incubation problems!?

[Cody Walker]

just wondering, do you all have problems with blood rings and bacteria when incubating your turkey eggs? it seems like i lose half of the eggs due to bacteria and blood rings. i started out with 74 eggs in 2 different incubators. today is day 10, 12, and 13. 3 different sets, so it will be a staggered hatch (i know, not the best scenerio) but i have already taken out 27 eggs due to nonforming and bloodrings. the non forming im blaming on old eggs. i knew before i set them i would have several not form due to age. 30 of these eggs were shipped (the day 10 eggs) the day 12 eggs i got from a friend, and the rest are from my own hens. i only have two that are currently laying so it took awhile to accumulate

 

[ameracaunagirl]

How long did you leave them in your incubator once you've discovered the blood ring? Did you disguard them immediately? I had blood rings in my quail egg and I left them in to see what would happen and they are now happy healthy chicks. Do you wash your eggs before incubation? I know that when you do that, it removes a protective layer on the egg and leaves it more susceptible to bacteria. It does sound like old eggs have a lot to do with the non forming eggs. I never let eggs sit longer than 6 days just to be safe and if they do get left longer, I have little hope they will make it.

 

[Cody Walker]

my friend said that she washed a few of the shipped eggs off because they were really dirty. i did not wash any of mine off and im pretty sure my other friend did not wash the other eggs. on the bloodring eggs, i did take them out immediately. i didnt think there was any hope after the blood ring showed. i guess i shouldve waited... last year on the shipped eggs. i got several to lockdown but they just didnt hatch. i increased the humidity up to where it needed to be so idk that it was a humidity thing.

 

[ameracaunagirl]

What position do you keep your eggs in? The first few days of incubation, I leave them in a foam cutout I made in the incubator so that the broad side of the egg (the side with the air sac) is pointed up and the pointed side is facing down. This is so the air sac gets a chance to develop a strong enough membrane so the weight of the yolk and developing chick does not crunsh it or push it out of place. I keep them at a slight angle so I am still able to turn them so I don't get any embryos stuck to the side of the shell. I do the same about a few days before lockdown so that the chick will know which way is up and doesn't accidentally try to pip through the bottom and suffocate. That may be why your fully developed chicks did not hatch. It happened to me once with my quail. It pipped away from the air sac and didn't get his nostrils out fast enough so he died :'(

 

[ameracaunagirl]

With regards to blood ring, I always leave my eggs in a few days after I notice anything that may mean dead egg. After a couple days of candleing, most of the eggs that I think are dead, look completely normal. Lots of factors may make your eggs develop a little slower than the others and sometimes they just need a little time to catch up.

 

[Cody Walker]

With regards to blood ring, I always leave my eggs in a few days after I notice anything that may mean dead egg. After a couple days of candleing, most of the eggs that I think are dead, look completely normal. Lots of factors may make your eggs develop a little slower than the others and sometimes they just need a little time to catch up.

alright. I will remember this for in the future.

 

[Cody Walker]

What position do you keep your eggs in? The first few days of incubation, I leave them in a foam cutout I made in the incubator so that the broad side of the egg (the side with the air sac) is pointed up and the pointed side is facing down. This is so the air sac gets a chance to develop a strong enough membrane so the weight of the yolk and developing chick does not crunsh it or push it out of place. I keep them at a slight angle so I am still able to turn them so I don't get any embryos stuck to the side of the shell. I do the same about a few days before lockdown so that the chick will know which way is up and doesn't accidentally try to pip through the bottom and suffocate. That may be why your fully developed chicks did not hatch. It happened to me once with my quail. It pipped away from the air sac and didn't get his nostrils out fast enough so he died :'(

It depends on which incubator they are in. I have one with a turner and one without. The batch last year was in the automatic turner (air sac up) until lockdown, then I took the turner out. This year the shipped eggs started out on their side then after about 8 days I started moving them to the turner as I took others out

 

[ameracaunagirl]

That is true. I do not have a turner so I take a thin piece of Styrofoam and cut holes for the eggs to be placed in so I can control their positionig better. It also helps so they don't roll around if anything gets bumped.

 

[Cody Walker]

thats a good idea. i havent had much problem with them rolling around though. but i have in the past. i havent taken anymore out since i started this thread. going to TRY to wait until day 20 to candle again and see how they are progressing then. day 20 is next Wednesday.

 

[Cody Walker]

for the people that get 80% and better hatch rates, how do you do it?