Eggs not hatching Day 21.5

[chookcomplex]

I think I've made a huge mistake.

I have a batch of 14 cream legbar eggs. I'm using an incubator. Temp maintained at 37.5 C. Humidity kept at 45-55% pre lockdown. At lockdown humidity at 65-85 although there were moments of me waking up and finding it at 45% humidity overnight and 60% overnight even after sending it to 80 % before bed.

Day 21 and I know it's 21 because I recorded when I put the eggs in. I see and hear zero activity from the eggs from a little window in the incubator. I can't see any of the actual eggs and having lifted the lid because I think it's too early to even check for any pip cracks in the eggs but I'm starting to get a sinking feeling that none of the eggs are fertilised. Despite my monitoring of the humidity, weight loss % of the eggs at lockdown proceeded much quicker than I expected. 70% of my eggs had hit 11-13% weight loss by day 15 so I compensated by keeping humidity at 55%

I raised my hens from pullets and my rooster from virginhood. Ever since he hit puberty he has not stopped trying to mount the hens but I've never witnessed him successfully mounting until these last few weeks, I just assumed with his persistance, he'd have the moves quickly. This batch of eggs would have been the first laid eggs my hens have laid but long after my rooster's mating attempts. The oldest set of eggs would be 2, 7 day old eggs. I would have assumed my rooster would have got a few shots in given my batch of 14 but I'm considering at the end of today, day 22, I will fetch an egg out and candle it to see whats going on and see if there's at least internal pipping.

One thing though and this is from my lack of experience. In the candling process at days 5, 10, 15 and 20. I have not really noticed any clear signs of development that I have researched. When I look at examples, they show a certain of detail but at days 10-20 at least, I just assumed by candling light wasnt bright enough because apart from the air sac, the rest of the egg is just this dark opaque shadow that I couldn't discern any detail from. Not even veins or anything interesting.

 

[NNYchick]

Remember the day you set is day zero. So if you set on 1/3/23 today is day 21 and if you set on 1/4/23 today is only day 20.
It’s a good sign that all you saw was air cell at the end the egg usually looks completely dark except air cell because the chick fills the egg.
If your flock is young and pullets are just at point of lay it may take a while for the rooster to figure out what to do and the hens to cooperate. It is possible those first laid eggs weren’t fertilized if the rooster was making connections or the pullets were not cooperative.

 

[Tonyroo]

Sounds infertile. Don't incubate the eggs of newly reached laying pullets. You need several months for young hens to develop there ovaries fully. The sign is a larger egg.

 

[chookcomplex]

Remember the day you set is day zero. So if you set on 1/3/23 today is day 21 and if you set on 1/4/23 today is only day 20.
It’s a good sign that all you saw was air cell at the end the egg usually looks completely dark except air cell because the chick fills the egg.
If your flock is young and pullets are just at point of lay it may take a while for the rooster to figure out what to do and the hens to cooperate. It is possible those first laid eggs weren’t fertilized if the rooster was making connections or the pullets were not cooperative.

Yeah, I'm conscious about day zero down to the hour but I was hoping this was the big day. I hadn't heard about the difference between new and seasoned layers from the hatching guides I've been reading.

 

[Jada22]

Do you have any pictures from candling? A dark egg is a good sign and yes sometimes it’s hard to see the veins etc.
sometimes eggs hatch a little late and sometimes they are quiet until they start externally pipping

 

[NNYchick]

Have you had any hatch yet?

 

[chookcomplex]

So one has hatched, I think it's a girl. Seems healthy enough after day one although she keeps pecking once at chick crumble, fermented feed and mealworm and gives up. I'm finding it really hard to coax her to just fully eat something in front of me. I'm just hoping she's eating something when I'm not looking. She hasn't gained a gram since birth.

As for the rest of the eggs. I'll be doing a last candle soon to check for pips or activity then once I'm sure, start cracking to investigate if all of them were unfertilised.

 

[NNYchick]

So one has hatched, I think it's a girl. Seems healthy enough after day one although she keeps pecking once at chick crumble, fermented feed and mealworm and gives up. I'm finding it really hard to coax her to just fully eat something in front of me. I'm just hoping she's eating something when I'm not looking. She hasn't gained a gram since birth.

As for the rest of the eggs. I'll be doing a last candle soon to check for pips or activity then once I'm sure, start cracking to investigate if all of them were unfertilised.

Try mashing up a little yolk from hard boiled egg , tap your finger next to the food. It might be hard with just one, usually there is one that is very daring the rest follows. Good luck hope little does good.

 

[Huntmaster]

she keeps pecking once at chick crumble, fermented feed and mealworm

I wouldn't feed day-old chicks mealworms.

 

[Yardmom]

Chicks don't actually need to eat the first couple of days. They have just absorbed the yolk sack. It is ok to start them on a little chick starter crumbs, but hold off on the treats. When you try to hatch more, double check your temperature with a thermometer that is not built into the incubator. A late hatch indicates a slightly low temperature.