[too many girls]

i've only had one similar to the last chick and sadly it didn't survive, it was a duckling, but...........don't give up! you never know stranger things have happened and you have done your best.

[Nails]

i hope so, i am just going to leave them now, as i seem to have done more harm than good with the last one, but the inncy just keeps drying out and i can't keep it damp enough for them.

[Hayley'sHens]

Awww so sweet. I dont think you have done more harm than good to the last one, Surely it wouldnt of made any difference no matter how much or how little you helped (really hopes that comes across how its meant!)

[Nails]

The last little one i helped out is still hanging on, fingers crossed

[Rubellite]

The last little one i helped out is still hanging on, fingers crossed

...and this morning?

[hillfooter]

Just seen your post Nails too late to help I'm affraid.  However the chicks which have hatched look fine but check that their tummies aren't red or have an unhealed wound which could indicate a common hatching problem called omphalitis and is caused by a bacterial infection in the shell.  If this is indicated, to avoid this in future, hatch only clean eggs which have no hairline cracks and aren't too porous and are no more than 8days old.  Clean and sanitize the incubator after and before use.  Check for fertility after 5 days new hatch eggs by candling and discard any which haven't developed properly or show signs of a faint ring which indicates bacteria.

It's possible that your problems don't just relate to hatch conditions but the conditions through the whole process.  Certainly the chick with the apparent external organs looks like it hasn't developed properly and it isn't just a hatch problem.  Were they for example turned regularly each day.  Was the incubator kept in a coolish stable temperature preferably an unused bedroom or similar.  Turning is best done automatically so it doesn't get forgotten and there no need to keep opening the incubator to do it by hand.  From what you have said you seem to have, if anything, over humidified the incubator at hatch and maybe you have opened it too many times during the whole process to allow the humidity to drop.   It's possible that the temperature at hatch was too high also.  I try to maintain 37.5deg throughout but dropping the temp by a degree a day before hatch  is sometimes recommended.  It's really hard to not help the chicks out if you think they are struggling but really it's best not to.   The struggle to get out is part of the process of hatching and helps them absorb the egg yolk.  I've only ever done this if the chick has been pretty much out but unable to climb out of the upright half shell and then it's been usually to place the shell in a more convenient orientation to allow the chick to wriggle free and maybe break a little of shell off but I've never tried to pick off a partially pipped shell or break the membrain  which as you found out doesn't do them any favours. I also don't remove the hatched chicks until at least half are hatched as the cheeping and wriggling seems to encourage the others to hatch.

Hope the remainder were all  hatched OK and they are developing well.  No neeed to provide food or water for 24 hours. 

For the record what incubator did you use and was it fully automatic?
Best wishes
HF

[Nails]

Thanks for that HF, th others look fine, came down this morning and another had hatched so that 5 now, the poorly one has died, but i still have another one pipping as we speak. So i will keep you all posted.

[beulah59]

how many eggs did you have in there?

[Nails]

16 eggs in inncy, have had 5 hatch only 4 survived so far, and i have one hatching at the moment. Other eggs are fertile, but i fear that the chicks have died before hatching

[lisa80]

what sort of incy have you got nails???

[Nails]

Novital covatutto 20

[hillfooter]

16 eggs in inncy, have had 5 hatch only 4 survived so far, and i have one hatching at the moment. Other eggs are fertile, but i fear that the chicks have died before hatching

It all seems to point to something going wrong during hatch.  Such a low hatch rate and a wide spread between hatches isn't normal.
HF

[katanadan]

Hi, Just had a read through the 3 pages of drama! 

When I first started hatching eggs I had a bit of difficulty when it came to hatching day. The first batch pipped and they couldn't get themselves out. I helped the first 2, despite reading that I shouldn't. First I removed a bit of the shell, then put it back in and told myself I had done enough, only to return again and again and repeat the process. 

After all the chicks I have hatched (several hundred in my first year) I found that leaving them to it completely works the best. I know some people say that if they hadn't helped the chicks would have died, well that may be so in some cases. But I have had chicks that have pipped, only to take 2 whole days to hatch! 

Some people say that they can take up to 24 hours. The problem with this statement is that I, like others, saw this as a time bomb. Meaning any longer than 24 hours and I would step in. I have learned not to do this now, and out of the last 24 eggs that pipped, all of them hatched themselves,  with only one of them dying.

I think it is far better to make sure that the initial stages and incubation are done perfectly, that way hatching takes care of itself. A clean incubator, clean fresh eggs, correct humidity and stable temperature, frequent turning and limit the amount of times the incubator is opened. Also, buying eggs of ebay and having staggered setting times didn't help my first batch 

[Nails]

So what is happening to the eggs that aren't hatching? I still can't work out why they get to a certain point then don' hatch.
What i have done is set the inncy up and i am monitoring the temp/humidity for a week without any eggs in it to see if i can keep temp and humidity where it should be!

[hillfooter]

I don't know anything about the incubator you have but I'd check the temperature regulation and accuracy with an accurate thermometer.  The temp needs to be checked right where the eggs are.  Is the air being stirred by the fan and is the turning working properly?  Is the temperature of the room you have it in stable.  How is the humidity being measured?  It's notoriously difficult to do this accurately without expensive measuring instruments.  Follow the manufacturers instructions re humidity rather than trusting a cheap humidity meter.  Two days before hatch ie day 19 raise the humidity by using evapouration mats (use folded kitchen paper which is dipped in the water reservoir to wick up the water.  You can check that the rate of moisture loss from the eggs is ok by weighing an egg each day and checking against what is advised.

If the incubator has been used give it a really good clean and disinfection.

I'd also be fussy about the eggs you try hatch.  Make sure they are from a reliable source, clean, free from cracks, have not been stored too long (less than 8 days)and have been kept at a cool temp around 15degC and turned each day during storage for best results.
HF