Pip!

[Mvan42]

Kind of sad. Out of 29 eggs at lockdown 19 made it to hatch day. One a late Hatcher couldn’t get out of its shell last night, it got turned away from the started zip and died before I woke up. . Another one died in the brooder. Not sure exactly what happened looked to have internal bruising around the umbilical area. One was extremely week eyes wasn’t opened for almost 12 hours but is now doing great. One has a small amount of stuff not absorbed but is doing great. It and the one that was week are still in the incubator. Below are pics of the rest.


One question: are they ok or is this to crowded? 15 in her two more will be added soon. 10 of them will be leaving as soon as the owners of the eggs I used are ready for them. Maybe a week from now.

 

[Mvan42]

Again a sad day. I had one die last night and two today. Not sure why. No external signs of any issues seemed healthy.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Again a sad day. I had one die last night and two today. Not sure why. No external signs of any issues seemed healthy.

Sorry to hear that you've lost some.

I do think the brooder may be a bit too small for the number you have in there. Is the temperature comfortable for them? When space is tight, it can be difficult for them to get away from it and they can overheat. They can also trample each other if crowded.

There are myriad reasons for chick mortality; sometimes, the (likely) cause just isn't determined. In addition to causes like overheating, chilling, improper feeding or watering, there are factors like breeder nutrition, disease, exposure to toxins...and many more.

Is there any chance the littles could be eating the straw? I'm skeptical that this is the cause, but I think it's worth ruling out.

 

[Mvan42]

Haven’t seen them eat any straw. They have medicated chick starter feed. Temp. Seems good they don’t crowd under the light a lot and are always moving around, most of the time they are spread out fairly evenly through out.