Genetics problem or poor incubating condition?????

I put money on the incubation condition....

 

I am really struggling to get a decent hatch with my still air Little Giant incubator. Mine are getting close to hatch day, moving in the shell the whole time and then just die before hatching or can't hatch on their own. I can only guess I am having temp/humidity issues, even though my thermometer stays on the same temp and humidity almost constantly.

Temp fluctuations, air flow (or lack thereof) and wrong humidity seem to be the most common reasons hatches fail.

I don't think your chickens being related will cause any problems. Unless every chick you hatch you are seeing the exact same deformities, my guess would be its a temp/humidity problem.

 

It is not uncommon for poultry to be bred to related birds so I dont expect the problems to be from close breeding unless it is a very rare breed that has had little genetic diversity for a number of years.

I would go ahead and try again. If you have good temperature, humidity, and the eggs hatch at the proper time, and you once again have the same issues, then I would look at genetics.

 

Have the chickens been wormed??????? weak parents produce weak chicks

 

Welcome Daniel,
Some people use wet sponges to help control humidity. I cut them in about 3 inch squares and place a few at a time in the incubator to get the right humidity. You do need to moisten them frequently.
With the humidity you are reporting it appears you are in a very humid climate. If you are putting water in the small channed only you can adjust it a bit by taking out the red vent plug on top, that will take it down a little.

Good Luck

 

I also would bet on the incubator as opposed to genetics. You might try finding a few fertile eggs from another flock and hatching them along with your eggs. It might help anwer the genetics question.

I'll include a couple of incubating links that might help.


http://gallus.tamu.edu/Extension publications/b6092.pdf

http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=62

Good luck.

 

as far as I know, too high of humidity does not cause deformities. It causes the chicks to drown in the shell when they try to hatch because the air cell does not dry out and become large enough, they suffocate or drown. If you can have a de-humidifier run in the room with your incubator maybe you can get the humidity down to 45-50% and might help your hatch rate also. Good luck and keep us posted. And Welcome To BYC!

 

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