Why did it die???

[Jayare's Chicks]

Hello,
Can someone please tell me why my other eggs died? Sunday the 21st of October was day 21 for my 7 eggs in the bator and only 1 of them hatched. I had numbered the eggs when I got them and on day 18 my #4 egg I swear was rocking a little so I am almost positive it was alive then. On Sunday only egg #3 hatched and we named that one UNO. I just cracked open egg #4 (the 1 that was rocking on day 18) and it was fully developed but was dead. What happened to it???

When I set the eggs I placed them in the bator in a egg carton with the lid off the carton so the eggs were upright except for I had them tilted in there and when I rotated them every day I would just tip it to the other direction. On day 18 I took them out of the egg carton and laid them on their sides with the big end of the eggs up as much as possible. Do you suppose that since they were now kinda on their side instead of upright that they couldn't breathe because they may have been face down???

The next time I set eggs should I just keep them on their sides instead of having them in an egg carton? How does everyone else set their eggs in the bator? I was going to take a pic of the little dead one and post it here for you to see but I thought it was too morbid. I do still have the other 5 in the bator hoping that they were just late but I'm pretty sure they are dead also.

I'm so bummed out that the others didn't make it. I am getting some other little chickies tomorrow that are just a few days older than UNO so it has some playmates to keep it company while growing up.

Jayare

 

[speckledhen]

I've had that happen to at least one chick in each hatch, while others hatched perfectly fine. It could be that the chick was just too weak to break out or a number of other factors-so hard to pinpoint. I always have my eggs upright in a turner that tilts them side to side then on Day 18, I lay them in the hatcher on their sides. That's what most people do who use an auto turner. I doubt it had anything to do with that since it's standard procedure. Not much to do except try again! Sorry you only got the one, but at least you got the one.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

There are lots of articles on the problems of incubating. I don't have a link handy right this moment, but I will look.

I don't use egg cartons in my incubators, but I know people who do. They use the paper pulp ones and cut the bottom out of each cup to help circulate the air. You might try that next time.

Jean

 

[speckledhen]

Here is one link to hatching failure causes:
http://groups.msn.com/CHICKENCHRONICLES/troubleshootingforspecificincubatorproblemsbasic.msnw

So often, my situations don't seem to fit-yours had the yolk absorbed, right? I had two chicks, one with completely absorbed yolk that just didn't hatch and one with completely UNabsorbed yolk, both in the same bator. So what caused one couldn't have caused the other, probably.

 

[Jayare's Chicks]

The yoke sack seamed to be almost completely absorbed. There was what looked like green slime wrapped around the little chickie. Was that the membraine? This little one looked fully developed, had legs, beak, wings, feathers. Poor little thing.

Jayare

 

[speckledhen]

I've never seen actual green slime, but there is a membrane that covers the yolk. I know how you feel-mine was the same with no yolk remaining at all, just a perfect little guy that didn't hatch. Sometimes, we just never find out the cause, though. Just learn what you can and go forward.

 

[dlhunicorn]

This chart will help you perhaps in determining causes of incubation failures:
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs33.htm

 

[Jayare's Chicks]

I'm thinking it may have been inadacate turning of the eggs.
Next time I'll turn them a little more.

Jayare

 

[MaransGuy]

Hi Jayare,

It can take a while to figure out how to use your particular incubator in your conditions. I think it is important to only change one thing for each hatch in order to determine what is being done wrong. I made the mistake of changing too many variables, temp and humidity, at the same time and wound up fixing one problem but then creating another in the process. I know how frustrating it can be. I lost so many chicks right at hatching, some I paid $80 a dozen for, and I wanted to scream. Once you figure out what you have to do for your situation it is a lot more rewarding.

Richard