What Causes Apparently Healthy Peeps to Die?

[The Monkey Mama]

I'm mid-hatch on some Black Australorps. 9 of 12 eggs were fertile and completely developed.

They pipped slightly early yesterday [I was expecting the pips last night during the night and hatching today, they pipped yesterday early afternoon and started hatching around 8pm].

3 hatched before I went to bed and I moved them from the Hovabator [where I am incubating other eggs] to the Little Giant to dry out over night. LG maintained a temp of 99-100 [which is a miracle with that thing].

All 3 were very vigorous, peeping loudly, navels were good, they looked *perfect* and healthy.

I woke up this morning and went to check on them and one had died, one looks like it is going to die any minute, and one looks healthy still. 2 more hatched over night and seem very healthy, and 4 more are trying to hatch.

What would cause healthy appearing chicks to die after hatching? These eggs have had pretty stable temps [some slight variation of about 2 degrees 99.5-101.5] and stable humidity in the Hovabator.

I'm just trying to figure out what I've done. I've had a bad run of hatches lately mostly due to temp fluctuation, but with this batch I kept them out of the Little Giant completely [my temp problem child] to try to prevent that....

I have to figure out what I'm doing to keep killing these poor chicks.

Thanks for any insight.

Kelly

 

[swtangel321]

Some chicks just fail to thrive and arent stong enough to make it !! So sorry for your loss

What is the temp and hum in the bator you put them in to dry ?

Did you have the vent plugs open in that bator ?

Are these your eggs or shipped eggs ?

 

[hinkjc]

Are you saying you put the chicks into an incubator to brood? I just want to make sure I understand that correctly. My guess would be either the LG was hotter than you think or lack of ventilation for live peeps. I often hear horror stories about LGs and how the temp reads 99 on one spot and 105 at another. I'm so sorry they died.

Jody

 

[The Monkey Mama]

I put them in the Little Giant just overnight to dry - maybe 7 hours. I put them in my brooder box this am first thing. [5am!]

I had the vent plugs out, the temp was reading 99-100. I had the incubator dry to try to help dry them - maybe that was bad?

They are shipped eggs.

I am just trying to figure out what I did wrong so I never do it again.

For one, I am getting rid of that Little Giant, period. It is gone - I've lost so many chicks to that rotten thing. It just makes me want to cry.

Kelly

 

[Rufflemyfeathers]

I thought from what I have read that when they hatch that they are suppose to stay in incubator for 24-48 hours before moving..I am new at this but am I wrong or what..cause from what I understand you saying is that your chicks hatched last night and you moved it last night right away to an other place to dry. Was it something you normally do and was ok before? Good luck..I got my first eggs hatching this weekend.



Quote:

 

[hatchaholic]

Sorry, Kelly.

 

[The Monkey Mama]

Yes - I have moved them lately because I have other eggs in that bator and I don't want the newborn chicks getting them goopy or breaking them by stumbling around on them.

This has worked the last 2 hatches, but this time it went bad.

Kelly