Newborn chick with large amount of intestines outside body

[mamapeep]

I had a baby ameraucana hatch out yesturday with what looked like a yolk sack attached by a thread to a large amount of intestines. Poor baby did not survive but what caused this? Can it be avoided? The hatch was poor with only three out of 9 eggs hatching. Eggs were all different breeds. Come to think of it, last hatch only two out of 6 sultan eggs hatched but both babies were weak and they died. Is it the incubator (forced air Hovabator), the eggs or me?? Thanks.

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

I had one of these last hatch. A poor skinny JG that I had to cull out of mercy. This is from Florida University Hatchability study:

Sign: Unhealed navel; dry, rough down
feathers. Causes:
1. High incubator temperature or wide
fluctuations in temperature.
2. Low temperature in hatcher.
3. Humidity too high in hatcher or not lowered
when hatching complete.
4. Inadequate breeder nutrition.

Sign: Unhealed navel, wet, odorous; mushy,
large, soft-bodied, and lethargic chick. Causes:
1. Omphalitis (navel infection).
Contamination from dirty trays, unsanitary
machines or hatchery, dirty eggs,
inadequate egg sanitation or fumigation.
2. Low incubator temperature.
3. High incubator or hatcher humidity.
4. Inadequate ventilation.

So it could be anything. If you only have one with this problem = likely a problem with the laying hen nutrition/egg handling prior to incubation.
If you are having poor hatches I would recheck all your levels.

What went wrong with the unhatched chicks from your last poor hatches? Sometimes that can be a clue.

 

[mamapeep]

You know- I don't check very often because it makes me so sad. I guess I should in the interest of science.