Anyone having bad hatches this year?

[HBuehler]

I strongly suggest dry incubation..I'm hatching 100% every week.A bad week is 1 or 2 not hatching but they were iffy when I put them in.I have even forgot some and had them hatch on the turner never going to lockdown at all and the bator opening a few times a day-perfectly healthy chicks. So far this year close to 200 hatched
Have over 200 in bators now..someone has a chicken addiction

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I think it is our wetter weather lately. Humidity is higher in my bator dry than it is with water in the tray! I have been having the same horrible hatch rate and am setting eggs tonight going to try the dry method to see the difference. I have NEVER had such bad hatches!!!!!

Thanks for this thread!!! It's a relief to know I am not the only one!!!

 

[heritagebirds]

Quote:
I usually had less than 50% hatch last year and the year before...

well, more like one or two out of a dozen... My first dry incubation this year I had 13/17 hatch, which is 76%... That is incredible for shipped eggs(at least from my experience). All of my own that I set hatched.

 

[Teresaann24]

Hmm, I think I am gonna have to try this dry incubation. Right now my humidity is running 55%

 

[luckyduck]

Hatch #3 happening now. So far 5 came a day after due date, one pipped but must have got turned around.. it was dead. Today another hatched with just a little help. We put in 42 eggs in hovabator.. after candling, there were 21. Lat hatch we ended up with 6, 4 the time before.
Nothing to lose, they are our own eggs. We were very careful with the temp and humidity and followed advice from BYC. I'll leave these eggs still for another day or so. just don't know what the problem is. An experienced farmer told me to pick out the eggs, but let them sit for a week before putting them in the incubator, as a hen would save up a bunch before setting. Anyway. I do have 16 new chicks altogether to supplement my flock of 50 or so. Glad to get some americauna and australorp chicks, also cochins and brahmas.

 

[tammyd57]

I just finished my first hatch in an incubator, ever, in over 40 years of chicken keeping. I built the bator myself using an igloo cooler.
They hatched 2 days early and I had to help one (he's doing great!). I got 4 chicks out of 10 eggs, but I didn't candle so I don't know how many might have been infertile or never started. I also didn't crack open the ones that didn't hatch to see what went wrong---just too eeewww for me

I call it a great success since I wasn't really convinced I would get ANY live chicks!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I had some bad hatches this year with seramas (only two chicks out of...lots of eggs set), but my luck seems to have turned around! Five chicks so far in this hatch and it's not even hatch day yet.

 

[Teresaann24]

I am on day 8 and so far so good chicks all growing. I am still worried about hatch day all the stories around my part everyone is having such horrible hatches.

I really believe its due to humidity in our area.

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
Seramas like high humidity, so I bet it is the humidity affecting hatch rates.