Problems hatching / sticky chick

[Liviepaigesmom]

Hi I just had my first hatch yesterday and all of my chicks were sticky of the 13 that hatched so far I have only 4 chicks and I'm guessing that will be down to three soon. The first four hatched and i left in the incubator like i believed i was supposed to . The next morning I woke up and noticed one of the chicks was basically dead. The other 4 struggling. I opened the incubator and took them out and they were the same as you described covered in wallpaper glue. So I washed them in warm water and blow dried them then. Put heated tea towels in the brooder. The next chicks to hatch I took out of the incubator as soon as they were standing and cleaned them the same way. I believe those are the chicks still living. I also had two hatch on the wrong side and die from what was like a hernia or bowel prolapse. They were extremely bloated and there insides were just coming out. I actually had to put one down it was so bad I could not just leave it to suffer. It was awful. I'm not sure I ever even want to do this again. I have a little giant still air incubator with an automatic Turner. I added very little water in the begining just a wet sponge kept the humidity pretty consistent at 48 to 53. I locked down the eggs on what I thought was day 18 but have since read bot to count the first day. I also have about 6 eggs that I added 3 days later because of an hour issue an picking them up. Temp was 100.9 pretty consistent entire time. On day 18 I removed the turner and added water. I had a very hard time getting humidity up regardless of how much water I added. Then the eggs started hatching and the humidity shot up to like almost 90%. Likeni said above I removed some sticky chicks about 24 to 28 hours after hatch and lost some but now I have three other eggs in there and I'm so stressed put about them having the same problems. I'm also concerned about what might be I guess a contaminated incubator after having lost chicks inside for whatever reasons there fluids and the fluids from the eggs and such but my only other incubator is one if those $10 7 egg incubators that I'm not sure works. If anyone has any advice I surely need it. It is not the happy days I thought it would be.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

On what day did they hatch? The easy way to remember it is, if they were set on a Sunday, they should hatch on a Sunday. 3 weeks would make 21 days.
Where do you live? What is your ambient humidity normally?
I suggest you need a more accurate thermometer and you probably kept it much too humid.

 

[Liviepaigesmom]

On what day did they hatch? The easy to remember it is, if they were set on a Sunday, they should hatch on a Sunday. 3 weeks would make 21 days.
Where do you live? What is your ambient humidity normally?
I suggest you need a more accurate thermometer and you probably kept it much too humid.

I live in maine. They set on Nov 3 and hatched dec 4 both were friday. Average humidity is 71%. The incubator stayed between 48 and 52% till day 18. Then I had a hard time getting it higher. I was able to get it and keep it at around 58 to 60 then it went really high when chicks started hatching. I'm going to buy another thermometer and humidity reader from tractor supply and I have one coming from online. I guess I'll give it another shot. I guess.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I live in maine. They set on Nov 3 and hatched dec 4 both were friday. Average humidity is 71%. The incubator stayed between 48 and 52% till day 18. Then I had a hard time getting it higher. I was able to get it and keep it at around 58 to 60 then it went really high when chicks started hatching. I'm going to buy another thermometer and humidity reader from tractor supply and I have one coming from online. I guess I'll give it another shot. I guess.

Don't. Don't buy any thermometer or hygrometer till you check out these. I'm sorry I wasn't forthcoming with this info earlier but I've been busy outside all day.
For years, I recommended the Brinsea Spot Check (bought from Brinsea so you know it is authentic as there have been knockoffs). It is accurate to within ± 0.2ºF.
I also love the speed and precision of the calibratable thermoworks RT301WA. Mine hasn't needed calibration. Accurate to ±0.9°F .
https://www.thermoworks.com/RT301WA
The newest one I recommend if you have a smart phone is the Govee Bluetooth H5074 thermometer/hygrometer. Both features are incredibly accurate.
https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Bluetooth-Temperature/dp/B07R586J37

Any thermometer or hygrometer from TSC or any retail outlet isn't guaranteed to be closer than 2 degrees plus or minus. And many I've seen are off by more than that. That isn't close enough for incubation.
You can get lucky and get an accurate one but when incubating, I don't wish for luck.
While you can calibrate most thermometers but not necessarily hygrometers, for the same price, you can choose one of the above that is accurate out of the box.
The #1 imperative for successful hatching knowing the precise temperature at all times.
If you don't have that information, it is constantly a guessing game - especially for determining the cause of failures.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I live in maine. They set on Nov 3 and hatched dec 4 both were friday. Average humidity is 71%. The incubator stayed between 48 and 52% till day 18. Then I had a hard time getting it higher. I was able to get it and keep it at around 58 to 60 then it went really high when chicks started hatching. I'm going to buy another thermometer and humidity reader from tractor supply and I have one coming from online. I guess I'll give it another shot. I guess.

Your humidity was too high.
Your temperature was probably OK if you are using a still air incubator and measuring at the top of the eggs.