have bought 2 different hovabators, 5 thermometer/hygrometers constant dismal hatch rate.

[brewchick]

Ok, here goes.

We have been raising and hatching for about 9 years. We have often struggled with hatch rates. We have officially had the worst ever, at about 5%.

First hovabator we used for 7 years. the "old style" had egg turner and fan. rate was not great, around 40%

Last season, we bought the new digital hovabator. All the bells and whistles (turner, fan) our hatch rate was dismal, and now is worse.

We have hatched Ducks, Chickens of 8 breeds and quail. all with varying, but frustrating levels of success.

we have used at least 8 different thermometer/hygrometers.

This hatch alone, we had 5 thermometers, 4 of them had hygrometer ability. we incubated a full set, and hatched 5 birds.

We dissected the failed eggs on the day of hatch. most were shrink wrapped, some were drowned. all looked fully developed. the 5 that did hatch successfully, hatched on the exact day predicted, so that says the temp was within correct range.

temp was 99.5F humidity was 45% up until lock down, then 55% to 60%.

only time we ever open the incubator is to candle on day 9 and 16.

we have tried adding water according to hovabator instructions, and now we have just tried "dry" incubation. despite humidity running a tiny bit high during our "water added" incubations, it was within range. same story for "dry" humidity was pretty spot on.

This round, we even used -2- GOVEE wifi thermo-hygrometers this round which sends info live time to our phones and keeps data log. nothing was out of range. we calibrated the GOVEE units using several other thermometers, including the thermostat on our central AC. they matched our "laboratory" thermometer.

All of that said, the hovabator thermostat did read low, at 96.5F but all 4 other thermometers inside of the incubator showed to be at 99.5

even if it was low this round, why do we always have dismal hatches?

We are ready to buy another incubator, in hopes of getting better results. That said, we are wary that we will continue to get crap results with whatever brand we go with. In other words, is there something WE are doing to cause this?

as a final note, we are eyeing the NurtureRight 360 as an alternative. Does anyone have a "Magic" suggestion to improve our results in the Hovabator, or a recommendation on the "best" incubator under $400? we even looked at the Brinsea 56 EX, but decided against it after reading reviews.

Please help us improve our incubations.

 

[nuthatched]

Hmm, I'm sorry about this. After trying so many different methods and incubators, I'm sure this is frustrating. I don't think it's your incubator, it might be your methods or some other factor.
Have you always only opened your incubators on day 9 and 16 to candle and why?
How are the eggs stored before you incubate?
Are you hatching your own eggs from your flock or other eggs from elsewhere? How's the nutrition in your flock? What are they fed? Are you sure the chicks were shrinkwrapped or drowned? Have you ever tried adding a safety hole in the air cell? Do you rotate the egg around the turner tray to make up for any difference in temperature or humidity?

 

[yakitori]

Just throwing it out there... not sure where you live, but high altitudes also affect hatch rate.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I use a couple of models of Hova-Bator - 2370 and 1588 - as well as Brinsea Octagons and have generally been pleased with them. I've hatched eggs from different breeds of duck, geese, chickens, and guinea fowl.

@nuthatched has asked good questions that should be helpful to help you troubleshoot the incubation issues - and, if the temps and humidity are stable and in optimal ranges for your area, I also would suspect the cause of the poor hatches to be something other than the incubators.

Give us more info so we can do some sleuthing.

 

[brewchick]

Hmm, I'm sorry about this. After trying so many different methods and incubators, I'm sure this is frustrating. I don't think it's your incubator, it might be your methods or some other factor.
Have you always only opened your incubators on day 9 and 16 to candle and why?
How are the eggs stored before you incubate?
Are you hatching your own eggs from your flock or other eggs from elsewhere? How's the nutrition in your flock? What are they fed? Are you sure the chicks were shrinkwrapped or drowned? Have you ever tried adding a safety hole in the air cell? Do you rotate the egg around the turner tray to make up for any difference in temperature or humidity?

To clarify (this is the wife, my husband posted this on my account since he doesn't have one) we candle day 7 through 10 to throw out the duds, then we candle right before lockdown. So 16 for chicks, but of course it varies depending on what we are hatching. They are all from our own flock.

They are all fed (mostly) flock raiser crumbles and any grass clippings/weeds we collect, along with some vegetable leftovers. Chickens get oyster shells and a mix of layer feed and flock raiser.

I am positive they were shrink wrapped/drowned. We aren't newbies (despite feeling like it because of this hatch rate), we have been hatching ducks and chicks for 10 years. We have tried many different humidities, many locations around the house, and have lowered and raised the temperature. It just seems like we consistently have terrible luck no matter what we do. We store the eggs in a wine cooler at 60 degrees, all collected within 7 days before sticking them in the incubator. We even tried spraying the eggs with hydrogen peroxide before setting them. Basically, we've run through the peep troubleshooting guide available on an internet search.

 

[brewchick]

Just throwing it out there... not sure where you live, but high altitudes also affect hatch rate.

Our altitude is, I believe, 6500.

 

[yakitori]

Our altitude is, I believe, 6500.

quick google search brought this up...

“It has been found, however, that from an altitude of about 6,000 feet upwards most incubators have a sharp decline in their efficiency, when operated in accord- ance with the manufacturer's instructions; and above 8,000 feet they are virtually useless.”

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com...2823e54a2b2b34f4ca39d3b73c52gxrqa&type=client

 

[nuthatched]

To clarify (this is the wife, my husband posted this on my account since he doesn't have one) we candle day 7 through 10 to throw out the duds, then we candle right before lockdown. So 16 for chicks, but of course it varies depending on what we are hatching. They are all from our own flock.

They are all fed (mostly) flock raiser crumbles and any grass clippings/weeds we collect, along with some vegetable leftovers. Chickens get oyster shells and a mix of layer feed and flock raiser.

I am positive they were shrink wrapped/drowned. We aren't newbies (despite feeling like it because of this hatch rate), we have been hatching ducks and chicks for 10 years. We have tried many different humidities, many locations around the house, and have lowered and raised the temperature. It just seems like we consistently have terrible luck no matter what we do. We store the eggs in a wine cooler at 60 degrees, all collected within 7 days before sticking them in the incubator. We even tried spraying the eggs with hydrogen peroxide before setting them. Basically, we've run through the peep troubleshooting guide available on an internet search.

I don't doubt that you're doing everything correctly, I'm trying to figure WHY you keep getting crummy hatches, there's got to be something going on here.
Have you ever tried letting a broody hatch some and how did she do?

quick google search brought this up...

“It has been found, however, that from an altitude of about 6,000 feet upwards most incubators have a sharp decline in their efficiency, when operated in accord- ance with the manufacturer's instructions; and above 8,000 feet they are virtually useless.”

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com...2823e54a2b2b34f4ca39d3b73c52gxrqa&type=client

That's really interesting.

 

[brewchick]

I don't doubt that you're doing everything correctly, I'm trying to figure WHY you keep getting crummy hatches, there's got to be something going on here.
Have you ever tried letting a broody hatch some and how did she do?

That's really interesting.

We have let our ducks and chickens do the work. I would say the hatch rate is better but not by much. The ducks tend to chuck their eggs out of the nest or murder them after hatch, the chickens tend to die after hatch. Not sure why-just find dead chicks.

 

[brewchick]

quick google search brought this up...

“It has been found, however, that from an altitude of about 6,000 feet upwards most incubators have a sharp decline in their efficiency, when operated in accord- ance with the manufacturer's instructions; and above 8,000 feet they are virtually useless.”

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/776861/1-s2.0-S0032579119X65992/1-s2.0-S0032579119514018/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=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&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20210702T012020Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYW5453N6L/20210702/us-east-1/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=b24e4a59f873f954ba31ee330553f98d9482657243ec8c79bd4dc18b54e7e639&hash=91ad5d2f7d4e1f06345159d68ebf0983b7b5a6fe42aa6842f93b934afa927223&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7

We have let our ducks and chickens do the work. I would say the hatch rate is better but not by much. The ducks tend to chuck their eggs out of the nest or murder them after hatch, the chickens tend to die after hatch. Not sure why-just find dead chicks.

Well, maybe that's our problem!
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