Fully formed chicks that don't hatch.

[KendyF]

Hello All,

I have incubated my third batch of eggs, to find I have a lot of fully formed chicks that do not hatch. Candle on day 18, see movement and then they just seem to die, up to 50%.. These have been my eggs, bought eggs, and shipped eggs, so it has to be something with my incubator or me. Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Farmer Viola]

I run 37.5 C in my hatcher and 37.5 during hatching. Prior to hatching I go 38c and don't watch the humidity very closely. Thank you.

Ha, typed the temp twice. I try for 60% humidity at 60

no worries

temp sounds perfect, just make sure that you are measuring the temperature at the top of the egg level. above or below the top of the eggs, will not give an accurate reading. multiple devices are also useful for this reason.

the humidity sounds a bit too high imho, I would try out the dry incubation method if I were you (link in my signature). I have had the best luck with this method, 100% hatch rates. The short version is that you do not add any water at all until day 19. The eggs evaporate and create their own humidity inside the incubator, anywhere from 25-45% is fine. I find about 30% is perfect for me, and I achieve that without adding any water at all.

by adding water (increasing ambient humidity) inside the incubator, it slows down the evaporation process. it is vitally important that the eggs lose enough weight over the 18 days dry incubation in order to hatch. edit: on day 19, 20 and 21 I increase the humidity to 55-65%.

13% weight loss is the goal. you can monitor weight loss by weighing your eggs before and during incubation to see if your eggs are losing too much or too little.

 

[Farmer Viola]

what % humidity do you run?
what temperature?

 

[KendyF]

I run 37.5 C in my hatcher and 37.5 during hatching. Prior to hatching I go 38c and don't watch the humidity very closely. Thank you.

 

[KendyF]

I run 37.5 C in my hatcher and 37.5 during hatching. Prior to hatching I go 38c and don't watch the humidity very closely. Thank you.

Ha, typed the temp twice. I try for 60% humidity at 60

 

[Farmer Viola]

try it out with eggs from your own hens, non-shipped eggs are going to be the best to learn on. shipping shakes the eggs up so badly, they are very difficult to hatch in general, so dialing in your incubator settings with non-damaged eggs is ideal. that way when you do graduate to shipped eggs, you know your conditions were right!

 

[darkbluespace]

I have been finding that the chicks that don't hatch out are malpositioned in some way... this can be made worse by having humidity too high. The chicks get too big and really can't maneuver in the shell to get into the right position. I don't add any water at all until day 18... humidity is between 25 to 30% and then they are usually small enough in the egg that they can pip externally. When I open up their crack a little I can see that they are not in the right position... so after 12 hours after pip I can safely help them out a little and then they kick out of the bottom shell when they are ready. Even though they were stuck, they are still totally healthy vigorous chicks because I didn't leave them in the bator for days. I am going to continue to test my theories about this, but so far it is working very well!

 

[KendyF]

no worries

temp sounds perfect, just make sure that you are measuring the temperature at the top of the egg level. above or below the top of the eggs, will not give an accurate reading. multiple devices are also useful for this reason.

the humidity sounds a bit too high imho, I would try out the dry incubation method if I were you (link in my signature). I have had the best luck with this method, 100% hatch rates. The short version is that you do not add any water at all until day 19. The eggs evaporate and create their own humidity inside the incubator, anywhere from 25-45% is fine. I find about 30% is perfect for me, and I achieve that without adding any water at all.

by adding water (increasing ambient humidity) inside the incubator, it slows down the evaporation process. it is vitally important that the eggs lose enough weight over the 18 days dry incubation in order to hatch. edit: on day 19, 20 and 21 I increase the humidity to 55-65%.

13% weight loss is the goal. you can monitor weight loss by weighing your eggs before and during incubation to see if your eggs are losing too much or too little.

Thank you very much. I will read the article. And make sure I am measuring temp correctly. It seems the hatcher is the problem not the incubator.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Thank you very much. I will read the article. And make sure I am measuring temp correctly. It seems the hatcher is the problem not the incubator.

you're welcome, and please post an update here when you try it out! I will be interested to know how it goes. there is a bit of a learning curve with hatching, both for the person, and getting to know the equipment, etc. just don't get discouraged, learn something each time, and change something each time until you get it down pat.

it is also frustrating because most commercial incubator instruction manuals say to run 50 or 60% the whole time, and it just doesn't work (as far as I know).

 

[KendyF]

you're welcome, and please post an update here when you try it out! I will be interested to know how it goes. there is a bit of a learning curve with hatching, both for the person, and getting to know the equipment, etc. just don't get discouraged, learn something each time, and change something each time until you get it down pat.

it is also frustrating because most commercial incubator instruction manuals say to run 50 or 60% the whole time, and it just doesn't work (as far as I know).

Okay, can I ask another question, I just went down and checked the humidity on my incubator. It is at 45, different stages of eggs in there. From 8/14 placement to yesterday. Should I try to lower it. Thank you for the encouragement and of course the knowledge.