Failing miserably at hatching eggs

[cuppycake]

were they very wet? shrink wrapped? malpositioned? had they internally pipped? they may have suffocated too if you had poor ventilation. there are just so many possibilities.
You could try looking at this: http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/trouble.html

My last hatch I had several that were fully formed but never made it out. I think I determined that my humidity was too high throughout the entire incubation. This time I am trying a dry hatch and hoping for better results. I guess I'll find out in about 2 weeks

 

[kuntrygirl]

Do you all think it would help if we listed steps from the start of picking eggs to the end of incubating turkey eggs, would help? I don't know just throwing out ideas.

What do you all think?

 

[Kitty86]

Do you all think it would help if we listed steps from the start of picking eggs to the end of incubating turkey eggs, would help? I don't know just throwing out ideas.

What do you all think?

sounds great!!!! as far as my babies.. they where wet but i dont think anything abnormal as compaired to my ducks or chickens or the first turkey that had hatched.. and no it had not piped at all still had alot of yolk in the egg tho

 

[TheStewarts]

Cuppy cake what was your humidity? I'm keeping it around 50 as recommended to me til lock down.

 

[cuppycake]

Cuppy cake what was your humidity? I'm keeping it around 50 as recommended to me til lock down.

I foolishly didn't monitor humidity during the first part of the hatch, just a little water in there at all times (as recommended to me by a gentleman at the feed store, I trust his judgment on lots of stuff) during lockdown I finally bought a hygrometer and readings were at about 80%.

This time I am trying a dry hatch for comparison. I'm following these tips https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-using-the-dry-incubation-method

humidity stays at about 40-45% in the room without me having to do anything. A few days ago we had a series of rain storms and I was getting readings to 50% or a little more but I just didn't fuss with anything.

I'll report back on my findings when this batch is done. I have a high temp spike right at the beginning so now I'm anticipating losses due to that. It's always something

 

[TheStewarts]

Working with a super simple diy incubator. Day 4 today!

 

[chiqita]

If you are having trouble with your incubator, there are 2 quick things to try.
1. calibrate your thermometer and hydrometer. You can do a search on BYC to do this. The hydrometer part is super easy, the temp a bit less so. A lot of these things are not 100% accurate and can read 1-5 degrees off, a problem when you are hatching.

2. Get something that will keep track of the highs and lows in your incubator. This will tell you if it swinging up and down too much when you a re not looking. Many thermometers have a little history part, or if you have an oven one it might do this.

Turkeys that can not get out of the shell can be from a number of things, but often it is low humidity or temp flucuations.

 

[TheStewarts]

Yesterday was day 8 and we candled and could see clear signs of life in 4 out of 6... 2 were questionable. They are very speckled so it is hard to see. I was all proud and happy til my 2 year old woke up at 2am and our house was only 62 degrees and the box was down to 94!! I tossed a ton of blankets on it to heat it up. I have no idea how long it was that cold for. Poor babies. If I am not lighting them on fire I am freezing them! *IF* we are ever crazy enough to do this again we will invest in a proper incubator.

 

[TheStewarts]

Day 31 and no hatching? I candled and can see movement in there but no piping or anything. .. when do we give up?

 

[kuntrygirl]

Day 31 and no hatching? I candled and can see movement in there but no piping or anything. .. when do we give up?

You see movement??????? Well, that is a good sign. After 31 days, I would think that they are FULLY developed.

Well, if it were my eggs in the bator this is what I would do. Most people may not agree with MY suggestion and that's fine but it's my suggestion. I would gently crack open the egg and peel away the shell of a couple to see if they are alive. It has been 31 days, so they are way overdue anyway. If the couple are alive, then that would be great. I would peel them out of the shell (in the bathroom with the hot shower on making the bathroom hot and steamy). You do not want any kind of shrink wrap. Make sure that they are fully developed. They are 3 days late and that is not good. Either way, they may die. I would put them back in the incubator of if you have a hatcher, you can put them in there. May sure your temps and humidity are good. You will have to do this in a hurry because you don't want to keep opening up the incubator.

I never give up without a fight. However, sometimes we will lost the fight but at least we try.

Perhaps others will chime in on what you should do.

Again, I am only telling you what I would do if I were in your shoes. I'm not telling you to try this. :/