Getting worried

[behling]

thursday night we noticed a couple of eggs were rocking a little. Friday one egg was peeping all day. Saturday all was quiet. Sunday was day 21. Sunday there was no rocking, no peeping. Early this morning I tapped the eggs to listen and nothing.
Do I assume the babies have all died? I started with 14 eggs and slowly decreased it to 7 when I candled them and found they did not develop.
I've read quite a few posts and watched multiple videos. At this point do I assume if they do not hatch by Wednesday morning they have all died?
No external pup on any eggs.

 

[Kiki]

We are glad you joined our flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.
What temp and humidity levels have you been running?
Did you candle yesterday?
This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops

BYC has an APP!

 

[orrpeople]

Have you candled recently? You probably won't see movement, but check for internal pips. It's a difficult time to be fiddling with them since they need the elevated humidity to hatch, but if you're concerned, it wouldn't hurt to try candling one to see.
What kind of incubator are you using?

 

[Kiki]

You may find this to be a good read...I do.
http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8127.pdf

 

[behling]

I tapped this morning for noise, but nothing. Humidity is at 65-67 and temp runs from 99-100.
I'm not at home right now but the incubator is a styrofoam model.
I was trying to find the video on what an internal pip would look like or what I should see but couldn't find it again.

 

[behling]

I was finally able to get ahold of a good friend whom works long nursing hours. She has all sorts of chickens and incubates great quality so she knows the ropes.
She candled my eggs and explained what I needed to see. All the chicks have died.
My 14 eggs, turned to 11, turned to 7 and now 0. I have no baby chicks. I'm sad. But I get the full circle thing. Not sure if I will ever try this again and if I do I have been instructed to get rid of the styrofoam incubator (which can not be disinfected). Go with plastic and get an egg turner. However, I think if I do it again I will leave it up to a brooding hen to incubate. Thank you all for your guidance and help. I'm not to upset. I do have 4 (3 week) old chicks I got from the co-op and another 12 chicks arriving on the 17th. So at least I will have these to care for.

 

[Kiki]

I am sorry things didn't work out this time.
I don't think you should give up though.
Having a calibrated thermometer and humidity gauge are a must for incubating.
One can not trust the ones that come with an incubator.

 

[mdees88]

Don't be discouraged.... Those gauges on the incubator were likely the culprit. I have 4 thermometers and 3 humidity gauges in my incubator. 1 humidity gauge is 20% off and 2 thermometers are off by more than 2 degrees.

If you plan on hatching several times throughout the year I would HIGHLY recommend buying a used cabinet incubator. The older GQFs can be found on craigslist for around $200-$300. They have automatic turners and very good airflow, plus every single part is replaceable. The volume is so large that a quick open and close of the door doesn't drop the temp/humidity much at all. Plus once you get it dialed in you can set it and forget it (for the most part). Another plus is used cabinets incubators are always in high demand. If you get out of incubating you can easily get most if not all of your money back out of them. Probably not easy to do with the Styrofoam ones. I've had great success with mine and all of my eggs were shipped eggs.

I have a clear door so I get to watch all my quail hatch, which you can't do with a broody...