Am I the only one who failed at incubating for the first time?

[MrViskers]

Im planing on incubating just about a dozen eggs this time, I feel like a failure when it comes to incubating, my first time was horrible, there was 25 eggs that were in the incubator of those only 2 hatched with 1 dying in less than an hour and an Araucana cross chick only making it 3 days than dying mysteriously (i suspect her crippled leg from my poor egg turning) and you probably know how i am feeling , I had put a lot of effort in those 21 or so days but it just lead to nothing

Please i want to know if I am not the only fool on BYC!

(the incubator used is a Janoel 60 egg incubator)

 

[m.kitchengirl]

No, you're not the only one.
I tried to incubate Ancona duck eggs this spring. I put 9 in a LG incubator I borrowed from a teacher I know. I waited something like 36 days because I saw wiggling. I think the wiggling was the incubator motor.
I turned 3-5 times a day, watched the humidity like, well, a mother hen. I did everything by the book. No babies. It broke my heart, I doubt I will incubate ever again - unless one of my hens goes broody. They can have the worry then.

 

[Melissa Rose]

My first and second hatching I lost chicks and would consider them both to be some what successful failures ! Failures because chicks that would have been healthy did not survive. With each attempt I become more successful and my flock is starting to actually be a flock! Keep trying and good luck

 

[MrViskers]

My chickens are healthy and good, too bad the hens will never go broody as they are utility type... It will make hatching the little chicks much easier!

 

[Animalian]

I am first time incubating, kinda, the hen is doing it really, but it's her first time too!!!!!

So nervous

day 10 and so far so good, I'll let you know if we both end up fools for whatever reason though!!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

So far I'm an almost complete failure hatching. Got one healthy chick first batch and nodda second. Giving up on shipped eggs and will hatch from my flock next spring. Eventually we'll end up with the color and breed we want through careful selection and years of patience.

 

[Gypsy07]

Most people's first few attempts at incubation are a steep learning curve. Well, that's a much nicer way of putting it than saying a total freakin' disaster! I got four chicks out of a dozen eggs with my first hatch, and thinking back, if I'd known what I'd been doing I'd probably have managed to get 10 or more. I know it's difficult not to get upset and not to get disheartened, but the trick really is just to keep on trying. The Janoel incubator is one of the rarer ones, as in not many people on here use them and so when it comes to asking advice it'll be harder for you to find advice relevant to your own bator, but quite a few people on here have reported great hatches with them - I think they're mostlyfrom Australia, so maybe it's more popular over there.

For your next hatch make sure you go over all the basics again. Clean and sanitise your bator thoroughly. Maybe invest in a cheap digital thermometer that stores max/min temps, so you can see if you're having any temp fluctuations that you might not have previously noticed. Make sure your thermometer and hygrometer are measuring accurately. It's amazing how many of them don't! Take notes throughout the incubation. They can help you pinpoint problems, and you can use them to jog your memory for things you might have forgotten about from one hatch to the next.

From reading posts on here, and from my own hatching experience, I think the thing that causes the most problems for most people is humidity. It's difficult to get right straight away as it really can just be trial and error. What suits one person won't necessarily work for another, so beware of people who confidently tell you that your humidity needs to be X, Y or Z. What they're usually meaning is no more than 'Well, X, Y or Z worked for me...'

The other thing I'd say is that compared with using an auto turner, hand turning eggs adds another element of risk, just cause you'll be touching every egg three times a day at least. Make sure you scrub your hands well with an antibacterial soap every time you're going to turn your eggs.

Good luck for the next hatch!

 

[Chickangel79]

I totally fried the first two hatches.

 

[Barbedwirecat]

Nope, you are not the only one. I fried a batch of button quail eggs a few years ago. I got more eggs and tried again, and did much better only losing 1 egg out of 5 (and helping one, these were fresh eggs from my quails) Learning curve, but each time you do it---you learn from it!

I think our first incubation are bad sometimes because we over fiddle with things. And over worry. Try try again.

 

[mstricer]

My first hatch I bought Marans eggs at Columbus National Poultry show. I got one chick cost me 40$ second cost me 30$ for one chick. I was so disappointed I swore I'd never hatch eggs again. Then I set 25 of my own eggs thinking I'd only get one. Well guess what they all hatched. What a mistake. Well since then I've fitting a lot better at hatching shipped eggs don't get 100% but more then one.