ugh, my incubator got tooo hot! :(

I just came home and noticed my incubator, aaaand it was sitting at 105.... I dont know how on earth it got that hot but I have 24 austrolorps sitting in there, and ready to hatch in 3 days .. I dont think they are going to be alive after today. I am not to happy about this, has anyone had the same experiece. I think they musta been that hot for about 3 r 4 hrs

They should be ok
have had it happen when I first got the sportsman last year and still had a good hatch
get the temp set again and then do a lock down
the spike could have been the chicks generating more heat getting ready to hatch if that makes sense

They will more than likely be okay. You may loose a couple, but the majority should still hatch fine. Good luck!!

Did you have the orpingtons In the same incubator until recently? I had an incubator full of eggs, but when I candled last night half were not fertile. I took these out and had the temperature spike after. I noticed right away, but if I had been away for a period of time it may have gotten pretty hot.

I have the Orpingtons under a heat lamp, it was just the eggs in the incubator, I dont know if the sun from outside heated up my hallway and made the incubator hot, not to sure, I am trying to stabilize them as we speak,

I had one hatch go up to 104 but still ended up with an excellent hatch. Hoping with you that they'll be fine.

Candle a few to see if they are alive ? I check mine every few days when they start to get close

I will check tonight, one more question, I have a chick that is not doing well. Its smaller, and its eyes keep sealing shut??? I have to put some water on them so that it breaks the seal and they open. Its kinda a wabbley little one too, looses its balance easily and not really that swift. What do I do with it?

Make sure that it gets fluids is about the best I can say .The walking part ? unless it has stradle legs I would think that it should recover .I had a few turkey chicks that were the same ,just mine couldn't gain there legs and seemed to topple towards one side ? How old is the chick ?

about 3 days

actually, I just gae it water, I am having to do it by hand, and its eyes dont look 'normal' They are not as wide as the other ones, when I opened them in the morning by wiping them with a small damp cloth, all this fluid came out of them, it ws almost like a full sized tear, and then a few hrs later, they were sealed shut again.. Its very strange

That chick is weak. You do not want that in your flock of chickens. Weak chicks bring illness upon the flocks, you must do the deed. Cervical dislocation is very easy with little babies. I am tough love, I love my birds and chicks, but if they are too weak to be healthy I do not want them in the flock. Period. Tough love. It gets easier every time we must express this. I think that the incubator will be fine, if the temperature was not too high for too long. Good luck, it is disappointing when things just don't work right. Still, try to find something to have a great day, look at the little fuzzy butts, that will brighten you up, CynthiaM.

I fully agree with CynthiaM here. Compassion is a very good thing to possess but by allowing the weak to live a disservice is done to the breed as a whole. I personally wince every time I have to take a life, I've thought long and hard about the best quickest way to end the suffering of the weak. I've found my way, find yours and do not put it off or it may fester in your mind causing even more grief and discomfort.
Sorry for your luck, keep going and enjoy the strong healthy ones even more.

I agree with Cynthia you will either loose this chick through natural means, or need to put it down. I had one like that last year that I managed to keep it alive for just about a week only to have it die on me. I would have been much better off to just cull it to begin with!

smokyriver wrote:I agree with Cynthia you will either loose this chick through natural means, or need to put it down. I had one like that last year that I managed to keep it alive for just about a week only to have it die on me. I would have been much better off to just cull it to begin with!

I also agree with Cynthia, I've never had a bird that I've put "in hospital" survive anyhow. Now I just "do the deed" it's more humane for everyone. No more suffering for the bird.

Nom_de_Plume wrote:

smokyriver wrote:I agree with Cynthia you will either loose this chick through natural means, or need to put it down. I had one like that last year that I managed to keep it alive for just about a week only to have it die on me. I would have been much better off to just cull it to begin with!

I also agree with Cynthia, I've never had a bird that I've put "in hospital" survive anyhow. Now I just "do the deed" it's more humane for everyone. No more suffering for the bird.

yep

you might just find that your chicks hatch early do to the spike in temperature.