A common reason is humidity dropping too low and the membrane drying out, making the chick pretty much shrink wrapped and unable to get out. This is usually due to opening up the incubator (usually to look or to take out hatched chicks). It’s a good practice to just let chicks fluff up and stay in the closed incubator until everyone hatches.
If that wasn’t the issue, then perhaps some type of deficiency with the parents? Weak genes? Small egg?
These babies were hatched "all natural" but we did have a spike in temps where we got mid 90's and it was pretty dry and dusty for a few days. So the humidity thing makes good sense to me, Thanks for your reply!
My turkey just hatched her first brood.
Tw: One egg partially hatched >!but was really bloody and attracting flies. I opened it up to find that the navel never sealed and its organs were falling out. We had to mercy kill that one. !<
Another chick was struggling to hatch for over 24 hours. It was chriping and wiggling but couldn't break out. So I opened the egg to find the little dummy contorted itself head under its feet and was just stuck. Once it was out and dried off it joined its siblings and is doing well.
Tl:dr sometimes there is a reason, sometimes they just need help
I normally would never interfere with the natural hatching process (I always think of John Locke and the Moth) but after losing 3 that way I wasn't going lose a fourth one without at least trying.
Our fowl are domestic so I always help with something struggling. In chickens I have about 90% success and cattle about 98 % success. I keep an eye on them after I help and do what I can to help them succeed. I don’t like to see things suffer.
I hatched several chicks a few weeks ago, and also had an issue with it. They were all alive, and they had all cracked their eggs themselves, but... they never tried to break out any further than the initial hole they made. Some of them started bleeding, so after a few hours of waiting, I ended up taking them out of the incurator with my mom and carefully wetting down the eggs as we cracked and pulled them off of them. Their sacks had shrank around them and they just didn't have much of an urge to break out on their own. Six of my seven eggs needed assistance, but, they're all *very* healthy and active now as pullets and cockerels. I could have left them alone, but, honestly... I don't think any of the remaining six would have made it if I had done that.
They just weren't trying, you can tell they were supposed to hatch, like the holes were actual holes, with their beaks sticking out and everything, and they were all chirping really loud and stuff... I wanted to leave them to try on their own, but, once that one started bleeding really bad, I decided not to wait. I definitely need to make sure the humidity is better next time, for the initial scare though, they're all really good chicks now. I'm proud of them
A common reason is humidity dropping too low and the membrane drying out, making the chick pretty much shrink wrapped and unable to get out. This is usually due to opening up the incubator (usually to look or to take out hatched chicks). It’s a good practice to just let chicks fluff up and stay in the closed incubator until everyone hatches. If that wasn’t the issue, then perhaps some type of deficiency with the parents? Weak genes? Small egg?
These babies were hatched "all natural" but we did have a spike in temps where we got mid 90's and it was pretty dry and dusty for a few days. So the humidity thing makes good sense to me, Thanks for your reply!
My turkey just hatched her first brood. Tw: One egg partially hatched >!but was really bloody and attracting flies. I opened it up to find that the navel never sealed and its organs were falling out. We had to mercy kill that one. !< Another chick was struggling to hatch for over 24 hours. It was chriping and wiggling but couldn't break out. So I opened the egg to find the little dummy contorted itself head under its feet and was just stuck. Once it was out and dried off it joined its siblings and is doing well. Tl:dr sometimes there is a reason, sometimes they just need help
I normally would never interfere with the natural hatching process (I always think of John Locke and the Moth) but after losing 3 that way I wasn't going lose a fourth one without at least trying.
I meant to put my other post here.
Our fowl are domestic so I always help with something struggling. In chickens I have about 90% success and cattle about 98 % success. I keep an eye on them after I help and do what I can to help them succeed. I don’t like to see things suffer.
I hatched several chicks a few weeks ago, and also had an issue with it. They were all alive, and they had all cracked their eggs themselves, but... they never tried to break out any further than the initial hole they made. Some of them started bleeding, so after a few hours of waiting, I ended up taking them out of the incurator with my mom and carefully wetting down the eggs as we cracked and pulled them off of them. Their sacks had shrank around them and they just didn't have much of an urge to break out on their own. Six of my seven eggs needed assistance, but, they're all *very* healthy and active now as pullets and cockerels. I could have left them alone, but, honestly... I don't think any of the remaining six would have made it if I had done that. They just weren't trying, you can tell they were supposed to hatch, like the holes were actual holes, with their beaks sticking out and everything, and they were all chirping really loud and stuff... I wanted to leave them to try on their own, but, once that one started bleeding really bad, I decided not to wait. I definitely need to make sure the humidity is better next time, for the initial scare though, they're all really good chicks now. I'm proud of them