First time Hatcher, with no success.

[1OAK]

Hello,

We have Australorp hens and roo. We also homeschool our boys, so we though it would be nice to expand ourflock and learn at the same time. We purchased an incubator off amazon. Our first clutch no eggs hatched, upon further inspection. We saw one chick was almost fully developed but did not make it. We tried a second clutch. During the hatching process I added an extra thermometer to realize the incubator temperature need calibration. We are on day 24 with no activity. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[Chands]

What’s your humidity been like? If your incubator has a gauge, you often can’t trust that. I made that mistake my first hatch and had only two silkies hatch, and I honestly don’t know how they managed at what ended up amounting to about 40% humidity during lockdown.

 

[MGG]

Hello,

We have Australorp hens and roo. We also homeschool our boys, so we though it would be nice to expand ourflock and learn at the same time. We purchased an incubator off amazon. Our first clutch no eggs hatched, upon further inspection. We saw one chick was almost fully developed but did not make it. We tried a second clutch. During the hatching process I added an extra thermometer to realize the incubator temperature need calibration. We are on day 24 with no activity. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

What was the temp?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Any suggestions

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

Please tell what incubator are you using and what temp and humidity is it set at? Did you remove any air plugs? How old are the egg you're setting? Are you turning them or using an auto turner? Are your egg washed, refrigerated, or how are they stored? Did you have any power outages?

 

[1OAK]

What’s your humidity been like? If your incubator has a gauge, you often can’t trust that. I made that mistake my first hatch and had only two silkies hatch, and I honestly don’t know how they managed at what ended up amounting to about 40% humidity during lockdown.

first 18 days humidity was 53 after lock down humidity has been around 64.

 

[1OAK]

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

Please tell what incubator are you using and what temp and humidity is it set at? Did you remove any air plugs? How old are the egg you're setting? Are you turning them or using an auto turner? Are your egg washed, refrigerated, or how are they stored? Did you have any power outages?

I am using a OppsDecor egg incubator.I believe it’s some Chinese deal where they have multiple branding. It has automatic egg turner. Temperature is set at 100. I have multiple temperature measuring devices and they all seem to read differently. I am using a spring loaded brooder temp and humidity device as my constant. No outages. Definitely some swing in temps of a degree or two. I stored the eggs in my basement for ten days. Basement temp is around 55. And humidity around 55. I did not was eggs but they looked clean. Incubator has auto turner. My incubator doesn’t have plugs. Humidity first 18 days was 53 after lock down is around 64.
Thank you all for the help!

 

[1OAK]

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

Please tell what incubator are you using and what temp and humidity is it set at? Did you remove any air plugs? How old are the egg you're setting? Are you turning them or using an auto turner? Are your egg washed, refrigerated, or how are they stored? Did you have any power outages?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I am using a OppsDecor egg incubator.I believe it’s some Chinese deal where they have multiple branding. It has automatic egg turner. Temperature is set at 100. I have multiple temperature measuring devices and they all seem to read differently. I am using a spring loaded brooder temp and humidity device as my constant. No outages. Definitely some swing in temps of a degree or two. I stored the eggs in my basement for ten days. Basement temp is around 55. And humidity around 55. I did not was eggs but they looked clean. Incubator has auto turner. My incubator doesn’t have plugs. Humidity first 18 days was 53 after lock down is around 64.
Thank you all for the help!

I would start by lowering the humidity to about 40-45% first 18 days.. storing eggs for a shorter period of time.. did you turn the eggs during storage at all? Though it doesn't seem like either of those should have truly been deal breakers.. making it a real mystery.

If parent stock are getting excess treats that can have heavy impact on hatch rate.. Australorp are a dual purpose bird that will do best on at least 18% protein.. noting it's truly the amino acids that add up. And that doesn't mean excess protein is good.. as that will actually lower sperm motility beyond a certain point. I prefer a grower or flock raiser over layer feed. What are you feeding including treats and supplements?

The following guide discusses reasons for embryo failure according to the day they quit starting around page 51..
Incubation guide

Are any of your thermometers able to be calibrated? It's not uncommon for different temps throughout the bator EVEN in forced air. For this reason I always move my eggs to a new location within daily.. to combat warm/cool spots and help keep development even and prevent staggered hatching.

Now, were you visibly able to see your turner working? Did you remove it on day 18? I would consider trying to run a hatch with hand turning at least 5 times a day... take it back to the basics.. maybe anyways, just as a means of diagnosis.

You said you had a chick that was close... so I didn't question your general fertility... but do you know where about that's running or how to verify? Using clean eggs that haven't been washed is the best way, like you already did. I was asking because washing can compromise hatch.

Hopefully this can help you zero in on some clues!

 

[1OAK]

I would start by lowering the humidity to about 40-45% first 18 days.. storing eggs for a shorter period of time.. did you turn the eggs during storage at all? Though it doesn't seem like either of those should have truly been deal breakers.. making it a real mystery.

If parent stock are getting excess treats that can have heavy impact on hatch rate.. Australorp are a dual purpose bird that will do best on at least 18% protein.. noting it's truly the amino acids that add up. And that doesn't mean excess protein is good.. as that will actually lower sperm motility beyond a certain point. I prefer a grower or flock raiser over layer feed. What are you feeding including treats and supplements?

The following guide discusses reasons for embryo failure according to the day they quit starting around page 51..
Incubation guide

Are any of your thermometers able to be calibrated? It's not uncommon for different temps throughout the bator EVEN in forced air. For this reason I always move my eggs to a new location within daily.. to combat warm/cool spots and help keep development even and prevent staggered hatching.

Now, were you visibly able to see your turner working? Did you remove it on day 18? I would consider trying to run a hatch with hand turning at least 5 times a day... take it back to the basics.. maybe anyways, just as a means of diagnosis.

You said you had a chick that was close... so I didn't question your general fertility... but do you know where about that's running or how to verify? Using clean eggs that haven't been washed is the best way, like you already did. I was asking because washing can compromise hatch.

Hopefully this can help you zero in on some clues!

Thank you for the information and advice. I will look over this and make a few modifications to my process as you suggested. The feed we use is produced by a local organic farm. It is a mash blend no soy and non gmo designed for layers. I have observed the rotator working. I did’t think of the temps being different due to hot and cold spots in the unit. Yesterday I purchased a mercury thermometer to make sure it getting the most accurate temps.
How long will I need to have the diet changed before trying another hatch. My wife also give the girls dried meal worms and fresh veggie scraps.