Chicks fully formed but not hatching

[Imheavenbound]

I used to have great luck hatching eggs in my cabinet style incubator with automatic turner, but the last 4 times, I get very few chicks and have to help most of those.
Humidity is kept at 50 during the first days and upped to 60 during the last few days. The temp is a steady 99.5 throughout the entire process.
The incubator is 4 levels and I've got thermometers throughout each level and hygrometers too.
Sometimes the chicks will start pipping and then dry up. Other times, they never even pip but when I check the eggs, they have fully formed but never hatched.
I have even upped the humidity during hatching, as far as 85% just trying to figure out what's wrong.
I've cleaned the incubator, even tried making an upper tray the hatching area in case the air flow wasn't right, but nothing.
I'm so confused and at a total loss.
They are all different breeds so it's not particular chickens.
Any suggestions at all? I'd love to hatch more eggs but I'm tired of watching them die.
Please help, if you can!
Email me at 2 [email protected] if you have any suggestions.
Thanks!

 

[PD-Riverman]

I used to have great luck hatching eggs in my cabinet style incubator with automatic turner, but the last 4 times, I get very few chicks and have to help most of those.
Humidity is kept at 50 during the first days and upped to 60 during the last few days. The temp is a steady 99.5 throughout the entire process.
The incubator is 4 levels and I've got thermometers throughout each level and hygrometers too.
Sometimes the chicks will start pipping and then dry up. Other times, they never even pip but when I check the eggs, they have fully formed but never hatched.
I have even upped the humidity during hatching, as far as 85% just trying to figure out what's wrong.
I've cleaned the incubator, even tried making an upper tray the hatching area in case the air flow wasn't right, but nothing.
I'm so confused and at a total loss.
They are all different breeds so it's not particular chickens.
Any suggestions at all? I'd love to hatch more eggs but I'm tired of watching them die.
Please help, if you can!
Email me at 2 [email protected] if you have any suggestions.
Thanks!

What are you doing different?
What have you changed?
Have You changed thermometer/hydrometer?
What is the temp in the incubator?
What is the temp in the hatching tray?
Have you always incubated at 50%?
50% is way to high for the incubation in my opinion, 60% is way to low for the hatch in my Opinion.
Sounds like they are drowning because the air cells are to small??
Do you set eggs weekly?
Do you candle and remove bad eggs?
Are you a Hands-on-hatcher or a hands--of---hatcher??
Do you open the incubator during the hatch?
For sure something is wrong and different being your hatch has dropped a lot.

 

[Imheavenbound]

What are you doing different?
What have you changed?
Have You changed thermometer/hydrometer?
What is the temp in the incubator?
What is the temp in the hatching tray?
Have you always incubated at 50%?
50% is way to high for the incubation in my opinion, 60% is way to low for the hatch in my Opinion.
Sounds like they are drowning because the air cells are to small??
Do you set eggs weekly?
Do you candle and remove bad eggs?
Are you a Hands-on-hatcher or a hands--of---hatcher??
Do you open the incubator during the hatch?
For sure something is wrong and different being your hatch has dro


I wish I could think of something I'm doing different but I really can't.
You overwhelm me with all the questions but I'll try to answer in order......
Haven't changed a thing, not even water containers.
I haven't changed thermometer or hydrometer, though I have added a couple of each, placing them in different places in the bator to try to pinpoint problem, to no avail.
Temp in the incubator and hatching tray is 99.5
Yes, I've always incubated at 50% humidity. I used to hatch between 50-60% but started raising the hatching humidity when all this started happening.
Air cells seem to be normal but even if I pip an airhole for them after a couple days, they may be alive when I start the hole, but die before they finish zipping.
I just incubate eggs when I want to incubate, but I always make sure my eggs are not over 7 days old and no extremely dirty eggs.
I do not candle.
I'm not sure what Hands on or hands off means.
I only open incubator if I have chicks that have been in there over 24 hours and then I will add damp rags and hot water to raise humidity quickly.
I definitely know somethin g is wrong....that's what has me so puzzled. I ordered me a small incubator because I was giving up on this one, but It has really bugged me that I can't figure out the problem and decided to get on here and see if I'm missing something.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I did not mean to overwhelm you with the questions, You got a problem and to save time I asked several questions on one post instead of one or two per post, which would take a lot of back and forth posting.

You said you do not candle the eggs, but you said the air cell was normal----how you know that?
If you do not candle and remove "bad" eggs I wonder if the bad eggs are effecting the good eggs.

Have you put a thermometer in the hatching tray to check the temp in it?

I am going to Private Message you.

 

[HARRY47264]

Sorry for your dilemma go to the learning center click on hatching and raising chicks then click on dry incubation method. An excellent article
Harry