hatching fail. please help

[phrogwomen]

We have silkie chickens. We chose to take eggs away and put them in a still air incubator with turning tray and water for humidity.

First chick hatched and lived. Yay.

The rest have failed. Over a dozen of them. They make it to day 21 or 22 we hear chirping. Some die without pipping the shell. Some pip the shell but then never hatch and die. That's the most common.

One we waited for chirping heard it for 24 hours the next morning shell cracked and could feel the break hitting the shell. We broke more of the shell open but it died more than 6 hours later never making it out of the shell.

One we hatched after 24 hours of chirping and it lived a week and died to to loss of heat source not discovered for 12 hours. The other took a few breaths and died.

What is going on?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Try this.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00008570/00001/3j

My first thought is humidity but it could be temperature, breeder nutrition, ventilation and many other things.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Were they sticky when hatched? Not wet but sticky as in they don't fluff up when drying.

 

[phrogwomen]

Some were sticky. Some had bloody mucous like substance coating them. Some damp but fluffed some.

 

[phrogwomen]

We do have an incubator that has a fan (not still air). Should eggs be transferred? I see the mention of ventilation. The incubator we are using is still air so not sure there is much ventilation.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Well, you say they were chirping day 21 and 22 so your temperature was not far out of whack though do think you were .5 to 1 degree low. If the birds were sticky then humidity was too high. Whatever you humidity was first 18 days it would seem is was low enough to give you a good enough size air sack space for them to breath in after internal pip. Hence the chirping and not drowning before pipping shell. It's the last few days of humidity I think you were far too high, I'll guess so much that condensation was forming on your window.

If you don't have a hygrometer I suggest you purchase one. As long as it's small enough any cheap model at Walmart will work. As long as you calibrate your hygrometers with a "salt test" (google that or search here) any will do just fine. For good moisture loss in shell I like to run 35% first 18 days and only 65% day 18 to hatch.

Oh, and I do think you temp was a tad low but not bad at all. Use an oral thermometer to fine tune your temps. Most everyone owns one and they are VERY accurate. Great inexpensive temperature check right through your top vent hole. If using a still air measure at top of eggs and run 101.5 F. If your incubator has a fan then 99.5 F.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

ventilation and fan aren't the same thing. Ventilation is bringing in oxygen. A fan moves air so that temperatures don't stratify.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I run with the air plugs on top out. Just never use them, though if you do run one out during incubation you should have both out during last few days for added air.