Please HELP: Chicks die at end stages of hatching

[ManitobaQuail]

Hi, we have been hatching quail eggs for about 2 years now. In our past two hatches we found that there were MANY (30 out of 100 ish) chicks that die at the very last stages before hatching. We got 2 pipped and zipped but died before hatch, and about 28 that did not pip but seemed fully ready to hatch but didn't make it.

We didn't do anything different than what we were doing before - keeping the humidity between 35~40% before lockdown and around 65-70% during lockdown.

Our previous hatch rate hovers around the 75%-85%. But the past two hatches dropped to around 60%.

The past two hatches we incubated some shipped eggs and some eggs from our own quail, but doesn't seem to be a factor as it happened to both types of eggs.

Can someone please help? It's the worst thing to have to open eggs and see dead chicks inside

 

[DK newbie]

Not that I know much about it.. I've only hatched quail once. But since nobody else seems to have any ideas, I though I'd mention that I've seen someone on here say that eggs need a lot of oxygen just before hatching. Since you usually don't measure oxygen levels, I guess that's one thing that could have changed without you noticing. If something was standing in front of the vent holes or something..

 

[le_bwah]

I'm sorry the chicks aren't making it—losing little ones like that really hurts . Hopefully someone with more hatching experience than me will be able to give you some ideas as to what could be going on.

 

[feedman77]

There are several variables that could have effected your late quitters.
Heating/air conditioning changes in the house could effect the way the incubator reacts and may have created a temp spike or drop.
Nutrition and age of the birds eggs came from.
Gauges not reading correctly the last couple hatches.

I had a hatch like yours this year as well. Mine seemed to be humidity on the high side. After I shutdown heating with wood.

So I'm using the dry incubation method now. Should have some hatch on tues.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Hi, we have been hatching quail eggs for about 2 years now. In our past two hatches we found that there were MANY (30 out of 100 ish) chicks that die at the very last stages before hatching. We got 2 pipped and zipped but died before hatch, and about 28 that did not pip but seemed fully ready to hatch but didn't make it.

We didn't do anything different than what we were doing before - keeping the humidity between 35~40% before lockdown and around 65-70% during lockdown.

Our previous hatch rate hovers around the 75%-85%. But the past two hatches dropped to around 60%.

The past two hatches we incubated some shipped eggs and some eggs from our own quail, but doesn't seem to be a factor as it happened to both types of eggs.

Can someone please help? It's the worst thing to have to open eggs and see dead chicks inside

Has anything changed about the nutrition or care of the parent stock?

Have you re-checked your incubator has not started to wear out with separate, calibrated thermometers/hygrometers?

Hatching problems are the worst. I am sorry.

 

[007Sean]

Usually (DIS) in late stage of incubation is due to the nutritional deficiencies of the parent stock. If incubator problems have been eliminated, temp/ humidity then here are some of the nutritional issues that can cause death in late and early stages of incubation. Here are some of the vitamin and mineral deficiencies more closely associated with parent stock that can be attributed to (DIS). Both late and early deaths.

Vitamin A: Death at about 48 hours of incubation from failure to develop the circulatory system; abnormalities of kidneys, eyes and skeleton

Vitamin D: Death at about 18 or 19 days of incubation, with malpositions, soft bones, and with a defective upper beak prominent.

Vitamin E: Early death at about 84 to 96 hours of incubation, with hemorrhaging and circulatory failure (implicated with selenium).

Thiamin: High embryonic mortality during emergence but no obvious symptoms other than polyneuritis in those that survive.

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2): Mortality peaks at 60 hours, 14 days, and 20 days of incubation, with peaks prominent early as deficiency becomes severe. Altered limb and beak development, dwarfism and clubbing of down are defects expressed by embryo.

Niacin: Embryo readily synthesizes sufficient niacin from tryptophan. Various bone and beak malformations occur when certain antagonists are administered during incubation.

Biotin: High death rate at 19 days to 21 days of incubation, parrot beak, chondrodystrophy, several skeletal deformities and webbing between the toes. Perosis.

Pantothenic acid: Deaths appear around 14 days of incubation, although marginal levels may delay problems until emergence. Variable subcutaneous hemorrhaging and edema; wirey down in poults.

Pyridoxine: Early embryonic mortality based on antivitamin use.

Folic acid: Mortality at about 20 days of incubation. The dead generally appear normal, but many have bent tibiotarsus (long leg bone), syndactyly (fused toes) and beak malformations. In poults, mortality at 26 days to 28days of incubation with abnormalities of extremities and circulatory system.

Vitamin B12 : Mortality at about 20 days of incubation, with atrophy of legs, edema, hemorrhaging, fatty organs, and head between thighs malposition.

Manganese : Deaths peak prior to emergence. Chondrodystrophy, dwarfism, long bone shortening, head malformations, edema, and abnormal feathering are prominent. Perosis.

Zinc: Deaths prior to emergence, and the appearance of rumplessness, depletion of vertebral column, eyes underdeveloped and limbs missing.

Iodine : Prolongation of hatching time, reduced thyroid size, and incomplete abdominal closure.

Iron: Low hematocrit; low blood hemoglobin; poor extra-embryonic circulation in candled eggs.

Source / Reference: gallus.tamu.edu/Extensionpublications/b6092.

 

[ManitobaQuail]

Not that I know much about it.. I've only hatched quail once. But since nobody else seems to have any ideas, I though I'd mention that I've seen someone on here say that eggs need a lot of oxygen just before hatching. Since you usually don't measure oxygen levels, I guess that's one thing that could have changed without you noticing. If something was standing in front of the vent holes or something..

Thanks for sharing anyway No, there weren't anything blocking the vent holes. Do people measure/monitor oxygen level?

 

[ManitobaQuail]

There are several variables that could have effected your late quitters.
Heating/air conditioning changes in the house could effect the way the incubator reacts and may have created a temp spike or drop.
Nutrition and age of the birds eggs came from.
Gauges not reading correctly the last couple hatches.

I had a hatch like yours this year as well. Mine seemed to be humidity on the high side. After I shutdown heating with wood.

So I'm using the dry incubation method now. Should have some hatch on tues.

Interesting, dry hatch would not work in my area, at least not in the Spring. Might try that in the summer.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[ManitobaQuail]

Has anything changed about the nutrition or care of the parent stock?

Have you re-checked your incubator has not started to wear out with separate, calibrated thermometers/hygrometers?

Hatching problems are the worst. I am sorry.

Our own birds, no. The shipped eggs, not sure! I got them from a large quail farm in Ontario (one province East of where I am). We've gotten jumbo pharoah eggs from them before, but this is the first time we got mixed colour eggs. THAT could be why....there were some late hatches (the white ones, and the dark brown ones). But our own eggs seemed to have quit a day or two before hatch also... :/

 

[DK newbie]

Thanks for sharing anyway No, there weren't anything blocking the vent holes. Do people measure/monitor oxygen level?

No-no, never heard about anyone measuring it Just thought that if temp and humidity was the same, then it had to be something you don't measure - and people don't measure oxygen.