Trouble Hatching :(

[Kristy Huff]

I just started incubating eggs a few months ago. I failed horribly at the first try by having the humidity too high during the first week and losing all of them at day 6. I set 7 more eggs the next day and was able to hatch 2 but I had to help them. This third time around, I set 16 eggs out of which I had to trash 6 by the end of the first week. On day 21, 2 of the chicks hatched on their own. I kept the temp at 100 and humidity at 60-70% but the other 8 did not hatch and was fully formed. Should I lower the humidity? I did crack open the eggs and they were dried up

 

[Pyxis]

! Are you hatching chicken eggs? If so 60-70% humidity is much too high for the first 18 days. You should lower it to between 30-50%. 30% works best for me, but it varies for everyone a little thanks to different locations and elevations, etc. Also, are you using a still air or forced air incubator? If still air, your temperature is a little low too.

ETA: The best way to make sure your humidity is right is to either weigh the eggs, which is the most exact method, or to check the air cells each week to make sure they're developing properly. Here's a chart you can consult:

 

[Kristy Huff]

Yes. I'm keeping the humidity at 45% from days 1-18 then put it up to 60-70% during hatching.

 

[Pyxis]

That sounds right then - have you calibrated your thermometer and hygrometer? Perhaps it's reading incorrectly, which would explain why they aren't hatching well. Have the air cells been developing okay?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mississippi State Incubation Troubleshooting
http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/trouble.html

Illinois Incubation troubleshooting
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res24-00.html

You can read these as well as I can. While temperature and humidity are important there are several other things that can cause this type of problem. At least you opened the unhatched eggs so you know what time phase you are dealing with. That’s a huge benefit in trying to figure it out but often it’s still not easy.

Do you have the vents open during hatch? The chicks are living animals and need fresh air, whether still inside the porous or after hatch. I doubt this is your problem since you had two hatch and make it but I’ll mention it anyway.

Were the eggs positioned right, pointy side down, during incubation? If the eggs were laying on their side during incubation of course this does not apply, but incubating them upside down will often cause this problem. The chicks cannot position themselves to pip very easily.

My last thing to think about. Did you turn them regularly, especially during the first two weeks of incubation? Turning helps body parts form in the right places including internal organs. Turning helps stop the yolk or developing chick from coming into contact with the inside of that porous shell which can lead to its getting stuck or drying out. By two weeks body parts have formed and a membrane has developed to protect the chick from getting stuck to the inside of the shell, but it is pretty normal for chicks that go through this to die very late in incubation.

Good luck on figuring it out. That is very frustrating.

 

[Kristy Huff]

That sounds right then - have you calibrated your thermometer and hygrometer? Perhaps it's reading incorrectly, which would explain why they aren't hatching well. Have the air cells been developing okay?

air cells have been developing good. I have a still air incubator and I bought a digital thermometer instead of going by the gauge on the bator.

 

[Kristy Huff]

Mississippi State Incubation Troubleshooting
http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/trouble.html

Illinois Incubation troubleshooting
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res24-00.html

You can read these as well as I can. While temperature and humidity are important there are several other things that can cause this type of problem. At least you opened the unhatched eggs so you know what time phase you are dealing with. That’s a huge benefit in trying to figure it out but often it’s still not easy.

Do you have the vents open during hatch? The chicks are living animals and need fresh air, whether still inside the porous or after hatch. I doubt this is your problem since you had two hatch and make it but I’ll mention it anyway.

Were the eggs positioned right, pointy side down, during incubation? If the eggs were laying on their side during incubation of course this does not apply, but incubating them upside down will often cause this problem. The chicks cannot position themselves to pip very easily.

My last thing to think about. Did you turn them regularly, especially during the first two weeks of incubation? Turning helps body parts form in the right places including internal organs. Turning helps stop the yolk or developing chick from coming into contact with the inside of that porous shell which can lead to its getting stuck or drying out. By two weeks body parts have formed and a membrane has developed to protect the chick from getting stuck to the inside of the shell, but it is pretty normal for chicks that go through this to die very late in incubation.

Good luck on figuring it out. That is very frustrating.

I use my automatic egg turner for the first 18 days then I take it out