Please help me: Every chick dying during lockdown

[deerman]

After reading the post abt dry hatch (I'm using 2x stryofoam incubators) I have increased my hatch rate from 50% to 72% in just 3 hatches. I bought 10 eggs off eBay and had 100% live chicks. My humidity the first 18 days may drop to 15 or 18% then I add water and bring it up to 45%. When I am in lockdown, I don't open to add water to keep humidity at 65%. I take a meat baster, stick a flexible straw in the end and then put it down one of the holes in the top of the incubator. I then add hot water onto the sponges or into the water trays in the bottom of the bator.

Remember to leave your chicks in the bator for the 2-3 days once hatching starts. I would also check your thermo/hygrometer and make sure its accurite. If you had chicks hatching at 18 days, it sounds like its way off. That means the humidity could have been way too high and the chicks could have drown.

chicks should be removed after 24 hrs. rarely do i have hatch under 85% with humidity 60%

 

[spatulagirl]

To clarify a few things:

None of these eggs were mine. The next batch will be my eggs and their diet is flawless

I live in a super humid area. I think I have spoken to a few people who hatch all the time and the do only the dry hatch method. I thought I was doing that with keeping humidity low and then bumping it to 60%.

I am only trying hard now because the first two I didn't try hard at all and nothing hatched. So people told me I needed to try harder. So I did and I got two to hatch (late) and then I tried even harder this time and I got two to hatch (early) and then die.

Automatic turners turn every hour, so how is turning 3-5 times a day trying too hard?

I don't open the incubator during lockdown. I know that. I only opened it to pull the chick out on Day 18. I opened a corner and pulled it out, the top didn't come off of it.

So what I am hearing from people so far, is that I am not keeping it humid enough? None of the dead chicks are shrink wrapped, most of them are really really wet. I am going to open it up and take apart the eggs tomorrow to figure out what went wrong. I am not sure what I am looking for but I want to know what they always die during lockdown (as in nothing hatches).

 

[spatulagirl]

How do I calibrate the thermometer/hydrometer thing? I bought it at Home Depot; it is an Accurite.

 

[tellynpeep]

How do I calibrate the thermometer/hydrometer thing? I bought it at Home Depot; it is an Accurite.

I would buy another one or two. I have a hovabator and my temp and humidity were reading 99/ 17%. That didn't sound right, so I put another hygrometer/thermometer in that reads 100/42% Not even close!

 

[spatulagirl]

I am going to do the salt test tomorrow and buy the brinsea digital thermometer.

 

[deerman]

I would buy another one or two. I have a hovabator and my temp and humidity were reading 99/ 17%. That didn't sound right, so I put another hygrometer/thermometer in that reads 100/42% Not even close!

 

[SierraView]

Failed hatches are no fun

Quote:
I'm thinking your humidity is to high since you said your climate is very high humidity. I would try no water days 1-18 next time. At lock down when you add water don't add to much. You want it high but not so much that the view window is wet. If the view window is covered with moisture then it's to high. Seems so easy but it's really not. Once you get it right you got it, Kinda like riding a bike.

My climate is dry and start my lock down at 58%. It goes up to 65% when the chicks start hatching. I'm getting great hatches. Seems most people that have difficulties live in very humid climates.

When using shipped eggs it's hard to make judgments on incubator settings keep that in mind with any past or future hatches.

 

[cwalsh2]

I believe that if the chicks are not able to get out of the egg shell, your humidity was too high. If there is not sufficient shrinkage of the yolk due to evaporation, the chick can not move to chip its way out of the egg.Try the dry method. 24-35% should be fine for the first 18 days. Eggs that are shipped are often subject to very rough handling so 25% hatches can be good.I just had a batch with over half the air sacks unattatched.

 

[deerman]

no matter the humidity in your area.....what counts is what it is in your incubator. does sound like you need another meter. i use the Accurite , had one would read humidity max at 16% top , it was brand new.

I use a Oral thermometer to double check temp . only read the top temp. but works great. Human thermometer will check to the tenths.

Oh the Accurite are acurited to +/- 1 degree.....i have put two next to each other two different reading.

i have over 12 incubators i check high temp .of each with a human oral thermometer, the ones you have to shake down.

remember low temp. give poor hatch rate , high temp. will kill all.


anyway something is wrong.....need to check your accurite.....or its just guess work.

shipped eggs not best some have good results , but most don't.

 

[Farmin Momma]

I believe that if the chicks are not able to get out of the egg shell, your humidity was too high. If there is not sufficient shrinkage of the yolk due to evaporation, the chick can not move to chip its way out of the egg.Try the dry method. 24-35% should be fine for the first 18 days. Eggs that are shipped are often subject to very rough handling so 25% hatches can be good.I just had a batch with over half the air sacks unattatched.

Can you do a dry hatch with a forced air incubator or is that only with still air bators? Because my last hatch was the same as Spatulagirl's hatches. I had live chicks untill lockdown and then they all died before piping. They were fully developed, but still had not absorbed the yolk sacks. So for my current hatch I am keeping the humidity between 30 and 40% the temp ranges from 99.5 to sometimes 101. but never any higher. Does this sound about right? I am on day 13 I think (set on 4/17) and only had to remove 9 that were not fertle, but the other 21 all have bouncing babies in them.