Paritally zipped and then die?

[ladyfaeden]

I came home to find 8 of my 15 eggs hatched and 4 more zipping. One of the zipped eggs does not appear to be moving at all and the feathers and membrane look kind of dry compared to the other 3 that are zipping and moving. I have not opened the incubator and the humidity was at 66 when I got home. I just used a probe through a air vent to tap it and there was no movement. What would cause a chick to get so close to hatching and then die?

 

[Kelly G]

Sometimes - even when everything goes right with the humidity- some don't make it. Even with perfect humidity, if a chick takes too long to hatch, the membrane can dry and the chick can be "shrink wrapped."

Usually this is because the chick wasn't strong enought to make it out of the shell...and if it wasn't strong enough to make it out of the shell, it wouldn't have survived/thrived as a chick.

It's disappointing and sad...but even humans - with all our tehnology - don't have a 100% survival rate with our births.

I have assisted a few chicks with the hatching (when I've caught them struggling to hatch), but it usually hasn't gone well...they survive "infancy" but are usually gone by POL. Now, I really stand back and let nature take its course.

It actually sounds like you've had a pretty successful hatch!! Congratulations!!