Questions about this past weekend's bobwhite hatch

[QChickieMama]

So far, I've had 50% hatch. Is that good, bad, OK?

Two of the last 3 chicks to hatch have curled feet (they hatched on day 26). They're spunky and motoring around the brooder, but their feet aren't straightening. What might be the cause? Should I cull them or can they compensate?

Similar to above question, one other chick has splayed legs. He still gets around and seems otherwise fine. Cull or let be?

Why would it be that chicks are still hatching on Day 26? Could my thermometer be off a tad? I kept this batch at 99-100 degrees and 54-60% humidity until lockdown.

 

[jenjscott]

On what day did the others hatch? With some on time and some late, you have to suspect cold spots in the incubator. I have had some with curled feet do fine , splay leg usually do not. You can try to fix the curled feet by taping them out on something flat. Splay leg sometimes you can tape the two legs together (with a little space between) but sometimes the splay is so severe it doesn't do any good. The earlier the better. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. If these were shipped eggs, that is probably acceptable, but on the low side from my experience.

 

[TwoCrows]

Crippled feet are usually due to improper incubation temps. I always use 2 thermometers for comparison. Many times hot spots in the incubator will cause feet issues. Does your incubator have a fan installed?

You can tape up the chick with the splay leg...

http://poultryhelp.com/spraddle.html

Many times these chicks do well after they build up their leg muscles. As far as the curled toes, they will probably heal up on their own.

Good luck with your babies!

Oh, edit to add: 50% hatch is fairly normal for your own collected eggs. If you received shipped eggs, than that is really good.

 

[QChickieMama]

On day 23, I think we had 5 chicks hatch. Maybe 14 on day 24; maybe 14 on day 25, 5 on day 26, and 1 more on 27. I had unplugged the incubator on day 27, and that last one still hatched and is thriving.

My incubator does have a fan installed, but it's not working. I want to find someone around here who can repair it for me before setting a new batch. I rigged a way to add water to tray w/o opening the incubator, so I was really hoping that this would help my hatch rate.

Two thermometers is a good idea, only I'm not sure what I'd do if they varied. Take the average?

The eggs are mine. I set 81 and got 39.

 

[jenjscott]

With a hatch like that and no fan I would definitely say temperatures varied in different areas of the incubator. If measuring at the top of the egg, I run it a little hot. There is a greater difference with chicken eggs, but you would be amazed how the air stratifies and how much difference there can be from the top to the bottom. I frequently have foot problems is I have late hatchers.