I dont know what im doing wrong

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3/29/12 at 11:38am

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Beautiful

Location: McAllen Texas
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I incubated duck eggs and only 2 actually hatched and are alive, the rest were full grown in the shell, one even was poking beak out but then died... .. i didnt help i just left alone. this is my first time doing this.

I cant seem to get the humdity up higher then 65.. i placed 2 bowls of water and wet wash cloths around the edges of the incubator that made it rise for a few hours but then dropped.. the heating element is at the correct degree... 98 degrees for hatching as the instructions said.... 99.5 until the last 3days. stopped turning . the were alive

just dont understand.... i also had 3 chicken eggs due 2 days ago and i know they were alive 2 days ago because the eggs were rocking. but they never hatched either. i tried to candle today but saw no movement.... i candled the 7th day and 14th.

rrrrrrrrr this is so frustating... im about to give up

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post #2 of 26

3/29/12 at 2:31pm

gingit

Location: South Florida
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Do you use warm or cold water?

Pouring warm water daily around the eggs (I use a Hova Genesis) helped me get to the 79-83% humidity.

Hope I helped. Good luck!

Countryside Organics reseller. If you are in South Florida contact us! We raise & sell pastured chickens, guinea fowl & ducks for meat & eggs as well as dairy goats for fresh milk, yogurt & cheese. Our personal flock contains 5 children, 2 grandchildren, 2 dogs and growing...

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Countryside Organics reseller. If you are in South Florida contact us! We raise & sell pastured chickens, guinea fowl & ducks for meat & eggs as well as dairy goats for fresh milk, yogurt & cheese. Our personal flock contains 5 children, 2 grandchildren, 2 dogs and growing...

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post #3 of 26

3/29/12 at 5:51pm

Wickischickies

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I am sorry about them not hatching. We had the same problem. I've only tried this trick once and I am very new to incubators. This last hatching I had better luck when placing warm wet sponges inside the incubator. If I noticed a chick having troubles after a full day of trying to hatch with no progress I placed a warm slightly damp washcloth on the egg.

Has anyone else tried these tricks?

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/650359/sneezing-chickens-mycoplasma-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-crd#post_8775381

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http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/650359/sneezing-chickens-mycoplasma-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-crd#post_8775381

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post #4 of 26

3/29/12 at 8:20pm

adrian

Location: Regina, SK
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A lot of the time, deaths prior to or during internal pipping (when the chicks break into the air cell and begin to breathe) are due to excessive humidity in the incubator, meaning that the eggs do not lose enough moisture and the chicks often aspirate on water in the air cell area. What was your humidity during incubation, and did you calibrate your hygrometer(s) to ensure accuracy? For me, before I got Brinseas, humidity was my biggest problem. So I weigh my eggs to make sure they lose enough.

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post #5 of 26

3/30/12 at 1:40pm

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Beautiful

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warm water.. it just brings humidity up for a couple hours then drops...

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post #6 of 26

3/30/12 at 1:45pm

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Beautiful

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Quote:

Originally Posted by adrian

A lot of the time, deaths prior to or during internal pipping (when the chicks break into the air cell and begin to breathe) are due to excessive humidity in the incubator, meaning that the eggs do not lose enough moisture and the chicks often aspirate on water in the air cell area. What was your humidity during incubation, and did you calibrate your hygrometer(s) to ensure accuracy? For me, before I got Brinseas, humidity was my biggest problem. So I weigh my eggs to make sure they lose enough.

I dont know how to calibrate the hygrometer... the humidity is at 50 the whole time until the last three to five days its at 60-65.. i had a chicken pip last night but this morning died before coming fully out again.

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post #7 of 26

3/30/12 at 1:47pm

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Beautiful

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I will try a sponge... Im about to give up... Its so sad and frustrating.... I wish i could just get it right....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beautiful

I dont know how to calibrate the hygrometer... the humidity is at 50 the whole time until the last three to five days its at 60-65.. i had a chicken pip last night but this morning died before coming fully out again.

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post #8 of 26

3/30/12 at 5:25pm

Wickischickies

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Beautiful

I will try a sponge... Im about to give up... Its so sad and frustrating.... I wish i could just get it right....

Don't give up yet Beautiful. I put the damp sponge in as the chicks started hatching. I know you shouldn't open the incubator during this time, but I watched 42 eggs pip then die. I opened each of the dead shells to figure out what happened. Each of them were dry in the shell. If you put the sponge in too soon, your chicks will drown before they even start to hatch, which I found out the hard way with my last 11 eggs.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/650359/sneezing-chickens-mycoplasma-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-crd#post_8775381

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http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/650359/sneezing-chickens-mycoplasma-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-crd#post_8775381

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post #9 of 26

3/31/12 at 8:02pm

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Beautiful

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thank you so much for the info.. my next batch are due monday so i will keep this in mind... i will add the sponge when i see the first one pip...

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post #10 of 26

4/2/12 at 5:36am

Wickischickies

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I can't take credit for this trick. When I had the drying problem with the chicks unable to hatch completely I googled it. This is one of the pages I found: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/61098/question-about-using-sponges-to-get-humidity-up This forum has really helped me!