Chicks day 25 and no internal pips! When do I call it?

[kerryb90]

Did you mean March 19th?

Yes, I just checked the delivery date on the eggs and it was just before the 19th. I know I let em rest a day and then put them in. So we're good. Lol I told you my math skills are not stellar... but at least I got it right when it counted

 

[BGcoop]

Yes, I just checked the delivery date on the eggs and it was just before the 19th. I know I let em rest a day and then put them in. So we're good. Lol I told you my math skills are not stellar... but at least I got it right when it counted

Lol, ok phew!!

 

[Finnie]

So, did any hatch?

 

[kerryb90]

So, did any hatch?

Not a one. I'm so disappointed.

 

[josiegirl]

My husband bought deathlayer eggs. Now I'm nervous I don't be able to hatch them!! Any idea what went wrong? You hatched ducklings and I'm sure those are harder

 

[kerryb90]

My husband bought deathlayer eggs. Now I'm nervous I don't be able to hatch them!! Any idea what went wrong? You hatched ducklings and I'm sure those are harder

I wouldn't worry too much - it was my first chicken hatch and the incubator wasn't calibrated so the temp/humidity may have been off. I have heard tales of the breed having poor genetics, but some of the sellers I got them from have been getting 90% fertility and 75% hatch rates, so obviously there IS a right way to do it.

In terms of my specific process, I think I may have put my eggs on lockdown too soon. The entire egg wasn't dark like my duck eggs have been when I stopped turning and increased humidity, so the fact that I'm new to this and didn't know what to look for was probably the main factor. If you are also new, please feel free to post in this forum much and often with questions - this site contains a wealth of knowledge and has been so helpful to me as I manage my flock and work on getting a breeding program up and running.

I wish you the best of luck and I have COMPLETE confidence your deathlayers will hatch!!!

 

[Mvan42]

Your temperature should have been 99.5, it might have been just a little to cool to develop correctly. Sometimes it takes a few extra days when the temperature in lower than that. I prefer my humidity to be around 65 to 70ish at lockdown and 45 to 55, 55 preferred for the first few days

 

[kerryb90]

Your temperature should have been 99.5, it might have been just a little to cool to develop correctly. Sometimes it takes a few extra days when the temperature in lower than that. I prefer my humidity to be around 65 to 70ish at lockdown and 45 to 55, 55 preferred for the first few days

Yes, the incubator SAID it was at 99.5 or close for most of the incubation process, but it wasn't calibrated so it could easily have been too low. Lesson learned!