Am I incubating right?

[ShelbyCoral]

So I am trying to hatch show quality Crevecoeur eggs with my pair that I took to the Medina county fair. I have put in about 30 eggs and non of them hatch and not one formed. I have had 7 eggs under my broody and its been 2 weeks, NOTHING! I cracked one open and sure enough, its fertile but nothing is being formed or done. What am I doing wrong? I don't know if they are related and I don't know if that is the issue. Help? Advice?

 

[sourland]

Are you certain that the eggs are fertile? Even non fertile eggs will show a well defined nucleus. The 'bulls eye' appearance of a fertile egg is somewhat different. The fact that nothing developed under the broody hen is very strange if , indeed, the eggs are fertile.

 

[BantamLover21]

What type of incubator are you using? What humidity and temperature is it kept at? A faulty incubator can sometimes cause poor hatches, though I would expect that if that were the case, your broody hen hatch would have been successful.

Otherwise, the best conclusion I have is that your eggs are not fertile. How do you know they are fertile when you crack them open? A fertile egg that has been incubated (even in less than perfect conditions) should show some blood vessel development. If they don't, then they are likely not fertile.

Some people have success telling fertility by looking at the shape of the white blastoderm on the yolk, but this can be somewhat unreliable. In theory, though, a infertile egg's blastoderm will be a solid white color and irregular in shape. On the other hand, a fertile egg's blastoderm will have concentric rings (creating a "bulls-eye") and will be rather round. Did you see the bulls-eye in your "fertile" incubated eggs?

It is also possible that your eggs were fertile, but were killed early on. Did you store the eggs before incubating them or putting them beneath the broody hen? If you did, at what temperatures and humidity were they stored, and for how long? Extreme temperatures and long storage (2+ weeks) can result in lowered egg hatchability.

I'm sorry about your failed hatches. Hopefully, we can find out what was wrong!

 

[ShelbyCoral]

Well I can crack another one open and take a picture. I have had successful hatches but once I started doing them, nothing! The incubator is fine. I have other eggs in there that will be hatching soon, same date as the creves. Can he not have kids? Is it possible?

 

[ShelbyCoral]

 

[ShelbyCoral]

 

[sourland]

To my old eyes

, those eggs are not showing the 'bulls eye' appearance of fertile eggs. Yes, it is possible for a rooster to be sterile. You might try plucking feathers from around his vent and the hen's vent just in case it is a 'lack of contact' issue.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

To my old eyes

, those eggs are not showing the 'bulls eye' appearance of fertile eggs. Yes, it is possible for a rooster to be sterile. You might try plucking feathers from around his vent and the hen's vent just in case it is a 'lack of contact' issue.

X 2 - this would certainly explain why you've had no luck with hatching of late.

 

[ShelbyCoral]

The female does have allot of feather around her butt area. I don't ever see him jumping her...she even has tiny feathers on the very tip and edge of her vent. Would that be the case?

 

[sourland]

Pluck feathers, separate them for a day, and observe whether or not he mates her when reintroduced.