what causes chicks to die at full term?

I really seem to have an issue with chicks making it to full term in the incubator then dieing. My humidity is always at 50% then i increase by putting the sponges in the sportsman humidity tray.

Sounds like they are drowning in the shell. Too high of humidity I think. Could also be genetic if it is all one breed and not another?

Hidden River wrote:Sounds like they are drowning in the shell. Too high of humidity I think. Could also be genetic if it is all one breed and not another?

so 50% is too high? 60% for hatch. Maybe i will try without any sponges and see what happens.

Edited to add: I did forget to put them on the bottom on day 18 so they got turned until day 20, that may have caused some troubles...

When you open the deads, what do you see? Are they mostly yolk out or in? Are they wet or slimey?

I lose chicks to drowning in shell and to goo. The thick goo sometimes covers their nostrils and smothers them.

This is the most frustrating part of hatching for me, those that die right at the finish line. Have heard that some breeds have a tendency to this, but cannot confirm or deny this with any certainty.

Not to sound like a broken record...but I ditched the humidity thing and went with dry hatching. If you have 50% failure rates, you have nothing to lose by trying an experiment. Since you are in Sask, naturally drier than here in BC, I would fudge the dry hatch and add a little water. BUt I would just set in a little bowl full (yogurt cup) and refill when empty. Do not even install or look at humidity levels,let that go completely.

THe idea we all have that humidity aids hatching has NEVER proven itself here. I have hatched both dry and wet and in both situations, SLOW chicks get stuck and fast hatchers don't. It is SPEED OF HATCH and not humidity that determines stuck chicks. If they get stuck, just unstuck them.

Humidity to me is important in hatching, I keep mine at around 50% with one sponge in there. No sponges at all during incubation, and the last hatch I did I only filled the container 1 time per week, will fluctuate the levels from 42% when full to 20% when empty, but I had a great hatch. I have hatched some with no water but I find too many dried out, we are just too dry to not have humidity for hatching. If you wanted to go with the auto bucket then cover half your tray with plastic wrap to decrease surface area which will decrease your humidity, or open another vent.

I agree with Uno, did you open the eggs? If they have slim in them most likely too high of humidity for the incubation.

I have hatched many of chicks in the turning racks so dont think that was your issue.

Chicks were moist, not sticky but wet. The lining was against the chick but not dry shrink wrapped, yolk was absorbed. Humidity in my basement this summer has been running at about 60%. I have a dehumidifier which has run non stop and i have to empty it everyday.

I think they just might be drowning especially because of the abnormal amount of humidity this year. I am going to open a vent and try to get my humidity down.

These are turkeys i am hatching right now but i had the same issue earlier in the summer with chicken eggs.

Prairie Chick wrote:I think they just might be drowning especially because of the abnormal amount of humidity this year. I am going to open a vent and try to get my humidity down.

These are turkeys i am hatching right now but i had the same issue earlier in the summer with chicken eggs.

Not surprising, I fought the exact same battle with humidity this year during my hatches. My Hovabator ran between 40-55% with NO water added. So technically I was dry hatching. Had good hatch rates with chicken eggs though, guineas not so much.