Eggs keep dying before pipping~please help newbie!

[rescuechick29]

Hmmmm....I have not taken the fan guard off and disinfected under there but I do scrub and bleach in between sets...I will deifinitely do that after this hatch, good thought. To think the queen of bleach may actually have missed a spot! regarding humidity, this last set was in the 30's and previous clutch was in the 40's....if you've got a 'tried and true' percentage, I've tried it. I've incubated as high as 50% and now I'm down to the 30's...

As far as lethal gening, I have found it in dogs (as previously stated), guinea pigs, rats, rabbits and even hamsters! I doubt that this is the case though, as the hen is a sizzle and the roo a silkie, both different patterns....but it was worth a try lol

Ok. I've got a dozen due in a week n a half, their weight loss is on cue right now, per my calculations. Next hatch attempted will be in a feshly sterilized bator, with NO water added til lockdown. As for the gloves, I started wearing them when we had some crusty seramas show up at work, but I didn't wear them for 2 hatches. Gloves are disposable powder free. I would attempt to tilt the bator rather than hand turning, but they seem like they will knock around and crack. I have not eggtopsied both as I'm waiting to make sure they didn't make it although I quickly pulled them out and candled them~no veins or movement and they never pipped internally again! It is enraging and frustrating. I will post pictures this evening when I eggtopsy them :/ today is day 22....

Also, does anyone know if the size of the baggie, when testing your hygrometer with salt, makes a difference? I wouldn't think so but...just trying to cover every scenario. My baggie was quart rather than gallon....who knows....

A GIANT THANKS for all the support and info. I bought 6 chicks from a guy yesterday tht had such a simple homemade bator, no hygrometer 90% hatches...I WILL get this right!!

 

[judsenn]

I know..I know..I AM being paranoid. Thats just my nature when it comes to living creatures. LOL. I will let them be from here on out. But since the one external pipped yesterday around 6 pm and no progress since then, when should I give up hope on it? Won't it eventually run out of air if it doesn't make it out on it's own after 48 hours?

 

[yinepu]

Hmmmm....I have not taken the fan guard off and disinfected under there but I do scrub and bleach in between sets...I will deifinitely do that after this hatch, good thought. To think the queen of bleach may actually have missed a spot!

regarding humidity, this last set was in the 30's and previous clutch was in the 40's....if you've got a 'tried and true' percentage, I've tried it. I've incubated as high as 50% and now I'm down to the 30's...
As far as lethal gening, I have found it in dogs (as previously stated), guinea pigs, rats, rabbits and even hamsters! I doubt that this is the case though, as the hen is a sizzle and the roo a silkie, both different patterns....but it was worth a try lol
Ok. I've got a dozen due in a week n a half, their weight loss is on cue right now, per my calculations. Next hatch attempted will be in a feshly sterilized bator, with NO water added til lockdown. As for the gloves, I started wearing them when we had some crusty seramas show up at work, but I didn't wear them for 2 hatches. Gloves are disposable powder free. I would attempt to tilt the bator rather than hand turning, but they seem like they will knock around and crack. I have not eggtopsied both as I'm waiting to make sure they didn't make it although I quickly pulled them out and candled them~no veins or movement and they never pipped internally again! It is enraging and frustrating. I will post pictures this evening when I eggtopsy them

today is day 22....
Also, does anyone know if the size of the baggie, when testing your hygrometer with salt, makes a difference? I wouldn't think so but...just trying to cover every scenario. My baggie was quart rather than gallon....who knows....
A GIANT THANKS for all the support and info. I bought 6 chicks from a guy yesterday tht had such a simple homemade bator, no hygrometer 90% hatches...I WILL get this right!!

I tried turning the octo once.. the eggs banged around way too much for my liking and I didn't want to damage the embryos.. maybe setting it on a towel would help with the jarring.. but I have cats.. and I could see one snagging a claw in a nice fluffy towel and sending the bator flying! .. plus I have to wonder about heat spikes (even though it is a "forced air").. I don't know if anyone has ever tested the high end when it sits for several hours to see if it gets hotter... common sense says it would... so i opt for hand turning

just be sure when removing the fan plate that you don't get the contacts really wet.. I use canned air to blow out any dust .. then mist everything lightly with Oxine.. then allow to completely air dry before plugging it back in.. I suppose you could use a hair drier to make sure everything is dry.. but then you would be blowing back in all kinds of stuff.. so probably not the best idea
since you're using bleach.. once it's dry let it run for at least a day without eggs to remove any lingering fumes

for the hygrometer I found that it helps to use a heavy weight freezer type zip loc bag... I think mine are quart size

lol.. I have used the homemade bators many times.. we always used "shot glasses" as our "measurement" for humidity.. lol.. one of my grandmothers instructions for the old bator she gave me was to add 6 shot glasses at start of incubation.. then up it to 12 at hatch... (my grandfather preferred the wet/dry thermometer for humidity).. it all boils down to knowing your bator and what you need for where you live to get the hatches right (especially for chickens)

 

[yinepu]

I know..I know..I AM being paranoid. Thats just my nature when it comes to living creatures. LOL. I will let them be from here on out. But since the one external pipped yesterday around 6 pm and no progress since then, when should I give up hope on it? Won't it eventually run out of air if it doesn't make it out on it's own after 48 hours?

are your vents open?.. if so then there should be enough air flow...

was the poult active and did the peep sound nice and strong?.. if so then he should be fine... that's one reason I like a nice high humidity at hatch for turkeys.. the shells are thicker and that membrane can get to be like rubber so they get too weak from trying to get out that they end up dieing .. the higher humidity helps keep the membrane softer and also is supposed to make the shells easier for them to break through

I've had turkey poults take their sweet old time..making the tiny pip hole then going on break for 24 hours.. you look at them and see no progress.. go back a few hours later and they are sitting outside of their shells wondering where you've been.. lol

 

[jayjay]

Hi all,

Have been reading all your comments. I have recently lost 15 duck eggs. 100%. They were being hatched naturally by mum. All made it till the last couple of days then died. Am thinking of incubating the next lot myself so am finding your thread really interesting. Like yourself i have no idea what i was doing wrong but have promised myself that i will not give up.

Sorry for butting in but very interested.
Jay

 

[judsenn]

Yes, my vents are open. Humidity is up to 81% now, at least thats one good thing. I guess I'm just worried that it's alive now and if it doesnt get out by this evening it may die.

are your vents open?.. if so then there should be enough air flow...

was the poult active and did the peep sound nice and strong?.. if so then he should be fine... that's one reason I like a nice high humidity at hatch for turkeys.. the shells are thicker and that membrane can get to be like rubber so they get too weak from trying to get out that they end up dieing .. the higher humidity helps keep the membrane softer and also is supposed to make the shells easier for them to break through

I've had turkey poults take their sweet old time..making the tiny pip hole then going on break for 24 hours.. you look at them and see no progress.. go back a few hours later and they are sitting outside of their shells wondering where you've been.. lol

 

[judsenn]

Yay ...its almost out!!!! I see the head and a foot, the leg looks like its around its head thou..?? And there is some blood ..is that normal??

 

[yinepu]

Yay ...its almost out!!!! I see the head and a foot, the leg looks like its around its head thou..?? And there is some blood ..is that normal??

you would be surprised how contorted they can get while hatching.. and a little blood is fine.. sometimes they get overly excited and end up breaking a small vein.. so long as it's just a smidge they will be fine.. lots of blood though would be a cause for concern

 

[laura877]

Moe,
I was going to say the same thing. Too much handling and probably too much humidity. I think that I am on batch 5 this year. The last 4 have been dry incubation. I'm only using the Little Giant stryofoam with a turner. The last batch was the first time I had shipped eggs to me. Out of 10 eggs shipped (blue marans) I had 10 live chicks...although some died off for one reason or another, I considered that very successful.

I would like to know how long you left the eggs in the bator after hatch date. Ssometimes my tempf flucatuate and if the bator is running on the low side, it will take the chicks longer to hatch. This batch I had a big problem when the bator jumped to 109 ( I had the bedroom window open and had adjusted to keep temp at 99.5 and then I closed it and it spiked). I thought I had lost everything. So far I had one chick hatch yesterday and 2 or 3 today. Istill have about 10 left to go so we will see if they make it or not.

 

[phoenix912]

Good luck on this hatch. I hope you get some little fuzzy butts. Keep trying. When you get some to hatch it will be worth it.