Eggs piped then nothing. :( Warning, icky pictures.

[dsqard]

I am not very experienced at this so please take what I say with a grain of salt. If you were doing a dry hatch your air cells should have been plenty big for the hatch. If the eggs have evaporated enough during the first 18 days, increasing humidity to even 80% is not going to cause them to drown if they pip into the air cell since the eggs will not absorb moisture back into the shell. Did you check carefully to see that they did not pip into the air cell? If they pipped below the air cell then it could be possible that they drowned but not likely if they got through the shell. I would maybe suspect your ventilation being a problem, but again not sure if you took the blanket off before they pipped, there should have been enough air in the bator. HMMMM this one is a bit of a stumper. Wish I could be more help.

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

I just peeled some more shell off and they are all upside down??????!?!!?!?!?! I had them laying on their sides in the incubator, and its not like I turned them end on end, so I dont know how they got upside down. ANY IDEAS??? I have three that are due next week that have been on their side, so if I need to put them right side up in the carton someone let me know! I started putting them in cartons after I set the second batch so all the other ones have been sitting in the carton like normal eggs.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Their heads always appear to be kind of upside down when they're pipping and zipping.......kind of tucked up by their wing so if that's what you're seeing it's normal.

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

This is what it looks like............ The beak is pointing up towards the top of the egg. In the other one the beak is more up towards the top but kind of upside down, but I didnt take pictures because it has been dead for a while. The third there is no beak to be found at the pip site it was about an inch or so over and completely under the wing still, so IDK what the heck is going on there.

The first one.

The third one.

 

[mstrawn3]

It still looks to me like a humidity and/or ventilation problem. Make sure your hygrometer is calibrated and keep the humidity around 40-50% until lockdown. Then raise it to 60-65. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation during lockdown. Add some wet towels if the humidity dips below 60% but make sure you have that ventilation. If the first chick pipped where its beak is then it would have drowned.

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

Quote:
They all piped in that general area. Should they have piped higher up? Is there a way to fix that for next time? I never added any water until lockdown, so the humidity was as low as it could be. I calibrated my hygrometer before I used it and it was just like they said it should be in the instructions. I used a hova-bator 1602n still air as my hatcher. How can I get more ventilation without letting the heat out? Any tips would be greatly appreciated as I have about 25 more eggs due in the next month and I really dont want all of them to die!!!!! I already feel like a failure as it is.

 

[mstrawn3]

It's kind of a balancing act with that bator. You have to constantly babysit it. Take both vent plugs out and fill all the water troughs. Add your hygrometer and set the temp at 100 and let it stabilize for a day. If the humidity is too low, add a wet sponge or towel. If it's too high remove water from the smallest trough. I hope this helps...

 

[chicmom]

Oh, I've seen that before....heartbreaking.....I do think that humidity in the end is too high. I would keep my humidity 55% or less.....This incubation can be so complicated.....

So sorry you had this problem.....Trial and error.....

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

This is so hard because I get so many different opinions when I ask questions. lol. Before I even started lockdown, I posted asking for advice for lockdown after a dry incubation and one person told me to not even use my hygrometer and just make sure I have enough water and not worry how high it went. Ive seen a lot of people say their best hatches have been with lockdown being 80%. Ive seen people say no, they drown. I will have to see what the humidity in my house is and read up on it a lot more. But I need to know, since they piped in the wrong spot, how do I get them to pip at the right spot by the aircell. Does it matter how they are laying in the incubator for the first part of incubation?

 

[CCourson05]

I wouldn't think so, as hens just turn theirs and pay no heed to the orientation of the egg. Have you calibrated your hygrometer? Maybe that is where your problem lies...