Here's the scenario:
I have been hatching chicks for over a year now with pretty good success once I got the hang of my incubators. I also have had the vast majority of my chicks make through their "childhood" with few failing to thrive. So, enter my latest hatch...
I bought 24 "BO" eggs from someone local. First clue that there was a problem should have been when one egg was so pale it was almost white, but alas, I overlooked the anomaly. I've been having a typically 85% or better hatch rate with eggs from the sellers I typically frequent, so you can imagine my surprise when I only had 12 of these non-shipped eggs make it to lockdown. Keep in mind I never purchased from this seller before. So, I had 3 chicks die in shell after pipping, and the other 9 hatched, two of which required help. (Again unusual occurrence at my house) Incubator temps did not spike or drop at any point, humidity was 65% during lockdown, no shrink wrapping.
Of the 9, 2 died within 2 days of unknown causes. Did I mention that one hatched out blue and another was brown, by the way?
So, that left 7. 2 more died of unknown causes before they reached day 4, leaving me with 5. This morning, one had wry-neck and died soon after I found it, and another is huddled with eyes closed sleeping pretty much constantly and has no interest in food or water. And finally, one more is moving around the brooder panting with it's wings low like my hens do when they are hot but the temp in the brooder is 93 degrees and the others are completely fine. I am using the exact same methods for these little ones as for countless others before, and the last two healthy chicks are eating, drinking, toddling around and pooping. They run from me actively when I reach in, so all is well with 2.... but what could have made almost an entire hatch of chicks fail to thrive??
I have been hatching chicks for over a year now with pretty good success once I got the hang of my incubators. I also have had the vast majority of my chicks make through their "childhood" with few failing to thrive. So, enter my latest hatch...
I bought 24 "BO" eggs from someone local. First clue that there was a problem should have been when one egg was so pale it was almost white, but alas, I overlooked the anomaly. I've been having a typically 85% or better hatch rate with eggs from the sellers I typically frequent, so you can imagine my surprise when I only had 12 of these non-shipped eggs make it to lockdown. Keep in mind I never purchased from this seller before. So, I had 3 chicks die in shell after pipping, and the other 9 hatched, two of which required help. (Again unusual occurrence at my house) Incubator temps did not spike or drop at any point, humidity was 65% during lockdown, no shrink wrapping.
Of the 9, 2 died within 2 days of unknown causes. Did I mention that one hatched out blue and another was brown, by the way?
So, that left 7. 2 more died of unknown causes before they reached day 4, leaving me with 5. This morning, one had wry-neck and died soon after I found it, and another is huddled with eyes closed sleeping pretty much constantly and has no interest in food or water. And finally, one more is moving around the brooder panting with it's wings low like my hens do when they are hot but the temp in the brooder is 93 degrees and the others are completely fine. I am using the exact same methods for these little ones as for countless others before, and the last two healthy chicks are eating, drinking, toddling around and pooping. They run from me actively when I reach in, so all is well with 2.... but what could have made almost an entire hatch of chicks fail to thrive??
