Please Help, chicks are hatching but dying!!

[Shellyb]

I have my first broody Easter Egger hatching out chicks. I went to the coop before work and could hear the chicks chirping from within the eggs, I did a quick look but left all untouched. I came home and found one dead on the floor of the coop with a non feathered very read tummy. Then another one in the nest box with mama but not under her at all. It was cool to the touch but breathing. I did a quick setup with a heat lamp and held it in my hands under the lamp for warmth, put in a stronger bulb, and left it under that. But I went to check a little while later and it had died. It had some of the shavings dried to it's body (wish i knew or thought to switch them out for something else but don't want to move the eggs and mama now to do it). What could be happening? Thanks in advance. Shelly

 

[mljohnson05]

the one with the red belly...there could be a chance that the mommy hen id kicking them out, or picking at them (perhaps they were sick to start with, or she is just being a mean mommy)...I would try to see how she is treating them, and check all the chicks Vents for pasting, or any other illness.

 

[Shellyb]

Well i don't know what happened to those chicks, but i checked on mama at 5:30 am and found two healthy babies, YEAH!! One all fluffy and super cute and the other still a little wet but MOVING unlike the other i found. Then today after i got home at 7pm, I found them to be doing well with another buddy or two (hard to tell how many are under her). She's still got some eggs under so don't want to move things around too much. Just wanted to give an update for anyone who had read this. The chicks are super friendly too, which i don't know what that's about but i'm going to start hand feeding them tomorrow. All was right in the world this morning waking up to those healthy fuzzy butts.

 

[mljohnson05]

I am so HAPPY tht the other are doing good...Most likely they few that died where kicked out cause mama hen knew that they were sick (sort of a natural selection)...Congrats, an Please post pictures for me

 

[Taylor]

happened to me once i hatched close to 100 quail eggs and they all hatched but like 3 and they all died except about 9 or so, i dunno what it was but that was a waste of eggs the way i saw it. and another time i had a turkey hatch off some baby turkeys and 10 hatched and in a few hours when i went back to check on them there were 3 left, they just disappeared!