0% Hatch -- What am I doing wrong???

[NoVA Chicks]

So, my last hatch of mailed eggs I got 3 out of 16, one was deformed and had to be culled. This hatch I had hand delivered eggs from the same breeder. Today was Day 14 and I walked into my kitchen to see the temperature reading for the incubator at 68!!! At first I thought my daughter had switched the readout to celsius or some funky mode, but nope. The incubator was at 68 and the eggs felt completely cold. Turns out she unplugged the incubator at some point this morning before we left the house. She's only 2 years old, so I didn't kill her but I was very upset. I decided to crack the eggs to see how they were doing. Well, turns out she did me a favor by saving my electricity. Not one egg had any sign of life.

So what am I doing wrong??? I've had just terrible hatches and this was the worst so far--and with hand delivered eggs that I know are fertile!!!

I'm using an LG still air set inside one of my kitchen cabinets. The temperature is stable. I'm setting the eggs in carton bottoms and using the tops to tilt them in alternating directions. Just before I put these eggs in I added a computer fan to my LG. The fan is a little big--could it be too big? The humidity was stable at 35%. So temperature, humidity, turning . . . what am I missing? I've been accused of candling too much in the past so I was trying to be very "hands off" with this batch--which obviously didn't work very well either. I swear I'm going to stick one in my bra next time.

 

[MakNat]

Apparently LG still airs suck... I've lost my whole hatch due to a brand new one. The temp and humidity was/is way off. Can't get it right, too late now. Therm that came with bator made me believe it was running perfect... Sorry for your loss.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Quote:
Dont be so quick to blame the brand. I have had great hatches with my Still Air LG....


If none even started developing, could it be a fertility problem?

 

[MakNat]

Quote:
Dont be so quick to blame the brand. I have had great hatches with my Still Air LG....


If none even started developing, could it be a fertility problem?

Last spring and summer I had 3 hatches from my neighbors LG w/ about 80% hatch all 3 times. I bought my own and this.... Maybe its just the weather... They are pullets eggs too.
Didn't mean to sound rude. I can't wait to run it again!

 

[NoVA Chicks]

Quote:
Dont be so quick to blame the brand. I have had great hatches with my Still Air LG....


If none even started developing, could it be a fertility problem?

These are from Hinkjc, so I'm pretty confident of fertility. I'm certain it's something I'm doing but I'm not sure what. I'm tempted to buy a new incubator--or the fan kit made for the LG and the turner--but I hate to spend the money if that's not the problem. At this point I could have bought as many chicks as I want for the money I've spent on wasted eggs.

Part of me thinks I'm just being obsessive about hatching and should let it go and just buy chicks but I can be really stubborn when it comes to some things.

 

[Mahonri]

The last two incubations, I put Duct tape and warning signs around the plug. No one has unplugged it yet. You can't control when someone (especially a 2 year old) uplugs your bator... but you can do everything in your power to keep that from happening.

As for success... my New Years Hatch was my most successful and I had 32 of 65 shipped eggs. I ended up with 41 chicks out of 47 at lockdown and I had to help out completely but they are doing well.

Germaine helped me tremendously by suggesting a 'dry hatch'.

Humidity at 35% day 1-18
Humidity at 65% at lockdown.

I used a 41 egg capacity Hovabator 1588 and had to constantly monitor the humidity.... I also used a 24 egg capacity Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance Ex... every egg in it at lockdown hatched, it is truly a no fuss, no worry incubator but it was my Christmas present and very pricey.

 

[lemurchaser]

What thermometer are you using? Can you check your temps with a known thermometer?

Oral/rectal thermometers are pretty accurate, but you'd have to take the temp in a water wiggler or small cup of water (that is at temp). The one I used for my last hatch (a flukers) is over 2 degrees off, and the other one I got was 5 degrees off. I just bought a brinsea spot check thermometer that seems to be very reliable.

You can make a baffle for your fan. You can see what I've done to my LG here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=281151

 

[MuranoFarms]

Just to play devils advocate here....if a 2 year old had access to the plug without being caught unplugging it, is it possible she fiddled with the temp knob, opened the bator, tried to "check" the eggs or turn them, or 'help' in some other way with your other hatches? I had 2 toddlers and they always wanted to imitate the adults, and I'm just thinking she may have touched something or otherwise compromised the hatching environment.

I get good hatches from my LG....now that I have it figured out. The first 2 hatches were awful though. Never trust the thermometer that comes with the bator,, everyone says their junk. I had 3 in 1 bator (1 came with each bator and 1 with the turner) and none of them read the same. Lots of people use the $7 hygrometer from walmart.

When you cracked open all the eggs today, did you notice the bulls-eye? At day 14 if there was no sign of life at all, that leads me to believe they weren't fertile. Even if your temp was off a little, some of them should have at least started to develop.

 

[NoVA Chicks]

The incubator is inside a cabinet, but the cord runs out the door and stretches across the countertop to the wall. I've got three thermometers/hydrometers in there--a walmart one, one of the remote ones (and the stand is on the countertop and that's where I noticed the big drop in temps), and an old fashioned mechanical one that I've calibrated. When I cracked the eggs, they were completely runny so I couldn't tell if they had the bullseye or not.

 

[americana-chick]

Quote:
Actually my still air LG is pretty good. I hatched 13 out of 16 and all 16 made it to lockdown and started hatching but 3 died from the humidity being to high.

Maybe it is the breeders eggs and not you at all?