Set eggs on 3/18 who's with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Page 62

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenhawk1982 

Well Guys, I'm on day 22 with no pips once again  I'm not sure whats going on? ...but sometime between lockdown and day 21 I'm killing the chicks!  I can't figure it out? This time I took 1 of the top plugs out kept my humidity at 65% it never dropped below 60% and never got over 68%. I kept the temp at 100 degrees it never dropped below 99 and never got above 100 degrees and yes I had more than 1 Thermometer in there just incase??? I don't understand what is happening?  I know I don't have a FAN...but I know several people who has had more than 85-90% hatch rates out of the same Incubators with no FAN! (I'm Using 2 HovaBator 1602N) Can anyone help me please? I know you guys are having great hatch rates I see all the chicks but I can't keep killing my Baby's it's start to get really fustrating!  

chickenhawk I don't know what to say. I started out with 24 and only 8 hatched and I know some of mine died after lockdown too. I just can't believe it's anything you are doing wrong. All your numbers are too perfect. I did have my incubator in an insulated heated room in my garage and kept the room temp at 65 ish. But on the last few days of our hatch the outside temps dropped and so did my room temp which caused the temp in my bator to drop to 97. I have heard others say that there may be something wrong with the eggs before we ever started incubating. I would tend to think that has more to do with the deaths than anything we were doing. It's very frustrating. I hope you figure it out. Only thing I know to try is either install a fan on one of your bators or borrow one from someone to try again and see it that helps. So sorry,

I don't know either?  I don't think it's my eggs either tho because there not shipped there from my own flock and I hand turn my eggs 3-4 times a day when there just waiting to go in the incubator. I also had a friend hatch my first 3 eggs from my BLRW before I started Incubating and all 3 hatched? I'm thinking it has to be either something I'm doing wrong or the Incubator/Hatcher because there ALL getting to day 18 just fine. But after that it all goes down hill. I have a buddy with a homemade Cabinet Bator he's wanting to sell for $150 I'm going to buy it and sell 1 of the HovaBators and buy a fan for the other. I guess we will see what happens I'm kind of worried because my wifes ??? unknown eggs are set to go in the Hatcher Wed and I know she will be very upset if they don't make it.

Just a thought...just put your eggs in a carton pointed end down. Then lift one end up with anything about 2in. then change ends the next day.  Stop touching them.  Do not try any eggs over ten days old.  Make sure your bator is sterile before your next try.  Try a lower humity.  Look up a dry hatch for ideas. I am just brain storming. I hope this helps. Good luck

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDNONIN2016 

Yep I agree on the humidity thing. I read somewhere that bantam eggs do very well keeping them near 40%  for the 1st 18 days so that's what I tried. Must have been some truth to it because so far have 8 out of 10 have hatched with no problems. I watched the humidity carefully and backed it down when it approached 50%. I don't know if I would ever try the dry hatch method after this success altho I think some have good luck with it.

 

I'm running way over 90% hatch rates this year. I'm not going to a dry hatch but I'll never be much over 30 - 40 % anymore either. 6 hatches with only 1 egg unhatched and 1 with 0 unhatched left and 1 with 2 unhatched eggs.and I've only run 8 hatches so far. I'm not changing my ways. even though I know half of what I'm doing is WRONG. I'll pretend I just don't know any better !.

I can tell you exactly whats going on.

run your next hatch and DO NOT!! raise the humidity for lockdown.

AND Drop your humidity during the first 18 days down to the 30% - 35% range.

What have you got to loose?

Money for the starter / grower your gonna have to buy is all.

your temps are right. now just quit drowning them and you'll be good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenhawk1982 

Well Guys, I'm on day 22 with no pips once again  I'm not sure whats going on? ...but sometime between lockdown and day 21 I'm killing the chicks!  I can't figure it out? This time I took 1 of the top plugs out kept my humidity at 65% it never dropped below 60% and never got over 68%. I kept the temp at 100 degrees it never dropped below 99 and never got above 100 degrees and yes I had more than 1 Thermometer in there just incase??? I don't understand what is happening?  I know I don't have a FAN...but I know several people who has had more than 85-90% hatch rates out of the same Incubators with no FAN! (I'm Using 2 HovaBator 1602N) Can anyone help me please? I know you guys are having great hatch rates I see all the chicks but I can't keep killing my Baby's it's start to get really fustrating!  

My very first time I incubated ever, was with the brinsea Oct. Advance 20.. and it states to set humidity for poultry between 40-50%.  I kept it at 47% for the whole 18 days, and then 73% until they hatched.  I hatched 17 out of 18 good eggs... and the last one had a perfectly developed chick in it.  Not sure what happened to that one.  So... Sounds like theres a huge lee-way available from dry hatch to lots of humidity during incubation.  I know I'm not changing anything I did, because it worked great for me.

Oh yeah. they forget to tell you " The book " on hatching is figuring things at sea level. think how far you are away from that.

Sea level...you might have some thing there.

I don't think there drowning because there not even pipping the shell? Most of them are dieing around day 18-20 I think because some still have the yolk and some don't? So from what I've been told there dieing a few days early not while trying to hatch. I have also already checked into the sea level thing and I'm in Georgia so that's not my problem. I dunno ready to give up and just sell hatching eggs. Lol

never give up