Causes for my poor hatch?

[MomFoldingLaundry]

I don't think moving them to a different incubator for lockdown was the problem. I do that all the time with my regular and celadon eggs. I incubate them all in my hovabator, then transfer the celadons to my Rite Farm little one at lockdown so I can keep the chicks separate.

Yeah, I think the issue was that I moved them when lockdown had already started. I assumed it was fine because they hadn't been locked down too long. But...basically all of them are shrink wrapped.

Live and learn. That said, if this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have been referred to the guide to assisting with hatches, which has been SO helpful. I now know way more about how to assist without killing them now. Which is great.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

You have a top of the line incubator (which I did not), so you can likely rule that out as a cause of your woes.

I ran this batch in my old, crummy incubator. This was going to be the "last one" in that machine. LOL.

But you are right that I'm overthinking it. I only moved them from one incubator to another because I was frustrated by the high humidity in my old 'bator. Honestly, if I'd just left them there, I would have been better off.

That said, I'm learning a lot about assisted hatching. Which is great. and long overdue.

 

[Ruby Rogue]

I'm glad the link to the guide was helpful. I read it before every hatch just as a refresher and to prepare myself just in case.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I seriously have no idea. I'm presuming some oxygenation and / or sanitation? All I know is that I was delighted when healthy birds all popped out of their shells like popcorn.

Turns out the use of hydrogen peroxide in hatching was patented more than 30 years ago, but the patent expired in 2008. The primary purpose is sanitization. Authors report that hydrogen peroxide was more effective than the standard hatchery process using formaldehyde.

Feel free to share.

Method for sanitizing and improving the hatchability of hatchery eggs.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

I'm glad the link to the guide was helpful. I read it before every hatch just as a refresher and to prepare myself just in case.

I will say that the guide was not 100% helpful. I still had 2 die using their method.

But my little "trick" I use, that I found improved the remaining chicks I assisted was to keep rubbing and nudging them until they were out of their shells. In the nest, their parents and siblings would be rubbing and nudging them while they hatched, and I find that struggling quail chicks do better if you rub them in front of a heater.

Also, with the membranes, you can massage them out of the way, so that even if there are still a few veins, they can be pushed back, rather than accidentally cutting them.

 

[FloorCandy]

If I were to guess, I would say my first thought is too high humidity. From what I’ve read this will cause the chicks to be larger and more bloated and they have difficulty moving to the right position, then they have trouble zipping because they can’t move properly. I’m so happy you were able to save many of them though.

To be honest, I’m suspecting that due to where you live and the unique natural conditions there, you might find it difficult to hatch with high success in an inexpensive hobby setting, (I’m not saying hatcheries can’t have h ac systems that keep better conditions, but for a normal person doing this in their home, there’s only so much you can do). I’m not saying you should give up or anything, but perhaps you might need to put more eggs in your proverbial basket, and with increased numbers set and therefore higher odds, you may receive more healthy chicks.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

If I were to guess, I would say my first thought is too high humidity. . . , you might find it difficult to hatch with high success in an inexpensive hobby setting, . ..

The fan makes a big difference, IMHO. Whether with your new soon-to-be-used incubator or a retrofitted fan, it will help keep the eggs dry and evenly heated. I predict better success in the near future. Just keep notes and keep improving on what works for you.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

The fan makes a big difference, IMHO. Whether with your new soon-to-be-used incubator or a retrofitted fan, it will help keep the eggs dry and evenly heated. I predict better success in the near future. Just keep notes and keep improving on what works for you.

I need to stop hatching so many small batches back to back. It leads to frustration and extra work. I’ve been running both incubators, but as with any form of multitasking, one gets worse results on all tasks.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I need to stop hatching so many small batches back to back. It leads to frustration and extra work. I’ve been running both incubators, but as with any form of multitasking, one gets worse results on all tasks.

Hatching is a scientific task. If it was me, I'd stop using the cheap incubator -- it hasn't given you good results so far. Use just the new one and set everything to a repeatable pattern. I think the best you can do is run it dry, then wet for lockdown. Relying too heavily on the humidity gauges will only frustrate you since you can't control the weather. (Hens don't have built in hygrometers either)

Don't second guess. Think of it as a controlled experiment. After hatching is done, reassess how it turned out and then make adjustments as to where you think could be improved.

I also wouldn't increase the number of eggs in each batch until you've nailed down your technique. It's not good for you, or for the birds that struggle to get out. After my first hatch I was ready to give up. Taking a long break and reflecting really helped me rethink the process. Right now, I sense you are in a loop because you're not seeing measurable results. Don't give up. I really think the new incubator will help (they should NEVER sell still air incubators; seriously, how hard would it be to add a fan?).

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

@CovidtimeQuail I think you are right about tossing my old incubator. I did have two good hatches from it: 90% and 80%. But it’s been making a really weird noise when I start it up the last couple times. Maybe the fan broke?

It really is a solid 3 degrees colder on one side than the other. Which I’d been trying to make up for my turning the whole think up a couple tenths of a degree. But...

I suspect what happened was I “got the hang of it” when I had those couple good hatches, but the machine is just breaking down now. You know how it is in Hawaii: cheap machinery gives out.