My last few chicks are having difficulties hatching

[Deana4694]

So I am new to hatching and am still learning. My first 25 chicks hatched beautifully with no problems. I tried to make sure I only opened the incubator when there was at least 1 chick that had been in there for 3 days and would remove all that had been hatched for at least a full day. My humidity stayed mostly between 60-70% (It did drop frequently to between 45-50% because my incubator only sounds an alarm if it's below 50% but I would add water instantly. The last 4 chicks that have hatched I had to help after they sat in the same condition for 2 days. I would open the incubator after noticing the pip starting and lasting for more than a few hours to mist the egg so they didn't dry out. All of the chicks wound up with crooked toes and only 1 survived. What am I doing wrong? Please help!

 

[Susan Skylark]

Usually when chicks have trouble hatching there is a reason: weak, malformed, malposition. A backwards chick (head towards narrow end) is often okay, just backwards, others that are slow or impossible to hatch have issues (wry neck, etc). Many people won’t help eggs hatch for just that reason, but it is your choice to do so. Wry neck and bent toes can be genetic, nutritional or maybe cramped position in the egg. With 4/30 I’d worry about nutrition or genetics in the source flock. 5 percent or less could be a fluke but over ten is concerning. If you breed these birds I’d get roosters from a different source in case it is genetic and feed a quality ration.

 

[Deana4694]

Usually when chicks have trouble hatching there is a reason: weak, malformed, malposition. A backwards chick (head towards narrow end) is often okay, just backwards, others that are slow or impossible to hatch have issues (wry neck, etc). Many people won’t help eggs hatch for just that reason, but it is your choice to do so. Wry neck and bent toes can be genetic, nutritional or maybe cramped position in the egg. With 4/30 I’d worry about nutrition or genetics in the source flock. 5 percent or less could be a fluke but over ten is concerning. If you breed these birds I’d get roosters from a different source in case it is genetic and feed a quality ration.

I feed an 18% egg ration and add different herbs as well as calcium and I give mealworms as a treat every couple days or so. I did have one from a previous hatch that had wry neck. I was concerned I might be causing a problem opening the incubator to remove chicks or the spray pipping chicks? Otherwise with the info you gave I may need to look for a new rooster... Thank you for your guidance!

 

[Squawkers]

I personally would not leave chicks in the incubator that long. I’d leave them in there for the longest of 12 hours, even if that means opening it while others are still hatching. But maybe that’s just me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I personally would not leave chicks in the incubator that long. I’d leave them in there for the longest of 12 hours, even if that means opening it while others are still hatching. But maybe that’s just me.

I leave them in longer than that. When my broody hens hatch chicks I let them decide when to bring the chicks off of the nest since they are talking to each other. I don't recall a broody hen ever bringing chicks off of the nest within 12 hours of the first one hatching. If things go right, the chick absorbs the yolk before it hatches. It can live off of the nutrition in that yolk for over 72 hours. That's why they can be shipped in the mail and they can wait for later chicks to hatch.

If I have an emergency inside the incubator I will open before the hatch is over. I understand I can cause harm by opening the incubator while another chick has pipped but if I deem it important enough I will open the incubator. Lots of people on this forum open the incubator a lot during hatch. Most do not have issues but sometimes that can cause a chick to be shrink-wrapped.

I tried to make sure I only opened the incubator when there was at least 1 chick that had been in there for 3 days and would remove all that had been hatched for at least a full day.
The last 4 chicks that have hatched I had to help after they sat in the same condition for 2 days. I would open the incubator after noticing the pip starting and lasting for more than a few hours to mist the egg so they didn't dry out. All of the chicks wound up with crooked toes and only 1 survived. What am I doing wrong? Please help!

I'm confused about the timeline. Try thinking of it in hours instead of days. It helps me keep the time straight. It is easy for me to get confused if I think in days. Are you saying that the hatch stretched out more than 72 hours after the first one hatched? If that is the case, you need to figure out why.

Did you start all of the eggs at the same time? From your post I think you did but I need to ask. Does your incubator have warm or cool spots or is the temperature the same everywhere inside? If it is a still air incubator were all the eggs at the same elevation? Where did the eggs come from, different flocks?

How long after you topped up the water reservoir did it run dry? You might want to time that so next time you can top off the reservoir before it runs dry. You should not need to open the incubator every few hours to mist those eggs.

Were those last four eggs shrink-wrapped?

 

[Squawkers]

I leave them in longer than that. When my broody hens hatch chicks I let them decide when to bring the chicks off of the nest since they are talking to each other. I don't recall a broody hen ever bringing chicks off of the nest within 12 hours of the first one hatching. If things go right, the chick absorbs the yolk before it hatches. It can live off of the nutrition in that yolk for over 72 hours. That's why they can be shipped in the mail and they can wait for later chicks to hatch.

Yes, I know hens usually stay longer and I know they can. I just like for them to have water sooner. I also only hatch about 4-6 eggs at a time, so if I did take them out while others were hatching it would likely only be once. And if I knew I only had to wait a couple of hours for the last ones to hatch, I would just wait. I guess I could should been more specific. If I was hatching a lot more eggs, I would definitely wait longer because I’d be opening the incubator way too much. Sorry