Chicken egg incubation success rate

[The Moonshiner]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems.67011/

 

[Butterflygirl50]

I started out with 40 eggs in the incubator. I did a dry 40-45% humidity for the first 18 days. I'm hatching Silkies and was told this was a great method. Now humidity has been raised to 65-70% for lockdown.
So far between yokers (never fertilized but mailed to me), quitters (had red ring) and poorly shipped eggs with dislodged air cells (some are still off to the side), I'm going into lockdown with only 20 eggs.
That's 50% gone before they even attempt to hatch. I'm devastated and have no idea what will happen in the next five days (I'll keep eggs in there until the 24th day), but I hope to have at least enough chicks hatch so the kids can witness it. So far all they've seen is eggs going away.
Wish me luck.

 

[timon]

I assume all my eggs are fertile because of the four roosters to eleven hens thing. But when I candle them after they should be developed and they're still a clear egg with no visible development what so ever after 16 to 18 days I assume that it wasn't a fertile egg to begin with. As far as I know there isn't a way to tell if it's a fertile egg or not before incubation. Please tell me if there is and I will definitely eat the unfertilized ones.

I think the type of incubator I have was a little giant incubator. Its a Styrofoam box with a clear lid and a still air heater with a display screen.

You can tell fertility when you crack them open. The small discs on the yolk look different. Of course you can't incubate those ones, but you can know if your hens are producing fertile eggs.

 

[LisabethBrooke]

The ones I've eaten have had evidence of them being fertile - with the red spot in the yolk. But with the eggs that didn't even start the veins in the incubation I assume those ones weren't fertile eggs. I wish there was a way to tell fertility before incubation or cracking it open.

Butterflygirl50 good luck. My son loves watching them hatch. He gets all excited and its adorable. But a heads up, the incubator gets smelly after hatching. I haven't figured out how to clean this out yet. This time I'm going to try putting baking soda in it for a while.

 

[timon]

The ones I've eaten have had evidence of them being fertile - with the red spot in the yolk. But with the eggs that didn't even start the veins in the incubation I assume those ones weren't fertile eggs. I wish there was a way to tell fertility before incubation or cracking it open.

Oh-I'm not very eggsperienced, but I hope you figure it out, or someone who knows what's going on can chime in.

 

[slordaz]

I assume all my eggs are fertile because of the four roosters to eleven hens thing. But when I candle them after they should be developed and they're still a clear egg with no visible development what so ever after 16 to 18 days I assume that it wasn't a fertile egg to begin with. As far as I know there isn't a way to tell if it's a fertile egg or not before incubation. Please tell me if there is and I will definitely eat the unfertilized ones.

I think the type of incubator I have was a little giant incubator. Its a Styrofoam box with a clear lid and a still air heater with a display screen.

Are you using a second monitor inside the bator? Even with it I got a lot of dead at various staged then stupid incubator at lock down would fry my hatch, LGs are notorious for low hatch rates anyway even with a fan forced never got more than 1 or 2 out of 24-48 eggs, using the egg turner they come with, I got a hoverbator with a turner that has them laying flat which is more natural for them and I just had 14/17 hatch and still a possibility for the other 3 eggs hatching, that is a 82 percent hatch rate.

Another thing to take into consideration is the instructions that come with any incubator are for sea level if your above that what worse for them may not work for your needs, I am at almost 5k elevation and have to leave the plugs out the whole incubation period, we are still fine tuning for my elevations which is hard to hat out at in the first place