sticky chicks??????

[lil'turkeymama]

Hello folks,I'm new here and had a question/comment about what I call 'sticky' poults from a incubator.I might watch mine too close but I have seen poults peck out and be covered with a extra slimly/sticky coating???I took one today and washed him,shell and all,under warm water and put him back in the incubator.It hatched on out great 2 hours later.I'm not sure if helping one out of it's shell is better or not,but I do know the ones i didn't help didn't make it .I wonder if was something tried before or something new.Thanks

 

[CoopCrazy]

Sounds like you need to check your humidity .. There is a thread at the top of the "incubating section" that will tell you what humidity you need... All chicks will be sticky when they come out of the egg they have been inside their with yolk and liquid for a long time.. How long after hatching do you notice they are wet??? They will stay wet and sticky for upto an hour or so after that if they are still sticky then your humidity is too high... I also would caution you not to open the bator during the last three days as you can literally shrink wrap a chick in the egg... I am amazed that the chick you rinsed is still alive as I would think that would drop their body temp too low... Your humidity needs to stay pretty close to perfect htose last three days and anytime you open the bator you lose some.... Good luck

And

 

[lil'turkeymama]

Thanks for the welcome.I don't know the humidity is in mine and I'll to go read some more to figure it out.
As for the little washed poult,its still in the incubator right now.Its only been 24 hours since it completely got out of its shell and it had been just setting and not pecking out for over 6 hours before I washed it.I've done it before and they were OK.it has to be done fast and the water has to be really warm.I've been hatching turkeys for about 5 years and I always have some that don't hatch.The more I hatch the most I want to hatch.I want them all to hatch.lol.again thanks

 

[OmaBird]

Some people use the word sticky chick to mean different things. Thats why I did not respond when I first read your post. Are you talking the guey (how do you spell it?) chicks that do not fluff up after they hatch or the chicks that stick to the shell?

I like alot of folks here can't spell worth a darn. Sorry!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Your humidity was to high, check the thread CoopCrazy recommended.

Steve

 

[lil'turkeymama]

Thanks everyone,for the replies.I wasn't sure but I figured it was the humidity.The chicks are so tacky,sticky if left to dry is like superglue.Its clear and will get extremely hard fast.I had lots of chicks hatch out normal and this just isn't normal.I've also found out if you do get the chick before it dries and don't wash it off it takes forever for them to fluff out.I am still confused somewhat about how to check the humidity,but I'm learning.

 

[Roxannemc]

Im not sure about all sticky chicks being humidity. keep my humidity the same Each hatch 10 now and this is my first s ticky chick 3 chicks before it were fine not sticky at all humidiity as usual 68 to 70

 

[Debbi]

Go buy a hygrometer and stick it in the incubator, that will tell you the level of your humidity. You can buy them online, (Ebay or chicken sites), or even at some Wal-Marts or cigar stores. Pay a bit more and get a good one! There are links on here on how to calibrate them to make sure they are acurate. Six hours for a chicken to hatch is nothing, not sure yet how it goes with turkeys. I've had chicks take 20 or more hours to hatch on their own. When you "help" them out too soon, you may end up killing them, it takes time for them to absorb the yolk and if you rush that, it is not good for them. Unless the chick is struggling, and you can see dried, yellow membrane, (that is when they will shrink wrap), then leave them alone. Before you try to help them out, try bumping up the humidity for a bit and that may help them. Everyone has their own formula with hatching, with different levels of humidity. I have found a lower humidity during the first 18 days (chickens here now), of about 30% is good for the growth and grows a decent sized air cell for them. Then during lockdown, I bump the humidity up to about 55%. If they look like they are struggling at that level, I bump it up to about 60-65%. It's all a matter of what you are hatching, and what works for you. I can honestly say, that I have learned something new with every hatch, so just keep hunting and pecking! Go to the Incubation threads on BYC, and you will find a vast amount of knowledge and different ideas to help you along. Good luck!

 

[lil'turkeymama]

Wow,old thread,new posts.Cool.I do check my humidity better now but I still have the crazy glue-like sticky turkey poult every now and then.I have never seen a chicken like that.This is not the normal wet,just hatched type.To me those are not sticky,just wet.These are like they were covered in gorilla glue right before they pipped.Its not a shrink-wrapped.The ones I have noticed and washed have all done fine.The ones I watched pip and then waited way too long to check on didn't make it out of the shell.I agree about you really have to be careful when you help any chick out of the shell.Most of the time it just takes awhile for them to get zipped after they pip.One way I know when I can safely help one is when the blood vessels right inside the shell no longer are carrying blood.If you peel back a shell or membrane and it bleeds,most likely the yolk sac has not been completely absorbed.When they are ready to come out of the shell it will not bleed when you peel/pull back the inside membrane.Turkey poults are so big they sometimes have a hard time turning in the shell to make a good zipping.I watch for pips and time each one and after so long if its peeping alot but not zipping well I will help alittle at a time.I never have just pulled a poult from the shell.I help but still let it get out on its own as much as possible.I'm so glad there are folks here to help us all when we need it.It can be really scary not knowing what to do when you encounter a problem and its great to have this place to come to for good,sound advice.

 

[RobG7aChattTN]

I'm in the middle of dealing with this right now. I've read that sticky chicks are usually from humidity being too low but the batch I hatched just a week ago using the exact same temperature and humidity popped out of their eggs perfectly. This batch had several that did well but a few that seemed to be glued in their shells. I think the big difference is that these were from eggs that were stored for a lot longer before I bought them and I really don't know what the conditions were. I have a feeling that the eggs got dehydrated in storage. The one chick I just pulled out and put in the brooder with the other chicks. I have a feeling that's the chick that seems to have trouble staying upright. I helped two more out the next morning (this morning) and rinsed them with warm tap water and dried them off. I then put them back in the incubator to make sure that they stay warm and don't get run over by the older chicks in the brooder. These guys weren't getting out of their shells on their own. It looked like they were pretty much glued in place and my hands felt like they were coated in rubber cement afterwards.