Can anyone help me determine what went wrong with these embryos that didn't make it? (Caution - "gra

[Rainbows Chicks]

I don't know if anyone can help me, but I'm hoping to get some insight into why these embryos died during various stages of development. For the sake of my "education", I snapped a few photos of the non-viable eggs after I cracked them open - as someone else wrote in another thread - performed an "egg-topsy". If anyone has ANY idea what might have gone wrong with these eggs, I'd REALLY appreciate some feedback, so I can, hopefully, correct the errors for my next hatch. As of right now, I have 2/8 getting locked down tomorrow, and I'm fairly disappointed but still hopeful that we might have two chicks survive our first attempt! Note: all five of these eggs were cracked open at day 15 of incubation and, on candling, none had any visible veining. I did not take a photo of the sixth egg, cracked open this morning, at day 17 of incubation, because I had already brought the memory card home to download the photos, but the egg looked very similar to the egg in photo number 1, only a bit more developed, though not quite as developed as the one in photo # 2 or # 3

Photo # 1

Photo # 2

Photo # 3

Photo # 4

Photo # 5

 

[1hotmoma]

I really wish I could help you. I am so sorry it didn't work out. I sure hope you get the 2.

 

[Habibs Hens]

not much can be seen there but defo looks like early death

before you cracked them open where any with ruptured aircells



unfortunatly after incubation the yolks become weak so they crumble upon cracking open so you cant even tell if the ones without embryo where fertile or not

 

[mstricer]

Were they shipped eggs? I don't think anyone can tell what happens when they quit early. I think, peraonally, it is due to deformities and such. I just had a whole batch of shipped eggs out of 12 only 1 hatched. The majority or them made it to lock down, fully formed. My air sacs were horrible and I debated whether or not to set them, but I paid for them and darnit I wanted they to hatch. Nota

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

Thanks, 1hotmoma, silverfox0786 and mstricer, for your feedback. I didn't figure that much could be known from just looking at the destroyed eggs, but I was still hopeful

They weren't shipped eggs, mstricer, they were brought to me by a member of my pre-school class but, unfortunately, I didn't really know enough about any of it, to even candle them before they were incubating for about 14 days...
I'm also hand-turning them and, over the course of the 17 days, there have been 2 or 3 times that it has been more than 8 hours between turns (the very most was 13 hours, one time). Do you think this could have resulted in the poor results?
I also don't have a hygrometer, so I can't be sure what the humidity level is, in there, but I can say that the temperature has been very accurate, at 99.5 degrees - barring the times -every 8 hours or so - that I have opened the incubator to turn the eggs (at which times, the lowest temp has been recorded at 93-94 degrees for a matter of minutes before the 99.5 temp was re-achieved).
I'm using a Genesis 1588 incubator. It has three water troughs in the bottom plastic tray. The instructions, with the machine, said to keep the center trough filled, for the first 18 days and, then, to keep all three troughs filled for the final three days before hatch - which I have done (well, I will fill the other two troughs tomorrow, before I lock down...) so....?
What happens, anyway, when the humidity is off? Just wanting to find out as much as I can, to try to increase the chances of a better hatch, the next time around...

 

[Habibs Hens]

the turning was fine ever 8-12 hours is fine

you do need a hygrometer

but its not something that causes early death thats mainly late death or DIS that incorrect humidity causes

i just think it was a bad batch

but before you try your next batch buy a few different thermometers to do comparisons with and a hygrometer

these are important tools in a hatchers toolkit

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

ya, I guess I'll make a trip to the Country Store tomorrow and pick up a hygrometer and another thermometer, just to be sure. I'm also trying to find a place to get some new eggs, for when the time comes....