Please help! Several Late Deaths on hatch day.

[shellrae7]

Hi there, I have been experiencing a problem over and over with my last few hatches, and that is late death after internal pip.
I am wondering if there are any experts out there who can help me pinpoint what might be going on. I don't want to continue to have this problem, AND I haven't had it much in the past.

Today, I picked up some eggs that were due today and heard chirping, and felt movement. Candled them and they had internally pipped, but were in a strange position where it looked like they wouldn't be able to pip externally.
I have seen this several times, and waited, then lost the birds. So today I decided to help. I opend the air sac end of the shells and have found 2 healthy chirping chicks. I put them back to see if they can finish on their own.

I know that is a big no-no, but these are eggs from My Golden Cuckoo Maran and I can't afford to lose them as she hasn't been laying much at all.

Any and all suggestions would be very helpful! Thank you!

 

[shellrae7]

Anyone?? I am adding a post just to move this to the top again in the index.

 

[chicmom]

Well, I'm no expert but I'm sure somebody will come along.....Here's a bump for ya!

 

[hannakat]

Have you tested your thermometer and humidity gauge? Not an expert but so much seems to start with these two.

 

[madrooster]

i woukld say start with heat amd humidity, and go from there its always good to have 2 to 3 heat tstats just to make sure ur levels are right, if its not right on this could definitly be the problem upon lockdown. just my two cents

 

[debilorrah]

Have you calibrated your hygrometer? That's a good place to start. I had a bad one and hatch after hatch failed.

 

[dickhorstman]

I hesitate to give advice as the more I think I know the less I really know. My guess would be insufficient humidity. On the 18th day the air cell should consume about 1/4 of the egg. If it is much more than that you do not have enough humidity. If the air cell is small you have too much.

If you are using a thermometer with a stem fill a glass with small or crushed ice cubes and put as much cold water in as gthe glass will hold. The thermometer should read 32 degrees.

A good resource book is "A Guide To Better Hatching" by Janet Stromberg.

 

[scrambledmess]

From what I read, I thought during lock down you didn't mess with them at all. If you opened the bator after they pip, you could shrink wrap them in the egg. Maybe I read wrong, but that is what I thought.

 

[shellrae7]

Quote:
No, you are right for the most part... but like I said these are special birds, and they were dead anyway if I don't help, so I decided to help. So far they are wiggling and chirping alot, and yes they are shrink wrapped, so it will be a long night. My feeling is that it's not so much about whether they got out on their own, but that they struggle and gain strength in the process. So I am just peeling away a tiny bit every 3 or 4 hours just to encourage them and keep them fighting. I am also sprayinig the membrane w/ warm water every so often.

I won't hurry them out... just helping them along bit by bit usually when you get to the half way point the chicks who are shrink wrapped can get the rest of the way out.

I know it's heat and or humidity, but unfortunately I probably don't have the proper tools to tell. I have a hovabator 1588 and I've had perfect hatches all along, but then I put my 1602 in for a while which doesn't have the digital thermostat, and because my thermometer may or may not be accurrate, I have no idea if that's the problem. I decided to go back to the 1588 (Just have to switch lids) So that I KNOW the temp is right, and then keep monitoring humidity.

the air cells ARE pretty large, I had always thought that was a good thing. But I am getting internal pipping, and then no completion of hatch. They die. Are they suffocating? I just couldn't bare to let it happen again, so when I candled and saw they had pipped internally and could hear chirping and see movement, its' the end of day 21 so I decided I'm going in. I always try to wait til the next day, and inevitably they are dead every time.

I have a very staggered hatch , which could be the problem too, so the last few hatches have been this way.

Anyway, if anyone has any more suggestions, thoughts... that would be great.

Thanks!

 

[shellrae7]

:-(