Wet chicks during hatch and shrink wrapped chicks during eggtopsy...

[comptonsgonecountry]

I'm puzzled by my last hatch. The chicks that ended up hatching where sticky and the eggs I opened up during eggtopsy revealed skrink wrapped chicks. There was no internal pipping from the dead chicks.

Here is my incubation log:

Days 1-18: I ran a dry hatch in egg cartons. I ended up needing to add water around day 10 and 16 due to himidity hitting low 20's. Temps dropped to 83 for a couple hours on day 12.

Day 18: candled before lockdown and saw the majority of them were moving about. I rose the humidity to 65, stopped turning, and kept them in the egg cartons.

Day 20: My first pip was on day 20 but was stuck zipping for over 15 hours. I ended up helping it out once all the other pips were zipped and hatched in the bator. All that hatched, hatched before day 23.

Day 23: removed lid and placed chicks in brooder. Did an eggtopsy and one pipped toward pointy end of egg and never went further. The rest were all shrink wrapped in their eggs with no internal pipping. Beaks were under their wings. Most of them still were head down.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Chrissy

 

[chook27]

I have no answers for you, but wanted to say that I think this is what is happening with my hatch. This is the first time I am incubating eggs, so I presumed I have/had done something terribly wrong. If you do figure out what the problem is/was, please let me know. I am on day 22, but there seems to be no life in the eggs left and the ones that have hatched hatched on or before day 21. I am using a fan incubator, but possibly had low humidity twice before day 10.

Would it be advisable to open one egg and if yes, what is the best way to go about it?

 

[bugglesmommy]

To the OP is sounds like the humidity was too low. Low humidity causes both sticky chicks and shrink wrapped chicks. Also opening the bator could have been a part of it. An egg does not need to be pipped to become shrink wrapped. When the wet air rushes out, dry air flies in and possibly sucking the moisture right out of the egg.

Chook 27 - I would candle and float test the eggs first. Place them in warm, not hot, water once the water settles. Wait for the water to calm from setting the egg in. It will probably drift for a minute. After the water stills, watch for the egg moving in the water. The slightest internal movement will make ripples.