about to give up

[brian348]

second batch in less than a month that has come out as a disaster. first batch was in a LG, 4 dozen eggs and 10 hatched. this batch was in a hovabator 4 dz also and 13 hatched. held temps good, humidity was good just can't figure it out. I broke open the remaining eggs and found fully developed chicks that just died. So needless to say I don't think this incubating is for me. Bad thing is I have 4 other bators full right now. So it feels bad to think i'm just sacrificing the little guys to my ineptness.

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

What is your humidity from day 1-18. It should be 35-45%. From your discription it sounds like they are drowning.

 

[GeneJordan]

Quote:
I feel your pain...

My first try was 1 of 12 to hatch... not sure what went wrong, but I and going to learn this

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
1st egg source, yours, friends, shipped plus how fresh, less then 10 days
2nd did you check that your thermometer was accurate, lot of the thermometers that come with the incubators are wrong, and the cheapy digital from wally world are not much better, though some get lucky
3rd was there a draft on your incubator, or direct sunlight
4th was the room temp steady, 65 degrees or better
5th still air or forced
6th turner or not
7th humidity, wet or dry
8th is your incubator new or used, if used was it disinfected, bacteria from the previous hatch, can kill hatches after

this is kinda harsh, which I sorry, but as you can see alot of things need to come together and can go wrong. Keep a log of what works for you and what doesn't

always start slow till you get the hang of hatching, took me a full year of hatching to get it right

the best advice is aways expect a 0% hatch rate so everything that hatches is a success and a positive learning experience

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
there is nothing said that indicates drowning. there is a lot of things that kill chicks before hatching, including a spike in temp, a drop in temp, bacteria in the 'bator, breeding, hopefully not but sickness