Eggs appear to be dying between days 16-21?

[Emmafh]

Hi, bear with me while I explain!

1st hatching ever, 7/12 eggs viable all hatched. I followed the booklet that came with the incubator 45%humidity I think? until day 18 then pump it to 50-60%


2nd hatch - eggs from a different friend whos hens go broody so she's never hatched in a hatcher but has a lot of chicks nevertheless.
10/12 viable only 2 hatched day 21 the other 8 dead after day 27. Some of these had internally pipped but got no further.
Again used the same humidity and temp as first hatch (can't be accurate on this because it was over a year ago!)


3rd hatch - same eggs as 2nd 9/13 eggs viable and alive by day 16ish, set at day 18. All dead by day 26. No internal pipping.
Attempted a dry hatch, kept humidity at 30ish until day 18 then bumped it to 50.


4th hatch - different set of eggs from 1st and 2nd. These from my own hens. 2/6 viable. Alive at day 16. Dead at day 23. Humidity at 30 for the first 18 days


5th hatch - same eggs as 4th hatch, but this time hens were much older, 8/13 alive and moving by day 16.
Day 18 I saw no movement but thought you know, kinda full in there, airsack looked fine and the right size. 2 of the 8 I was unsure if they stopped growing before hand but kept in just in case.

Day 21/22 currently, thought I'd crack one open because my gut said it was a lost cause. It was one I wasn't sure of, turned out it had a lot of fluid in it and hadn't fully developed to fill the egg but veins still looked very red. It was completely dead however. The other eggs when candled, looked and felt a lot less fluid filled day 18.
Still have 7 in the incubator. No pips. no movement. Not a thing.
Kept the humidity at 30% the whole time (which is the lowest my incubator allows before it beeps non stop until it's at the right level) then set the eggs and had the humidity at 40-45%.
I have a feeling they have all died. Again.
What am I doing wrong, how can I solve this? I need to get productive with this or else this whole smallstead will just fail - chicken being the only thing my family eats

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hi, bear with me while I explain!

1st hatching ever, 7/12 eggs viable all hatched. I followed the booklet that came with the incubator 45%humidity I think? until day 18 then pump it to 50-60%


2nd hatch - eggs from a different friend whos hens go broody so she's never hatched in a hatcher but has a lot of chicks nevertheless.
10/12 viable only 2 hatched day 21 the other 8 dead after day 27. Some of these had internally pipped but got no further.
Again used the same humidity and temp as first hatch (can't be accurate on this because it was over a year ago!)


3rd hatch - same eggs as 2nd 9/13 eggs viable and alive by day 16ish, set at day 18. All dead by day 26. No internal pipping.
Attempted a dry hatch, kept humidity at 30ish until day 18 then bumped it to 50.


4th hatch - different set of eggs from 1st and 2nd. These from my own hens. 2/6 viable. Alive at day 16. Dead at day 23. Humidity at 30 for the first 18 days


5th hatch - same eggs as 4th hatch, but this time hens were much older, 8/13 alive and moving by day 16.
Day 18 I saw no movement but thought you know, kinda full in there, airsack looked fine and the right size. 2 of the 8 I was unsure if they stopped growing before hand but kept in just in case.

Day 21/22 currently, thought I'd crack one open because my gut said it was a lost cause. It was one I wasn't sure of, turned out it had a lot of fluid in it and hadn't fully developed to fill the egg but veins still looked very red. It was completely dead however. The other eggs when candled, looked and felt a lot less fluid filled day 18.
Still have 7 in the incubator. No pips. no movement. Not a thing.
Kept the humidity at 30% the whole time (which is the lowest my incubator allows before it beeps non stop until it's at the right level) then set the eggs and had the humidity at 40-45%.
I have a feeling they have all died. Again.
What am I doing wrong, how can I solve this? I need to get productive with this or else this whole smallstead will just fail - chicken being the only thing my family eats

Okay. I skimmed threw this and heres what i can answer
firstly, what chickens are you incubating? Often different breeds take longer or shorter so its important to note that.
also, are you using a automatic incubator? if not you have to turn it every once in a while

im not a expert on this, but thats what i know.
i could tottally be wrong on this, but i seem to remember my humity a bit higher during the lockdown and that seems to little.

 

[Emmafh]

It is automatic, so turning isn't a problem. The eggs are of different mixed breeds, the batches that weren't from my hens are from hens who either brood their own eggs or, the first batch (which my own hens are the offspring off) incubate and raise their own chicks on a large scale.
I could be wrong in the lock down humidity for the first few hatches - but I remember lowering it a bit because the chicks that did hatch weren't drying out at all

 

[Chicken poppy]

It is automatic, so turning isn't a problem. The eggs are of different mixed breeds, the batches that weren't from my hens are from hens who either brood their own eggs or, the first batch (which my own hens are the offspring off) incubate and raise their own chicks on a large scale.
I could be wrong in the lock down humidity for the first few hatches - but I remember lowering it a bit because the chicks that did hatch weren't drying out at all

Hm, *im not a expert at humity* after they hatch, you can lower it, but during the lockdown i think it has to be A bit higher then that.

 

[FiestyFeathersFarm]

What about temp? You mention humidity but temperature should be proper as I’m sure you know. What kind of incubator are you using?

 

[Chicken poppy]

What about temp? You mention humidity but temperature should be proper as I’m sure you know. What kind of incubator are you using?

Yes. Temp is very import though it can fluctuate a *tad* more then humidity. Its still important.

 

[FiestyFeathersFarm]

Yes. Temp is very import though it can fluctuate a *tad* more then humidity. Its still important.

Temperature can fluctuate + or - only a couple degrees, where humidity can fluctuate quite a bit. My last batch of Serama chicks humidity would bounce from 27% to 50% the first 18 days. With chicken eggs I feel like temp matters way more than humidity, but still equally important. Also having a second thermometer and hygrometer is essential.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Temperature can fluctuate + or - only a couple degrees, where humidity can fluctuate quite a bit. My last batch of Serama chicks humidity would bounce from 27% to 50% the first 18 days. With chicken eggs I feel like temp matters way more than humidity, but still equally important. Also having a second thermometer and hygrometer is essential.

Ive had more luck with the temp being able to flex a bit in personal experince, that could be just because i generally do not flex any of the temp or humidity though. both of them are very important and should be researched beforehand however.

 

[MorningGlory16]

Have you calibrated your thermometers? The general rule is to not trust the built in thermometer (if your incubator has one) and to have a second one that's been properly calibrated to compare temps.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Have you calibrated your thermometers? The general rule is to not trust the built in thermometer (if your incubator has one) and to have a second one that's been properly calibrated to compare temps.

agreed! We used 2, always great to have a backup and just to rely more trust upon the second.