PLEASE HELP - Chicks dying just before hatch

[archie]

Hello All,
I have some Electus pairs i breed from, however recently, the eggs after being artificially incubated are dying just before or after they internally pip. I have now lost a number of birds this way. Unfortunately, it is not just one but both of my breeding pairs that are having this problem.

Out of the last three clutches from each pair, I have only got one baby per pair. I have not changed my routine and it seemed to be working in the past. There is no problem with the eggs being fertile. The incubator is clean and temp is consistant 37.2°C. Humidity is 26° - 27°C on the wet bulb thermometor which would put the relative humidity around 40%. My handrearer swears by these settings, she has incubated half a dozen of my birds before like this with no problems. I too have had more success with these settings than others.

They are fed mixed veggi's and fruit every second day and have a constant supply of seed and water. Just recently, i installed a sprinkler setup, most of them love to have a bath and all of them are looking very healthy and happy.

Should i be adding extra vitamins & minerals to their food. The handrearer mixes some soaked dog biscuits into her veggi's she feeds her birds. What do you think of this?

Thanks ,
Matt.

[billspets]

hello matt
i would be inclinded to increase the humidity to between 60% - 65% till the last three days where you increase it to between 80%-85% it it sound like the chicks are fiinding the eggs to hard to pip threw
hope this helps
rehards
bill

[fischer]

Hi Matt, I tend to agree with Bill but would like to know more about just what is happening to the eggs when they are hatching, are they drying out etc, can you give us more information on this please

Cheers Tony

[hillcresttiels]

Hi Matt why dont you let the parents do the incubating is their a problem? also are the eggs being turned at least 3 times a day! and not at all the last 3 days ;D

Frank

[Smiley]

It does sound like your humity was far too low to start with...and them it was up to high..I have always gone with 70% at the last three days...You mite have drown them once they piped..did you have a look to see if they where wet or dry...once you had lost them..That would help as well to see what the problem was..

[archie]

Of the two breeding pairs i have, pair1 have tried for 4 years to hatch and rear their own. In that time they have only hatched one chick which then died because they didnt feed it. the hen does not sit properly.
I nearly sold them, then i fould someone to handrear them from the egg for me.

Pair2, the hen definately sits better than the other hen, however they too have only hatched 1 chick (which also died) out of numerous clutches.

Because I was losing so many birds, i decide to have most of them handreared. Pair2 will be given more chances to rear their own, however pair1 are now set in their ways.

The eggs are incubated in an auto turning Octagon 20 incubator. I also rotate the eggs 180° per day. I have tried 60% humidity before will ill effects, their was too much fluid in the chicks and they came out with little colour in them, they were very pale. The handrearer likes to see them come out with good pinky colour. She maintains that over the 20 years she's being rearing chicks, 40% works for all her eggs. She has a range of parrots eggs being incubated in the same incubator.

Iwill try them at a higher humidity, probably 50% and then give them to her just before they hatch to see how that goes.

Does anyone have a formula for calculating the humidity?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Smiley]

There is one on this site

www.geocities.com/six_feather_seramas/incubating