Egg Color and Hatch Success

[KellyMP]

I seriously doubt the color of the eggshell had anything to do with it.
But they were laid by different hens, that could. At least some of them started to develop so they were at least fertilized.

Which incubator did you use? Did it have a fan? That might help with the "position in the incubator" theory.

Of the seven eggs laid by these two hens only one hatched. With the other eggs hatching I don't think it was an incubator or rooster problem. So something with those hens.

For an egg to hatch it has to be put together perfectly. It is possible something is wrong with those hens in how they put the eggs together. It could easily be something you cannot see visually. Porosity is a possibility but I'd think that would affect the egg later in the incubation process, not early on. You got lucky with one of those eggs.

It is possible the she is not processing a certain nutrient correctly. The nutrient, whatever it is, is available as the other hen's eggs hatched, but the other is not eating it or maybe the body just doesn't process it.

I've had it happen where none of a certain hen's eggs hatched while others had a great hatch rate. But those never started to develop at all, I don't think they were fertilized. I don't know what happened with yours.

So, the eggs made it past day 7 when they died. I just candled a new batch that I am trying and once again all are doing great, veins, movement in the embryos, etc. So, 17/18 eggs are developing. I am trying a larger hatch as I had to get rid of my rooster sadly. This is where the air sacs are on day 7. Some are smaller than others, so wondering if they are at a decent average or need to be larger. I’ve kept the humidity a bit lower this time, around 40-45.

 

[McChooky]

I came across an article that stated the dry hatch method isn't recommended for leghorn eggs (white) but I was already on day 19 .I only had 4 out of 9 leghorn eggs hatch but all my brown hatched

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I came across an article that stated the dry hatch method isn't recommended for leghorn eggs (white) but I was already on day 19 .I only had 4 out of 9 leghorn eggs hatch but all my brown hatched

Do you have a link for that article?

 

[McChooky]

Do you have a link for that article?

I will do a search in my history and get back to you thanks

 

[McChooky]

I will do a search in my history and get back to you thanks

Many of the things that affect hatchability are covered in this article https://www.poultryhatch.com/2025/09/do-egg-sizes-affect-hatch-rates.html

 

[McChooky]

I'm sorry but I was all over the place and wasn't able to find the article I read but there are multiple articles that state large eggs take longer to hatch and white eggs lose more moisture causing the chicks to get stuck .Using the dry hatch can lead to poor results if you don't add water on day 18

 

[redinator]

I'm sorry but I was all over the place and wasn't able to find the article I read but there are multiple articles that state large eggs take longer to hatch and white eggs lose more moisture causing the chicks to get stuck .Using the dry hatch can lead to poor results if you don't add water on day 18

Even in a dry hatch the chicks need humidity (65-75%) during lockdown to breakthrough the shell.

I started dry hatching after a few bad hatches using the traditional method and I've had better hatches since.

To me it seems, the article referenced above, is saying eggs in the same incubator should be similar in size. If they aren't it can cause the issues described.

 

[McChooky]

Even in a dry hatch the chicks need humidity (65-75%) during lockdown to breakthrough the shell.

I started dry hatching after a few bad hatches using the traditional method and I've had better hatches since.

To me it seems, the article referenced above, is saying eggs in the same incubator should be similar in size. If they aren't it can cause the issues described.

My eggs were a large mix of white (leghorns) and dark(welsummer) 9 out of 14 hatched(1 was clear and 1 questionable at 10 days)The 3 white eggs that didn't hatch were likely shrink wrapped since I didn't add water.Its also possible the chicks in the dark eggs would have drowned if I added too much.My incubator is a diy chest cooler with a light bulb and fan

 

[McChooky]

This video explains the 'gray' area of hatching eggs of different colors together .You can save some by adding water but drown others by adding too much. I just count myself lucky that any of my chicks hatched (esp since I'm a newbie and used a diy incubator)You can skip forward to mistake number 8 at the 12 minute mark to see the part about mixing white and dark eggs.Thanks for your feedback!