OK so why did they get stuck??????????

Germaine_11.20

Songster
10 Years
Jun 6, 2009
4,497
26
221
Idaho
Yesterday I had chicks hatching out. I had about 22 in the incubator.

I had sponges filled with water, troughs all filled and the humidity was between 85 at the best and 78 at the worst. The vent was open.

15 chicks hatched out perfectly. Then 5 stuck.

I NEVER opened the incubator either, but I could see that a few had pipped and then got stuck.

I just don't understand why? Has this happened to you?
 
i haven't get this problem. since i only set 2 times only.

maybe they're resting now to collect energy to break those shell.

if you still keep them, good luck for them and you.
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I had to help them out. I am not sure if they will make it or not. One has died, one is doing great and the other 3 just got a bath to get all the gunk off. They are back in the bator drying off. Don't look so good.

But why did they get stuck?

I never opened the incubator and the humidity was 78 at the end. With all those chicks hatching the humidity was great.
 
Ive had that problem too, and I think what happens is that when you have the humidity so high at the start of the hatch, once they start hatching, the humidity will go up even higher, with all those wet babies in there. I found if I start with the humidity much lower at the start of the hatch they do better thruout the hatch.

I have far more problems with too much humidity rather than not enough. Best hatch I ever had was when I mis-counted days by a full week, and had a hatch in the incubator with the turner. Every single one hatched and was perfect. Humidity wasn't any higher than about 35 to start, but I think once they started hatching, the humidity went up to where nature intended it to be.
 
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Thank you! That does make sense. It is amazing the things we find out by accident.

I thought I had done everything right and then I get humbled again.

I appreciated your wisdom and help. Thanks!
 
Yea I've had this problem too! Can't figure it out. The first eggs hatch out just fine no problem and then the later chicks seem to have trouble getting stuck which makes no sense cuz by then you think the humid should be plenty high. Maybe halos on to something - too high humidity! I was thinking maybe I had humidity too high day 1-18 so halfway thru my last hatch I changed to dry incubation (first time) First eggs hatched fine and the last 2 seemed to get stuck
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Good question!

And I did the dry hatching method this time too. Much better hatch rate.

I really did not want to try this, but I was frustrated with my hatch rates. Living in this dry climate here I was sure it would mean the death of the chicks.

What I had failed to read in the dry incubating article (I do that sometimes) was that the humidity for his dry hatch averaged about 40%. When I read that I changed my mind and decided to try it.

I found that even despite the dry climate here, the humidity in the incubator ran about 30% without any water added at all. So every once in a while I would add just a bit of water. Then I would forget about it for a few days.

I had the highest viability rate of live embryos making it to the lockdown stage than I have had since my first hatch when I hatched out my own RIR's.

It really surprised me and made me a believer in the dry hatch method.

Now to just figure out what humidity to hatch them out at...
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