HELP! Second time trying to hatch with no chicks - with pics

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redladybug12

redladybug12

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jul 17, 2014
13
0
22
400


This is the second time we have tried to hatch eggs with no success. First time we didn't have an egg turner and candles a lot and opened to add water a lot and had temp set to 99.5.

Second time we set temp to 100.5 with an automatic egg turner added and tried a dry hatch.

Both times all eggs (13 and 8) were fertile. Both times we didn't get past the development shown in the picture. 6 of the 8 in the second batch were about that level (some a little less) and two were barely developed at all.

What am I doing wrong?? We have a little giant hovabator. I only collected eggs for less than a week. I keep the incubator on my bedside table (so might get vibes when I set a glass down or whatever). Help!
 
Vibration should not be an issue. Did you calibrate your thermometer? Any temp spikes or drops? You might look at your flock nutrition, giving them supplements for a couple of weeks before collecting eggs again. Perhaps try eggs from an other flock? I'm guessing that your temp is off.

You might find my post in thread "thermometer drama" to be helpful.
 
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I would add a fan to the incubator and make sure you have the best quality thermometer that you can obtain, and make sure that it is accurate. I like to keep the humidity at around 35% until the 18th day then I raise it to around 65-70%. An egg turner is a must, at least for me it is.
frow.gif
 
Get yourself a Brinsea Spot Check. Its an incredibly accurate thermometer. Best $20 I've ever spent, I swear.
With that amount of development, your temps have to be too low. Either that, or something else is going on. Like the incubator being contaminated, but I'd guess its your temperature if that's what you're finding after 21 days.

What kind of thermometer are you using? I have 2 mercury thermometers (1 for each of my incubators), the Brinsea Spot Check and one of those Accurite cheapies from Walmart. The Accurite is junk as far as temp goes, but the humidity is pretty close, so that's the only thing I use it for, reading the humidity.

Sorry you've had such a bad experience, but all you can do is keep trying until you figure out what works! We've all been there. If it makes you feel any better, my last I hatch, I set almost 50 eggs. I've got 2 chicks to show for it (thanks winter weather and power outages).

Better luck next time!
 
I'm just using the thermostat that came on it. Even if I get better thermometers do you just adjust the heater on the incubator til the other thermometers read what you want (isn't automatic then...).
 
Yea, if you're trusting the read out on the incubator, you need to get an accurate thermometer.

I just recently got a Little Giant 9300, I've only used it twice, that's how new it is (I also have a 9200, that doesn't have the digital readout). Anyway, when I brought the 9300 home, pulled it out of the box and plugged it in, it was already preset to 99.5F. I gave it about 6 hours to come up to temp and steady out, then I stuck my Brinsea Spot Check in to see where it was at. The temperature was so low in the 'bator that the Brinsea showed me an L (for low, once the temp gets down to a certain point, it doesn't even register on the Spot Check anymore). That was BRAND NEW. I've had to adjust my digital thermostat to 106.3F to achieve a temp of 101.5. My incubator is still air, if yours is too, then you were right to bump the temp up. It needs to be a bit higher to make up for variances inside the incubator. So, if you're relying on the 'bators temp reading, you're probably dealing with the same situation I have with my 9300. My Brinsea Spot Check is very accurate. It tells me my body temp is 98.6 and it matches the mercury thermometers I use in my incubators, so I trust it.
Do yourself a huge favor and get yourself an accurate thermometer. Use it to dial in your incubator and never trust the readout on that 'bator again. It'll save you a ton of headache and heartache in the long run.
 
howfunkyisurchicken said:
Yea, if you're trusting the read out on the incubator, you need to get an accurate thermometer.

I just recently got a Little Giant 9300, I've only used it twice, that's how new it is (I also have a 9200, that doesn't have the digital readout). Anyway, when I brought the 9300 home, pulled it out of the box and plugged it in, it was already preset to 99.5F. I gave it about 6 hours to come up to temp and steady out, then I stuck my Brinsea Spot Check in to see where it was at. The temperature was so low in the 'bator that the Brinsea showed me an L (for low, once the temp gets down to a certain point, it doesn't even register on the Spot Check anymore). That was BRAND NEW. I've had to adjust my digital thermostat to 106.3F to achieve a temp of 101.5. My incubator is still air, if yours is too, then you were right to bump the temp up. It needs to be a bit higher to make up for variances inside the incubator. So, if you're relying on the 'bators temp reading, you're probably dealing with the same situation I have with my 9300. My Brinsea Spot Check is very accurate. It tells me my body temp is 98.6 and it matches the mercury thermometers I use in my incubators, so I trust it.
Do yourself a huge favor and get yourself an accurate thermometer. Use it to dial in your incubator and never trust the readout on that 'bator again. It'll save you a ton of headache and heartache in the long run.
Click to expand...


Ahh...this is a 9300 little giant too. Brand new used (unsuccessfully) twice. We will check temp with something more accurate tomorrow and get back with you. I can't believe you had to set it to 106.3...if ours if off that much I'm sure that's what happened
1f62d.png
 
Neither could I! I was very disappointed with my 9300. I've had my 9200 for a looong time, and I got it second hand, its been great. I was really expecting the 9300 to be easier to deal with, and that hasn't been the case at all. But, after I got it dialed in, its held steady. At least I can say that much!
 
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