Yolk Sac still attached, is it genetic?

[CastfamFarm]

This year we hatched quite a few Barred Rock Bantams out with no issues and overall great results. As the summer went on we decided we would like to try hatching a few of our Buckeye eggs from our small flock. So we started off late in the season and really just setting our first batch about 6 weeks ago. We set around 80 eggs or so (including some more Barred Rocks) and of that only had about 20 that matured past the second candling. Of those 20 eggs only 8 remained that looked promising to hatching (all were buckeye).

My children and I went away on vacation for a week they were supposed to hatch, and the farmer husband stayed behind. While we were gone 5 of the eggs hatched, and only 1 was born normally. The other 4 were all born with their yolk sacs not absorbed. Sadly none of them made it. The one that was born normally was from a set of eggs a friend gave us, and survived until we had an attack in the brooder.

Fast forward to now 2 weeks later and it's time for the next set of eggs to hatch. Two started pipping through yesterday afternoon and this morning finally broke through their shells. One was doing well, and had gotten himself out and was very perky. The other was only about half out of his shell and not doing well at all. I checked on them and come to find that the one that's out and perky has a nice yolk sac still attached. The one that is still in his egg I'm not sure if he does or not, but I gave him the same treatment as the one with his out. I put them both in a warm damp paper towel and set them in a coffee cup. After much reading here I've also put a towel over the top of the incubator windows to help keep it as dark and calm in the incubator as possible. I'm not sure if these littles will make it but I'm going to try my hardest.

What are we doing wrong? Could it very well be our breeding stock? I'm not sure how old of birds they are as they were my dad's and he passed away in January. I know he had raised quite a few chicks from them over the last two years before his passing, but I'm not sure if they are all the same hens or if he had had more before these that were left when he passed. At the time of his passing I wasn't overly interested in any of his breeding flocks so I didn't ask all the questions I'd love to ask him now.

We started off this hatching year with great success and now I'm feeling a bit like a failure. Our fertility has turned to complete crap (which I always remember dad saying it did, so I don't feel like that's my fault), the few eggs we do have that are fertile seem to die along the way, and now the VERY FEW eggs we have that make it to hatching day are being born with their yolk sacs intact. AND It's only happening in our Buckeye's. Any suggestions, thoughts would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

 

[Pyxis]

What is the temperature in your incubator? The humidity? Is your incubator still air or forced air? Can you (carefully) take a picture of the unabsorbed yolk sacs?

In a coffee cup is a good idea, but remove the damp paper towel as that can chill them. Also, if they are out of their shells, tucking them back into the bottom of their shells helps protect the yolk sac and prevent it from rupturing.

 

[Kiki]

You could put the unabsorbed ones in a cup to keep them contained until they absorb it and away from other ones that may peck at it. You very well may not have too good of a breeding parent stock. You should feed the parents extra protein, vitamins and minerals for a while before trying to hatch their eggs again.

I will come back and attach a few articles for you to read about how important diet in the parent stock really is.

 

[CastfamFarm]

I'm not quite sure what the humidity is, because we don't have a way to monitor that. It's an older still air incubator that we normally run right around 99.5-101 or so.

I'm attaching a few pics of the sac after sitting in the cups with the paper towels for about 4 hours. I didn't think to take a picture before but they do seem to look a little better. In the one picture s/he pooped right before I took the picture.

We feed our breeding stock a mixture of layer feed with fancy scratch grains mixed in. More layer feed than corn/milo mixed.

 

[BlueShadow]

Hi there, I am glad to see you are getting good advice.

Were any of the chicks with the unabsorbed yolk sacs the eggs from my flock? Or were they all from your dad's birds?

 

[CastfamFarm]

The one that made it was from your flock.

 

[CastfamFarm]

So after talking with @BlueShadow some more I think it very well could be a feed issue in our breeding stock. I wonder if this will effect all the other eggs. As much as I don't want to do it, would I just be better off culling these and not putting them through the misery? Is it even possible to save them once they hatch? Is there very good success rate of saving them and them growing up to live a normal healthy life to use as breeding stock?

 

[Kiki]

I'm not quite sure what the humidity is, because we don't have a way to monitor that. It's an older still air incubator that we normally run right around 99.5-101 or so.

I'm attaching a few pics of the sac after sitting in the cups with the paper towels for about 4 hours. I didn't think to take a picture before but they do seem to look a little better. In the one picture s/he pooped right before I took the picture.

We feed our breeding stock a mixture of layer feed with fancy scratch grains mixed in. More layer feed than corn/milo mixed.

Corn is no good in my book there is usually already enough of it in the feed itself, I'd never add extra.
Here are a couple of good reads:
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/17469/pnw477.pdf
http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production
http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/expert_system/poultry/Breeder Management.html

 

[Kiki]

So after talking with @BlueShadow some more I think it very well could be a feed issue in our breeding stock. I wonder if this will effect all the other eggs. As much as I don't want to do it, would I just be better off culling these and not putting them through the misery? Is it even possible to save them once they hatch? Is there very good success rate of saving them and them growing up to live a normal healthy life to use as breeding stock?

You could try Nutri Drench close after they hatch.
I would start over.
Read through those few articles I posted. Feed/feeding is very important.

 

[BlueShadow]

The one that made it was from your flock.

We feed a 17.5% layer feed with added flax seed (5-10%). Diet may play a role. With the scratch grains, you are lowering your protein. Might want to find a way to aim for 17+% protein.

This is the temperature/humidity monitor I use. Its currently $8
https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-0032...ords=accurite+temperature+and+humidity+sensor

And a kitchen scale. I weigh my eggs when placed in the incubator, and at candling (approx. 7d, 14d, and lockdown). Goal is to lose 13% (I think.... I should double-check) of weight by hatching. I just adjust humidity higher or lower as needed to keep the eggs on the right track to meet that goal.
Any kitchen scale that is accurate to fraction of an ounce or gram is good enough. This is just one example.
https://www.amazon.com/Salubre-Digi...&qid=1501102650&sr=1-1&keywords=kitchen+scale