90% Hatch rate club anyone?

[frenchblackcopper]

A 6.5 hour long power outage ruined my last 4 hatches cause I had just added the 4th group of eggs 2 days before the power outage.This week will be the first group of eggs incubated without any power interruptions.
What color is doing best for you this season? I'm going to check my recordbook after the weekend but seems every egg I put in from my Midnight B/S pen hatches,I've got Midnight B/S chicks running outta my ears here.Compared to last year this group is working overtime,or Majik has cast a spell on his 4 girls this year. I thought my BSSP male Roadtrip was the super stud but thats not the case.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Noone this year? Really? until I check the records this group may not be 90% but it will be above 80%,,,someone else has to have a group that is exceeding the rest in their flock,,,,yes??

 

[casportpony]

So far I'm at 18 live chicks out of 30 eggs. All were fertile, five quit early, one pipped wrong end, two were shrink wrapped and four were late quitters.

Live chicks:
Four of 10 from the incubator
Four of five from hen one
Four of five from hen two
Three of five from hen three
Three of five from hen four

Unhatched incubator eggs from batch of ten:
Two early quitters
Four late quitters

Unhatched eggs from 20 eggs set under hens:
Three early quitters
Two shrink wrapped
One wrong end pip

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Have another 26 eggs to set, but I don't think my percentages will improve in this batch because many of the eggs are quite old. Incubator only holds 10, so that will get the freshest batch and the rest will go under four or five broody hens.

-Kathy

 

[stacir]

I am having trouble incubating and hatching this year and I can't figure out why. Most of mine are developing right until 3-4 days before hatch, then developing large air sac and not being able to get out. Some have been shrink-wrapped, not quite sure why. The humidity this year is very high and I am using an old redwood incubator and dong the very same process as last year. Temperature and humidity is very stable. My turkey chicks are hatching fine, but not so good on my peafowl. I did help one chick out. I put a small hole in the egg after internal pipping and then pealed away shell. She stayed in egg for 24 hours and then I helped her out. She seemed very week and splay legged. But I taped her legs and now she is doing fine. Some of have been pipping on wrong end of egg and others pip and don't make it out.

I also had one hen sit on three eggs, two hatched and she left one. That is the one that I put in my inucubator and had to help it out. I currently have 4 eggs in incubator that a peahen was sitting on. I put them in, they've been in there for about a week, seem to be developing fine and then today very large air sacs, looks like chicks are moving around or maybe even pipped, but I fear they will be shrinkwrapped like the others and I may have to help them out.

I am wondering if it was bad nutrition or humidity too high?

Is anyone else having trouble or can anyone tell me why they are getting shrink wrapped when the humidity is very high?

 

[casportpony]

I am a complete pea egg and incubating novice, but maybe your peahen egg shells are too thin from not enough calcium?

-Kathy

 

[AugeredIn]

I got close to 90% but could not quite crack it.

 

[PlatteRiverPs]

I'm close too. 21 eggs developed, I've lost 2. One died before internal pip, one didn't finish zipping and died in the egg after helping it a bit.

I have helped a few chicks out this year. Maybe 6 or so.

My last 8 eggs have been infertile. My white has lost a handful of feathers and my big IB is starting to drop. IM DONE! Yay!

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Shrink wrapping as your describing stacir as when they have pipped and not yet emerged? Seems all chicks after pip,,if they take a long time yet to zip,the circulating air will dry out the membrane no matter what the humidity. I have a large Humidaire incubator out in my garage and high humidity is hard to control,manytimes it's been over 60% and some days over 70% but I have not had one chick drown in the egg.I've had quitters as your describing,mine to the point of before airsack starts elongating and with the wild weather we have had here this summer,contribute it to hatch rates on some colors I have.My Opals started with very poor results but this first group that has went 100% with no power outages,I've hatched 4 outta 6 eggs so far.My Midnight pen is still working overtime and I will get a total once these eggs hatch by Tuesday,as to eggs laid vs number hatched.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I am a complete pea egg and incubating novice, but maybe your peahen egg shells are too thin from not enough calcium?

-Kathy

Kathy,if the eggshells are too thin the embryo would lose way too much weight while incubating and would never make it to hatch.