Dead in Shell
"What is meant by Dead in
Shell" . This is a condition where the young chicks are developed
inside the egg and then for many reasons they fail to hatch. Below is
one of the reasons why this happens
When the
membrane suffocates the chick
Because the egg is porous air
comes into contact with the membrane inside the shell of the egg. The
air allows the membrane to remain moist. But sometimes if the humidity
is to low the membrane dries out. Resulting in the chick dead inside
with membrane which has turned into what looks like a vacuum polythene
bag, shrunk around the chick suffocating it.
How we can
prevent this
The idea is to increase the
humidity in your bird room and some of the following methods will
help.
- Water in a very fine spray
can be used to mist spray the bird room morning and night.
- If heating is used in the
bird room then small trays with water in placed beside the
heaters. This makes the humidity rise
- Eggs can also be very
lightly mist sprayed but I personal do not use this method as the
hen has to be disturbed when she is on the nest
- The use of coarse sawdust
can help. It holds a little of the moisture in the nest box
The same results may be
seen if the eggs are allowed to get covered in dirt and excreta.
The pores of the shell become blocked and the air can not filter
through. If this happens the membrane dries out and shrinks,
suffocating the chick. A way around this is to gently wash the egg
in warm water using extreme care. This really is a last resort as
it can result in the hen leaving the nest and her eggs. Again the
use of coarse sawdust can help as most of the dirt and excreta
will soak into it.
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