Why is this happening?

batchhatchin

Chirping
5 Years
Oct 28, 2014
174
18
78
North central Texas
I set eggs and date them so I know when to move them to the hatcher and today I had two hatch a week early. The bator stays very close to 99.5 all the time and it never gets opened unless the eggs are going to lock down so what's the deal?
 
If they have hatched a week early from the date you marked them with my thought would be that the eggs may have been brooded by a hen before you set them in the incubator. Humidity shouldn't make a difference as to when they hatch. Higher temperatures could cause a slightly earlier hatch but not a week early, possibly a couple of days early
 
I thought the same thing. A week early wouldn't result in live chicks. But one other possibility. Could you have written the date wrong when you set the eggs? I did this once but caught it when I was rereading my hatching diary/notes. I had written down set date as a week earlier.
 
I checked my notes and verified the dates and sure enough they are 6 days early. I haven't had a hen offer to set yet for more than a few hrs so I don't know if maybe that was enough but it seems that every one of these leg horn eggs hatches a day or two early normally around day 18-19 but never this early. Is an early hatch a breed thing or not? All the leg horns produce a very big egg and large healthy chick so far. I've hatched around 50 so far and haven't lost one up to the four week mark yet. The Cochin chicks I've hatched seem strong to start with then have a rough week the second week. If they survive the second week they are good to go just having hell on days 12-14 after hatch. Started giving them electro lights and probiotic which seems to decrease the mortality rate some but still loosing some.
 
I checked my notes and verified the dates and sure enough they are 6 days early. I haven't had a hen offer to set yet for more than a few hrs so I don't know if maybe that was enough but it seems that every one of these leg horn eggs hatches a day or two early normally around day 18-19 but never this early. Is an early hatch a breed thing or not? All the leg horns produce a very big egg and large healthy chick so far. I've hatched around 50 so far and haven't lost one up to the four week mark yet. The Cochin chicks I've hatched seem strong to start with then have a rough week the second week. If they survive the second week they are good to go just having hell on days 12-14 after hatch. Started giving them electro lights and probiotic which seems to decrease the mortality rate some but still loosing some.
I can't offer any knowledge about why they could have hatched early, but did want to say, I just did my first hatch, and my leghorns all hatched late on day 23-24. The rest hatched on day 21. I was wondering if that was just a normal for them. But I guess not, if yours are always early.
 
I had a problem once when I would write the day/date down and if I turned it over it was a different day date could this be a problem? you know 11/11 and 11/17 if the head of the 7 isn't pronounced you would think 11/11 either way you turn it.
 
Really don't think it's a mistake on my part because these eggs are consistently hatching on day 17-19. I haven't had a single chick hatch after day 21. Not sure why they are all coming so soon.
 

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