Day 22 and no action in the incubator

[raincloud]

It's looking like we've failed at incubating our first ever batch. This is day 22 ( we put them in on a Wednesday and today is Wednesday) and no pips at all yet. I tried to candle mid term ( day 15) but thought I was doing it wrong. Couldn't see much development in the few I did ( not as much dark area as other people pics suggested) but put that down to lack of the correct equipment and me not knowing what I was looking for. The rooster has been in with hens for ages, surely most must've been fertile? And we have turned 2 times a day and rested since day 19. Temp was 38.2 for start, then 38, then down to 37.5 ( that's Celsius) as per incubator instructions. ( which are in chinglish so a tad difficult to follow) . But although I religiously filled water I had no way to measure humidity. We're in spring in Victoria, Australia now with widely varied outside temps, but bator was in the laundry, out of direct sunlight and should not have been to exposed to the variance so much).

Before I start again (after summer holidays) what should I do differently?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

It's looking like we've failed at incubating our first ever batch. This is day 22 ( we put them in on a Wednesday and today is Wednesday) and no pips at all yet. I tried to candle mid term ( day 15) but thought I was doing it wrong. Couldn't see much development in the few I did ( not as much dark area as other people pics suggested) but put that down to lack of the correct equipment and me not knowing what I was looking for. The rooster has been in with hens for ages, surely most must've been fertile? And we have turned 2 times a day and rested since day 19. Temp was 38.2 for start, then 38, then down to 37.5 ( that's Celsius) as per incubator instructions. ( which are in chinglish so a tad difficult to follow) . But although I religiously filled water I had no way to measure humidity. We're in spring in Victoria, Australia now with widely varied outside temps, but bator was in the laundry, out of direct sunlight and should not have been to exposed to the variance so much).

Before I start again (after summer holidays) what should I do differently?

Make sure that your thermometers are accurate and I highly suggest ordering/buying a hygrometer. Temps for forced air (if there's a fan) should be 37.5 if it's a still air incubator, 38.6 taken near the tops of the eggs.

Usually I suggest starting with a dry incubator, but being in Australia, I'm going to say run at 30-40% and the important part- check the air cells for growth to know how to adjust humidity. I highly recommend giving this a look for better understanding of humidity and monitoring air cells: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity
One of the worst things you can do is fill water wells with no idea of what the humidity is and not monitor the air cells. Most likely the egg will not loose enough moisture, the air cell will not grow and chicks will make it to lockdown only to drown at hatch time.
Lockdown get the humidity up at least 65%, 70-75% if you are not a hands off hatcher.

For candling, a strong LED light in a darkend room will work just fine, just make sure you are canadling down into the air cell end not the bottom or side. A great candling resource: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

Try to turn at least 3 times a day.

I stop turning day 14, most people stop at lockdown at day 18.

Many of us have bad hatches in the beginning. My first hatch was compromised because I never checked my (brand new) thermometer for accuracy and it was 6 degrees (F) off. Every hatch after has been a huge success, even had a 100% hatch. Don't give up and don't dwell on the bad. Focus on the good and what you've learned from both the good and the not so good.

and good luck on your next hatch!

 

[raincloud]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I will follow up the links and get the extra kit sorted.

After a few days should I open eggs and see what happened do you think?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

If you can eggtopsy, I definitely would. Some people can't handle it, but it can be very educational. It can point out when they died and even give you an idea of why. I would do them by end of day 24. I always tap into the air cell first to double check for movement just in case there's still life. I'm expecting that you will probably find fully developed chicks in various stages of yolk absorption that are quite wet. You may even see extra fluid in some eggs. I believe if you can determine the loss of life within the first couple days after hatch date the more accurate eggtopsies are.

Good luck if you decide to do them. You always have the option of taking pics and posting them to get opinions from others on what may have happened, just give notice that you are adding graphic pics or start a new thread titled with graphic pics in the title. Usually you will get a few that chime in with what they think was cause. If you aren't comfortablt posting them to a thread you are more than welcome to pm me with them.

 

[raincloud]

Well much to my 3 kids' delight we have action in the incubator! 1 chick has begun to hatch. I'm not holding out too much hope as to survival, but we'll see. Just about to set up the go pro to film it while I'm at work. Maybe just not having humidity and temp right just delayed things?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Well much to my 3 kids' delight we have action in the incubator! 1 chick has begun to hatch. I'm not holding out too much hope as to survival, but we'll see. Just about to set up the go pro to film it while I'm at work. Maybe just not having humidity and temp right just delayed things?

Low temps will delay hatches. My first hatch was compromised by an inaccurate thermometer (6 degrees off) I didn't think I was going to get anything after day 23 came and went. Ended up with one survivor day 24 (did end up showing leg problems later on from what I am sure is the delayed development, but he is a year old now. I had a day 25 hatcher, but he didn't live 24 hours.

So stay positive, you may have a survivor! Or two....

 

[raincloud]

No progress from this mornings egg but in the afternoon another started. First pip to hatched was 2.5 hrs, and now we wait to see if it pulls through.

 

[raincloud]

Oh it's excruciating ! 3 hours from hatch and our day 24 chick is not on his feet or dry so I can't move to brooder. Have to go to sleep and hope he makes it through the night. I'm sure he's gonna be an only child so I can't risk moving him into the brooder box overnight alone and still wet. I think that's best?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Oh it's excruciating ! 3 hours from hatch and our day 24 chick is not on his feet or dry so I can't move to brooder. Have to go to sleep and hope he makes it through the night. I'm sure he's gonna be an only child so I can't risk moving him into the brooder box overnight alone and still wet. I think that's best?

I put mine in the brooder as they hatch and become active. Which with a lot of them means within a half hour and while they are still wet. I keep one end of my brooder right around 100F and they do fine. However, hanging out in the bator won't hurt either. If he survives, you'll want to put a little stuffed animal and maybe a small mirror in there. Some people use feather dusters for the little one to get up under. I would strongly consider looking for anyone who might have a couple chicks to sell about his age to keep him company too.

 

[raincloud]

In the end I pulled him / her out and into a smaller brooder box with red heat lamp and checked every couple of hours in the night. I was doubtful but before leaving this morning she was ok. Drinking water too. Good ideas for making her not so lonely thanks.