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Incorrect Humidity and How It Affects the Hatch
Just before hatching the air-cell size should be approximately 1/3 of the egg volume. More than this indicates the humidity is too low; less
Fully developed chicks, died without pipping Improper humidity, improper or fluctuating incubator temperature during the earliest stage of incubation, lack of proper ventilation, improper turning of eggs, eggs held too long before setting, improper nutrition, disease problems or inbreeding, power failure or room temperature higher than the incubator
Chicks pipped but dead in the shell Low average humidity, improper temperature, low average temperature, excessive high temperature for a short period of time, inadequate ventilation, excessive fumigation during the hatch
Chicks pipped and stuck in shell Low humidity during the incubation period or at hatching time, excessive opening of the shells are dry hatcher door to re-move chicks or to check on the hatch
Sticky chicks; appear wet or are covered with contents of egg Low average temperature, average humidity too high, inadequate ventilation, improper fumigation during incubation, excessive fumigation of eggs in the hatcher
Chicks hatch early; may have rough or bloody navels High average temperature, wide temperature variation, excessive humidity & temperature in the hatcher after transfer of eggs
Short down on chicks High temperature, low humidity, excessive opening of the hatcher door to remove chicks or check on the hatch
Small chicks High temperature, low humidity, setting eggs that are smaller than average for the species |
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Examine The Eggs That Don’t Hatch In Order To Improve Future Hatches
To improve the percentage of chicks, goslings, or ducklings you hatch, examine the eggs that didn’t hatch to ascertain the age at death.
Death during the first third of the embryonic development can be caused by: parental genetics, vitamin E deficiency, chilling or overheating of eggs prior to their being collected, improper storage temperature, holding eggs too long before setting them, failure to turn the eggs during storage, rough handling of eggs, virus infections, high incubation temperature, chilling, inadequate turning of eggs, and improper sterilization methods. Unless the incubator thermometer is not accurate giving faulty readings, death during this stage tends to be something other than an incubator problem. Often times embryos which survive the first stage of incubation are weak and will die during the second stage, but many will survive only to die prior to hatching.
High moralities during the second third of the incubation process can be caused by: inadequate incubator ventilation, serious vitamin deficiencies in the feed, infection within the incubator, improper incubator settings, chilling or overheating eggs when they are candled, and improper humidity.
Embryonic deaths occurring before the chick’s beak has broken through the air cell can usually be traced to heredity, egg storage techniques, improper diet of breeder birds, infection, incubation sanitation, and adverse incubator settings. If there is a high incidence of chicks that died prior to pipping and of those that died after starting to breath, there is usually an incubator problem. These incubator management problems include: temperature set too high or too low, wide temperature fluctuations, bringing stored eggs up to incubation temperature too quickly, too much or too little humidity, poor ventilation, and improper egg turning. Death during this stage can also be traced to chilling or jolting the eggs when moving them to the hatching tray. When there is insufficient moisture in the hatcher, eggs will be chipped most of the way around, but the chick died because it was trapped by a tough dry membrane that would not split allowing the chick to hatch.
Too much moisture during the early stages of incubation causes the chicks to be large and soft with unabsorbed albumen. When the chick pierces the shell, it can not withdraw its beak or bill to make another chip because the sticky albumen leaks through the shell and sets up. This type of death can also be caused by temperature fluctuations, but is exaggerated by not enough moisture during the hatch.
When the temperature has been too high all the way during incubation, chicks will be small, their beaks will have penetrated the air cell, and not all of the yolk sac will have been absorbed. Chicks may feel sticky.
Infected eggs have a bad odor and the fluid around the embryo will be discolored. |
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Measuring Fertility & Early Dead Levels
¨ After candling eggs remove the clears. Open the eggs with forceps at the air cell, taking care when removing the membrane not to discard any egg contents. ¨ Fertility can be accessed in eggs candled between 10 & 14 days of incubation. ¨ It is not advisable to try and access fertility on eggs candled after this because post mortem degeneration of the embryo makes it difficult to distinguish infertile eggs from those with very early embryonic development.
*With blood ring stage deaths, once the blood vessels degenerate, often the only sign of embryonic development is a change in the color to a creamy yellow. This does not indicate contamination.
**Embryo death in the black eye state is often associated with bacterial rots-in addition to discoloration, the egg contents smell bad and have disintegrated. Source—International Hatchery Practice—Volume 27 Number 2, p. 3 1
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