41 eggs incubated and 8 chicks hatched...What went wrong???

I'm pretty sure it was the way you put the eggs in with the pointy end up as you now know it should have been down as the air sack is in the larger end of the egg. I assume you are using a styrofoam incubator. I have always had to put a wet sponge in my styrofoam incubator as the humidity with just filling the reservoirs just doesn't do the trick. Also did you take the eggs out of the turner on day 18 or 19? When I take the eggs out of the turner and set them for hatching (going into lock down) I put in another wet sponge. I try to keep the incubator around 50% humidity and when I go into lock down I raise it to around 70%. I run my stryofoam incubator around 100 degrees. Also did you take the plugs out as they need more air flow in the incubator when they go into lock down. You may want to consider adding a fan to your incubator. I do think you will get better hatches with the fan circulating the air, more even temp. With a still air incubator you will have cooler and warmer spots in the incubator. With your still air incubator you may want to move the eggs around on day 10 and put the inner eggs to the outer edge of the turner and vise versa. These are just my suggestions.
 
Wow, love the cheat sheet! Thanks for the words of encouragement.

As it happens, I only need to use the incubator once a year. Next year I hope to do much better. This forum is great and I thank the wonderful people that share their knowledge.

Doug

Quote:
 
too much humidity over the period of incubation will cause the chicks to "over" develope... (get too large to be able to move around in the egg) and they will suffocate before they hatch... TSC bator will be a Little Giant... Notorious for humidity probs and temp fluctuations unless u install a fan. Get a hygrometer!! This is a must! Undeveloped does not mean infertile!... this is a common misconception!... the only way to check fertility is to crack open the egg and look for the "bullseye" or "sperm-spot" on the yolk.
An incubator "needs" fresh air circulating to give the developing chicks as much oxygen as possible! The eggs are in need of oxygen to breath through-out the entire incubation process... especially right at the end.
big_smile.png
 
Agree with above. The Little giant is not a very good "bator" and without a fan to keep the temp more uniform and constant then you actually had a great hatch rate, you just don't know it, so if you still have the box and reciept, I would take back to TSC and get a refund. You're better off buy a Genesis bator or LG or just use a broody hen and let nature take care of it for you.
 
Like I said....everything has been CORRECT for me and my friends....... we have been doing this for YEARS....and nothing is hatching without MAJOR PROBLEMS.....IT S THE RADIATION FROM JAPAN WHICH IS IN THE WATER AND AIR......
 
I'm incubating in a still air lg right now. I put 26 eggs in a week ago. I have 24 developing. The two clears I expected to be clear because I know the hen was away from a roo for a couple days.

A couple things........ you didn't mention when you took the auto turner out. Or what part of the country you live.

Setting the eggs upside down is definitely a problem. How long were they like that?

You said temp was 99.5. In a still air, that can be a tad low. Also, are you sure your thermometer was correct. Those are things that can delay a hatch and cause babies not to get out as readily and thus suffocate.

Depending on where you live, your ambient humidity may have already been high enough not to need additional water days 1-18. It is quite possible your humidity was too high through out the process. he directions are general instructions that should be catered to each person and their location.

12 hens and one roo is not a bad combo. However, if he is young and just really getting the hang of things or he's older, this can impact fertility. Those eggs may or may not have been fertile. He may have only a couple favorites that he breeds all the time and thus is neglecting the others. It's hard to tell with out watching his behavior and randomly checking eggs prior to setting them.
 
david's grammy :

Like I said....everything has been CORRECT for me and my friends....... we have been doing this for YEARS....and nothing is hatching without MAJOR PROBLEMS.....IT S THE RADIATION FROM JAPAN WHICH IS IN THE WATER AND AIR......

I was just wondering where you are from that you think the radiation is so high that you can't hatch anything​
 
Quote:
I was just wondering where you are from that you think the radiation is so high that you can't hatch anything

duc.gif
tongue2.gif
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom