Final Eggstopsy Report from Set date Sept. 28. Opinions welcome!

[Jeffross1968]

So, we started with 30 eggs, 18 Turken that were shipped to us from a BYC member, and 12 more from our own flock. Lock down, day 19 saw 12 Turken, and 6 from our flock, including 4 EE's, 1 SLW, and 1 BO (all mixed with a red sex link rooster).

Hatch was late...quite late. First to hatch was from our EE, day 23 at around 5pm. The next 3 were all from our EE's, the final one hatching day 24 about 5am. At that time, I noticed one Turken pip, with 2 more soon to follow. Final to hatch was a Turken, day 24, at 7:30pm. Also important to note, the first Turken to hatch needed help. It sat with a quarter sized hole for several hours, and didn't seem to be able to turn in the shell to continue the zip process. I took it out, wrapped it in a warm, wet washcloth, and removed piece by piece the shell until enough had been removed that it split apart in my hands from the chick pushing. Some of the inner membrane and shell was stuck to the chick, so it was obviously shrink wrapped to some degree.

This morning around 10am, I decided it had gone long enough, with the last hatching being 15 hours prior and the last to pip over a day, that if I was going to do an eggtopsy, it would have to be now...it was starting to stink.

Of the remaining 11...here is what I found.

#1 Turken - Very well formed, very little yolk left. Best guess, died day 20
#2 Turken - Very well formed, good amount of yolk left. Best guess, died day 18
#3 Turken - Somewhat less formed than others, good sized yolk sac. Best Guess, Day 17
#4 SLW cross - Well formed, some yolk left. Best guess, died day 18
#5 Turken - Not completely formed, no internal pip. Best guess, died day 15. We must have seen embryo but no movement during candle?
#6 Turken - Well formed, some yolk left, no internal pip. Best guess, died day 18
#7 Turken - Very well formed, very little yolk left. Best guess, died day 20
#8 Turken - Fully formed, no visible yolk sac. Best guess, died day 21 or after. No sign that it shouldn't have hatched.
#9 BO or SS cross - Somewhat less formed, good amount of yolk, no internal pip. Best guess, died day 17
#10 Unknown - very early quitter. Not sure how we missed this one in candling. Was barely any thing other than yolk. Best guess, died day 5?
#11 Turken - Very well formed, little yolk left. Best guess, day 20

So that's it. I don't know if this is information that anyone would actually want, or get any use out of. My personal thoughts...probably some temperature variations during first 18 days...6 of which we were not here, though temps read the same when we returned as when we left. Small variations made the hatch late. Since we are new to this, we panicked, maybe opened the incubator too often to check why they were not hatching. Also, I really struggled with humidity during lock down this time, for some reason. Felt like I was adding water often. The LG has little holes in the bottom and I was trying to add water through the top main vent holes, and much of it was spilling out, so I was having to open the incubator to add things like a wet wash cloth, cup of water, and water to the canals so it wouldn't drip out.

Prior to next set, I'm going to try and make a little pan or pans that will go under the metal grate that can hold greater amounts of water, which I will test for a few days without eggs. Also, with this experience, I also know that going beyond day 21 is not a death sentence, so I'll be unlikely to panic so much leading to opening the incubator.

Doing these eggtopsies were very disheartening...to see so many that made it so close to hatch, then probably dying due to my own actions. But it's better knowing, so that I can learn and hopefully do better next time.

Any opinions or comments are extremely welcome. Thanks to everyone who helped me through the process and joined in hatching around when I did!

Jeff

 

[Cattitude]

I had several temperature dips with this batch, as well.

Of the 10 that made it to lockdown, 5 hatched.
Of the remaining 5, 1 had pipped internally then died, 3 were fully formed but never pipped internally, and the last one had already started to liquidize.
Of the 5 that hatched, 4 are vigorous and thriving, but one died this morning. He had curled toes and was very small, so I was prepared for him to not make it.

Things like this happen. But I'm glad to have the 4 that are here!

 

[Faerytalefarm]

Yep, found similar results in our eggtopsy. Five fully formed probably quit day 10 and one quitter on day 17 or 18. I put a cup of water in my LG and it worked great. I also had a long straw where I could add water to it through the top vents, worked great!

 

[Jeffross1968]

Quote:
Same here. 7 out of 30 doesn't sound too great, but it's better than none out of 30...

Sorry about your little one who died...hopefully better for us both next time. I can already feel the pull to fill the bator with more eggs...but I'm going to hold off until I've purchased a much better thermometer/hygrometer, and I've got the humidity issue figured out, with better ways to add water when needed. Probably a week or so

 

[Jeffross1968]

Quote:
Did you have the two top vents open or closed?

I also had a cup of water in there, but for lock down, I just couldn't get it high enough, which from what I gather, should be 65-75%. I had a cup of water on top of the metal grate, a folded up wet hand towel under the grate, and rolled up paper towels in each of the canals that I kept wet. But humidity consistently dropped into the 50's if I didn't do something. Part of it might have been the cold front that came through, leaving us very dry and cold. I don't know...