a necropsy. Here in California you can send in two birds a day and for about $20.00 They will come up with a cause of death.

https://cahfs.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/locations/davis-lab

Some other states have a similar service

I already buried them :/ was just hoping someone had a guess off of that

 

[ronott1]

I already buried them :/ was just hoping someone had a guess off of that

There are way too many things that can do that sadly.

There may have been something in the flock that the eggs came from, It could be a very bad strain of coccidosis, and it could be different types of bacteria. It could also be due to temperatures in the brooder

Try to control for all of those things and see how the next hatch goes.

I am very sorry that you lost them! It is devastating

 

[hilltopchicks77]

There are way too many things that can do that sadly.

There may have been something in the flock that the eggs came from, It could be a very bad strain of coccidosis, and it could be different types of bacteria. It could also be due to temperatures in the brooder

Try to control for all of those things and see how the next hatch goes.

I am very sorry that you lost them! It is devastating

Thanks I think I feel the worst for my kid. She was so excited about them.

 

[ronott1]

Thanks I think I feel the worst for my kid. She was so excited about them.