Day 24 -Who knows about putting eggs in warm water to check if alive??

[cluckcluck42]

Well, it looks like this hatch has been a complete failure. As to why, I'm not 100% sure yet. My egg turner may have been obstructed almost the entire hatch because of how the hygrometer was placed. I will test this when I have set up the bator again, see if how it was placed really could have stopped it from turning. Or it was a bacteria infection. 40 eggs went in, 9 eggs in lockdown. All seemed to die at different stages in development. Some of the eggs were older, 10 days, maybe 12 tops.

Anyways I heard cheeping on Day 22 and then again last night on Day 23. This morning I was surprised to wake up to no pips, no chicks, nothing. Temp is right at 100, humidity has been around 65-75 since lockdown, going up to 80 briefly once or twice. The temp did drop to 90 for about 45 minutes when we lost power. I was doing a dry hatch for the first time as well. Could it have been too dry?

When and how should I check if the chicks are still alive?? I heard of placing the eggs in warm water and seeing if they wiggle. Should I wait to day 25 to do so??


ETA: It's way too bright to candle yet so I have put some of the eggs in warm water to check if they moved, they FLOATED. I know 100% I read on this website someone checking eggs thsi way and if they float or sunk MEANT something. So, are they dead? Alive? I could swear after checking a few of them I can hear noise in the bator but then again I keep 'hearing' things. Please if you know what thread I saw this on, please help!! I am having no luck searching for it.

 

[cluckcluck42]

Should I candle them maybe?

Also I have a Hovabator 1588 and the temps have been steady the whole time.

One more thing- I had a few drops of water land on an egg when putting new water in (through the vent hole, I have a tupperware under it to add warm water to) could this have drowned the egg? I wanted to go in and wipe it off but I am trying to be really strict about not opening it.

 

[CoopCrazy]

I would candle just do one at a time and do it quickly ..

 

[cluckcluck42]

Quote:
Should movement be pretty obvious at this point?? Would I see the chick moving in the egg?

 

[rancher hicks]

Judgeing from the information your giving it could have been any of these reasons or a combination.
1. Didn't you notice the turner turning?
2. 40 down to 9 is alot. Did they go from 40 - 9 in one day? How many times did you open the incu? How long each time?
3. Eggs over 7 should not have been used. Fertility starts dropping from day one and gradually declines. Only the freshest eggs should be used.
4. when did you check eggs to see when they died? Were you candleing alot?
5. was there alot of times the temp fluctuated? Temp drops every time you open the incu.
6. Was the humidity steady?
7. Were the eggs clean? After sitting out for 10-12 they had probably gone bad.
8. How were the eggs stored before going into the incu? Where were they stored? What temp were they stored at?
9. Where was the incu.? What room? What is the temp of the room? The room you place the incu in should have an even temp btwn 70*-80*. I place a thermo on the wall of the room to keep track. The traffic in and out of the incu room should be minimal.

Practical Poultry mag had a really good article on DIY hatching. I advise picking a method and follow that no matter what other ideas about hatching are out there. Lots of people have there own methods of what works for them and it can get confusing. You don't want to combine on method with another.
Ex. Some say humidity should be 30% for 1-18 days some say 35% etc. etc. Some say candle as much as you want others say once or twice. Some wash eggs, some do not. You have to pick a system/method and find the one that works right for you. Follow the instructions of whatever method you choose to the letter.

Hope your next hatch works out better.

 

[Kismet]

I keep a record sheet with notes. For "Check Turner", I have three boxes, and I put an arrow pointing the direction the turner is at the time I check it. So, it might be an up arrow when I go to work at 6:00 am, but when I get home at 5:00 pm, I might make the arrow pointing to the right. When I go to bed, it might be at an angle or to the left, etc. But, this is a quick easy way for me to notice that the turner is working. If the eggs are always pointing in the same direction, I become suspicious and check that my turner is working properly. If the eggs are not turned, of course, the chick gets stuck to the side and can't get out.

I candle at 7 days, 14 days, and at lockdown, 18 days. I trace the air pocket with a pencil at seven days, and then again at 14 days. I can see whether the pocket is growing appropriately. I compare to a drawing from the University of Minnesota Ext. Service that I found on BYC: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI0631 (this is the URL on my printout, but I just went there to see if it is still there, and it isn't. Maybe searching the UMN will find it.)

I just hatched 66 out of 77 eggs (originally 84). That's about 85%: eggs at lockdown to eggs hatched. This was a particularly successful hatch, so I am now trying to figure out what I did differently, so I can do it again. Twenty-seven of the eggs were shipped - from 1200 miles away and 3,000 miles away. All but five of them hatched. The humidity to Day 18 was approximately 25 - 30%. I found it hard to keep it above that and kept adding water every other day or so. At lockdown, I filled all the water troughs and added a wet washcloth. I got the humidity up to about 75%, figuring it would fall. It stayed around there, pretty much. The chicks arrived early, about 19-20 days, in both incubators. One is a hovabator 1588 with automatic temperature control, and the other is also hovabator but with a wafer temp control that one controls by hand.

I just share this, so you can add it to your own experience. I have learned so much lurking, and occasionally contributing to this forum. I am very grateful for all the expertise and friendliness of the membership.

 

[cluckcluck42]

Quote:
Thanks for your questions, I really want to find out what I am doing wrong. This is my third hatch and I took for granted it would be the best of all my hatches. I know I will be doing some things differently next time. Also- I cleaned the incubator with well water, could this be bad?

 

[cluckcluck42]

Quote:
I have been guilting myself a lot over not checking the turner. When I got it, the bator was out here in the living room so I saw it working. I should have been checking it, I cant believe it may not have been working. My SO and I have discussed it and he is sure he saw it turning and I have such a bad memory he may be right. I just remember that everytime I candled the eggs were in one position but I thought nothing of it at the time. Just one of those complete duh moments, and I definitely will NEVER make the same mistake again. I am very eager to test if the hygrometer could have been stopping the turner. I will feel so guilty if it was, but at least it would explain about the hatch.

Oddly enough, I just did a dry hatch and my humidity was always around 30%. We live by a lake and the humidity is pretty high here, really bugs my arthritis. I have a dehumidifier going all the time to help.

I don't know what i would do without this forum. It's helped me in so many ways. Definitely taught me a lot and still so much I need to know.

I am so glad to hear of your good hatch, especially with shipped eggs!! Way to go, you are definitely doing something very right. How many hatches have you done before?

 

[cluckcluck42]

So I guess my big question now is, what happened to the cheeping chick?? Over two nights I heard noise, and now nothing. I am going to assume all the chicks are dead in shell but what caused this?? I mean, they survived up til this point, what happened to kill them so close to hatching? Nobody has pipped or anything.

 

[cluckcluck42]

As I read this on here before and its way too bright to candle, I took warm water in a dish and placed some of the eggs in it. They all floated. What does this mean? Curses,I wish I could find the thread or person who had posted about this!! aah!! I know floating or sinking MEANT something. I *think* I am hearing noises from the bator but I have been 'hearing' things all day. ARGGHH!!!