Frustration

[washxc]

We're new to incubating eggs and set our first batch of 14 buff orpingtons in February. Of the 14 we only had two hatch. I ran into the guy that sold them to us and he said that he hatched out a bunch (65 or 70) with a 95% hatch rate.

So we learned a few things, and set 6 eggs at the end of March. Early candling showed at least 4 veining with only 1 dud in the group. But, I just candled (day 17) and I don't know if we're going to get any from this batch.

They keep quitting, what gives?

We're using an old still air styrofoam hovabator that keeps a very steady temperature between 99-100 all the time. We add a little water every few days and for the most part humidity is around 40, but sometimes in the morning when we go to turn it'll have dropped down to 20 so we'll add water.

We're turning twice a day by hand which is about what we can handle with our time constraints.

Any ideas on what we're doing wrong? I'm going to keep these 5 in the incubator and hope for the best but my uneducated candling eye doesn't hold out much hope.

It's frustrating...

 

[babsbag]

I only turned 2x a day as well. I did more on the weekends and I had a 90% hatch rate.

I ran my humidity at around 30-40 the first 16 days. The upped it to about 65-70 . I raised it gradually.

I have only done this once, but this is what I remember reading.

Calibrate your hygrometer if you haven't done so. http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer.htm

Add some water before you go to bed. It doesn't matter how deep the water is, it is the surface area that determines the evaporation rate and therefore the humidity.

Make sure the incubator has been sterilized if it is used. I am not sure what to use, I think you can use a bleach solution, or Oxine. I am sure that someone will have the answer for you.

Check your ventilation. It is very important that the eggs have good ventilation in the incubator.

Install a fan. You can use an old PC fan and a cell phone charger to make one yourself. Here is a link to directions if you need them.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=259483

Just a few of the things I remember and followed.

I hope things go better for you.

 

[cracking up]

Candling on day 17 usually is hard. If the egg is all dark except the top you're probably in good shape. It's real hard to see movement. Tomorrow add a sponge, turn them one last time and lock it up. You might be surprised. Good luck.

 

[debilorrah]

I agree about calibrating the hygrometer. I had lousy hatches until I did and I found it was 17% off!!!! This hatch has more that made it to lockdown than ever before!

 

[washxc]

Any reason you guys think for the fact that they start growing and quit at around the day 10 stage? They're not too dark...

 

[Cynthia12]

I had a still bator. I found that it gets warm spots. Changing the eggs to different places might help from the beginning... I've found that the air bators work much better, especially since I just hatched 19 eggs out of 26. Not too bad...more than I thought I would get after I didn't do well with the still air.
If you are seeing dark, as someone else here said, you may be ok. When the egg is too dark to see through, if you haven't been able to in the beginning, then there just may be a chick that is developing and well on it's way. Not sure if you have an automatic turner. I prefer turning the eggs myself, so I can place them in different places within the bator as I said..ok, I'm repeating myself. Lots of good comments..keep them coming----and good luck!
Cynthia

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I use digital hygrometers used for reptile terrariums. They seem to work well for me and give a quick reading.

 

[washxc]

How much does a short term drop in humidity effect hatch rate? I'm actually using a thermometer/hydrometer that I used to keep in my Gibson L4A acoustic case. It's pretty accurate. What I find is that I'll put a little water in the incubator to get things up to about 45, but sometimes overnight it'll drop down to 20. I'll fill it up again in the morning. If I put enough water in to last all night then the incubator will get up to 60-65% humidity.

What's worse, 65% humidity for a bit or 20%? Is this causing the eggs to quit?

 

[babsbag]

I think I would work on getting a fan installed in the incubator. You should be able to put deeper water containers in and not have it change the humidity. It is the surface area of the water that matters. So you would get more humidity from a 6" diameter bowl than you would from a 3"diameter bowl. The depth would not make any difference. If you are getting a high humidity then my guess is that you need better ventilation.