Questions for the incubation guru's

[chickchickchiky]

Ok i just hatched out 6 silkies out of 17 eggs that made it to lock down. I know they were all alive and well when i locked them in so what went wrong? the first hatched just fine no problems the second one hatched early and had not absorbed the yolk sac and ended up popping it in the incubator. I ended up having to remove him and then it died. After that i had 2 zipped and they never got passed the zipping so at that point i had to intervene after the second day of not hatching! So i helped those 2 out they survived and were ready to come out i think i waited too long cause now one of those is like a dummy chick and the other has splayed legs

Had more pips so i waited and waited and nothing one even pipped and died the rest i helped out and only 6 are alive now including the dummy chick 2 have splayed legs and only 2 hatched on their own.

Humidity was between 50 and 65% temp was 38 cel so what went wrong? I did eggtopsi the other ones and a couple had not absorbed 2 did but never pipped i am soo confused at this point that even though i got the best hatch yet (this was try number 3 for me) I think i just can't figure this out. There was a rise in humidity over the weekend due to rain so could that have contributed?

I am soo feeling like giving up on this incubation and leaving it to the experts the broodies lol

 

[NYREDS]

Not sure what a dummy chick is but the splayed legs chicks arean example of why it's not a good idea to "help" chicks hatch. Nature knows best & IMO the best thing to do is let nature decide if a chick should hatch or not.
As to your difficulty with this hatch there may not be a simple answer. Humidity may have been too high: 65% is higher than what I find works best for me & if there was spike on top of that???? Fully formed chicks not hatching Or pipped & not hatching is often a result of humidity problems. However, genetics could also be part of the problem.
Bad hatches happen from time to time. I've hatched thousands & have occasionally had a bad hatch. Sounds like you're careful & thorough hatcher. Keep being careful & thourough & I'm sure you'll have many successful hatches.
That said. broody hens can't be beat. I use them whenever I can.

 

[chickchickchiky]

Thanks and i agree i tried and tried not to help but they were doomed after i had to remove the other one that popped its yolk sac he went from pip to zip in 20 min and was not absorbed. The one i call the dummy chick is standing and seems ok but just stands there with it's head down and won't eat or drink so i don't think it's going to make it. The sad part of that is that chick is the best looking one of the bunch. I found how i can fix the splayed legs so that's cool so we will see how they go.