Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 Incubator is AMAZING!

[Thebantyhenhomestead]

It does look really big... Is this the one that internally pipped? It looks like the beak is facing away from the air cell which would be considered a malposition.
Otherwise you can see that the membrane isn't tough, there isn't any gelatinous fluid or swelling of the abdomen, and there aren't any malformations that are visible so that's good.

The first poke I did to break the outside egg shell was tough for me but I never done it to an incubated egg so I don’t know what to compare to being normal for that,

so am I still on the right path for having a more humidity and hoping for the best? It looks like a big healthy chick so I don’t know what’s happening

 

[Thebantyhenhomestead]

It does look really big... Is this the one that internally pipped? It looks like the beak is facing away from the air cell which would be considered a malposition.
Otherwise you can see that the membrane isn't tough, there isn't any gelatinous fluid or swelling of the abdomen, and there aren't any malformations that are visible so that's good.

Yes this is the one that was chirping

 

[Thebantyhenhomestead]

Yes this is the one that was chirping

I candled right before and it looked like the large air cell again but it’s crazy how large this chick was in the egg, Like way less air room then what the outside candle seemed

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I candled right before and it looked like the large air cell again but it’s crazy how large this chick was in the egg, Like way less air room then what the outside candle seemed

I'm sorry for asking so many questions, I'm just trying to figure out what's going wrong as well. It's kind of like playing super sleuth when everything looks normal but something is clearly going haywire, lol.

So next questions. Did you actually see an internal pip through the internal membrane like in the image below? I didn't see that in your eggtopsy images so I'm wondering if it was peeping with the limited air without penetrating the membrane?

How mature are your laying hens? Were these some of the first pullet eggs? They're usually smaller in size and sometimes narrow so could also cause trouble with the chick rotating to hatch.

 

[Thebantyhenhomestead]

I'm sorry for asking so many questions, I'm just trying to figure out what's going wrong as well. It's kind of like playing super sleuth when everything looks normal but something is clearly going haywire, lol.

So next questions. Did you actually see an internal pip through the internal membrane like in the image below? I didn't see that in your eggtopsy images so I'm wondering if it was peeping with the limited air without penetrating the membrane?

How mature are your laying hens? Were these some of the first pullet eggs? They're usually smaller in size and sometimes narrow so could also cause trouble with the chick rotating to hatch.

View attachment 2223554

I could have sworn I saw the little beak shape in the air area when it was still alive ! At least at one point, because I kept seeing somthing poke right against the shell, it could have been the tip of a foot too like taping but I was certain it was a little beak tip, I think

These are eggs from a 1 year 3 month old hen, the roo is right under 1 year if that makes a difference, I believe he was 9 months when I got him a couple months ago

More questions the better! I need to figure this out!!!

I attached the open eggs of the two that I never heard chirping from below- (eggs 1 and 2) from my first posting. one still had some yoke sack under it but other then that are these shrink wrapped? How could that be if they never externally pip? Or even internally pip? I’m not sure but their membrane wasn’t broke open anywhere

 

[Thebantyhenhomestead]

So next questions. Did you actually see an internal pip through the internal membrane like in the image below? I didn't see that in your eggtopsy images so I'm wondering if it was peeping with the limited air without penetrating the membrane?

Oh I see what you mean now about breaking through the membrane for the chirping one, I didn’t open the egg right to know, I think I may have pulled it off without checking , I opened from the big end but the chick was turned under I think so I didn’t see it right away

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I could have sworn I saw the little beak shape in the air area when it was still alive ! At least at one point, because I kept seeing somthing poke right against the shell, it could have been the tip of a foot too like taping but I was certain it was a little beak tip, I think

These are eggs from a 1 year 3 month old hen, the roo is right under 1 year if that makes a difference, I believe he was 9 months when I got him a couple months ago

More questions the better! I need to figure this out!!!

I attached the open eggs of the two that I never heard chirping from below- (eggs 1 and 2) from my first posting. one still had some yoke sack under it but other then that are these shrink wrapped? How could that be if they never externally pip? Or even internally pip? I’m not sure but their membrane wasn’t broke open anywhere

It's not so much their age but more so how long they've been laying. The first few weeks that a pullet starts laying, the eggs are usually a bit smaller and shaped slightly different. They mature through this really quickly but most people don't set those very early eggs for hatching because the hatch rates seem to be lower.

It may have been pushing against the membrane and didn't penetrate the membrane which could give it the appearance of an internal pip even if it didn't make it through. So I'm still thinking malpositioned on that one.

The other two look like they quit a couple days ago to me so it will also alter how the inner membrane looks. This is something I encountered when running my incubator too dry. Dry hatches worked well in my styrofoam incubators in the same room but it doesn't work with my plastic incubators. After setting and hatching hundreds of eggs in these incubators I've never had completely failed hatch even when I was tweaking things to improve my hatch rates. When chicks make it to lockdown I have very few losses. The exception to the rule being with shipped eggs. The reason I'm bringing that up is because I'm still thinking there may be something up with the flock that is causing late embryo death that isn't readily obvious to us, because it isn't just one or two, it's all of them.

So here are my thoughts, if you set more eggs I would try a slightly higher humidity for the first 18 days. Start with about 45% and monitor the air cell growth. I would also see if you can get some other local eggs to set with your eggs so you can see if it's your flock.

I hope all of my rambling makes sense, lol. This is really perplexing though! Fingers crossed for your next hatch!

 

[CrisAnderson27]

Oh I see what you mean now about breaking through the membrane for the chirping one, I didn’t open the egg right to know, I think I may have pulled it off without checking , I opened from the big end but the chick was turned under I think so I didn’t see it right away

You can see internal pips when candling. It will look like an odd shadow at the air cell.


Another thing...I had chicks that would pip, and die. Regularly...like 1/3. My last hatch I stopped turning the eggs on day 16, didn't increase humidity until day 18. EVERY egg that pipped hatched.

Stopping the turning gives them more time to get turned to the appropriate position to hit the air cell when they internally pip, which apparently makes them stronger for when they go to externally pip. The difference was night and day for me.

 

[CrisAnderson27]

The only reason I mention that is that if you're having issues with chicks dying late...and it is a developmental thing with the flock (or shipped eggs, or anything else), the non-standard 'stop turning early' might help those chicks along. It certainly won't hurt them!

Also! When you stop turning, the deepest part of the air cell should face up! A lot of the 'how to hatch' pages don't say anything about that, and it's very important!

 

[Thebantyhenhomestead]

It's not so much their age but more so how long they've been laying. The first few weeks that a pullet starts laying, the eggs are usually a bit smaller and shaped slightly different. They mature through this really quickly but most people don't set those very early eggs for hatching because the hatch rates seem to be lower.

It may have been pushing against the membrane and didn't penetrate the membrane which could give it the appearance of an internal pip even if it didn't make it through. So I'm still thinking malpositioned on that one.

The other two look like they quit a couple days ago to me so it will also alter how the inner membrane looks. This is something I encountered when running my incubator too dry. Dry hatches worked well in my styrofoam incubators in the same room but it doesn't work with my plastic incubators. After setting and hatching hundreds of eggs in these incubators I've never had completely failed hatch even when I was tweaking things to improve my hatch rates. When chicks make it to lockdown I have very few losses. The exception to the rule being with shipped eggs. The reason I'm bringing that up is because I'm still thinking there may be something up with the flock that is causing late embryo death that isn't readily obvious to us, because it isn't just one or two, it's all of them.

So here are my thoughts, if you set more eggs I would try a slightly higher humidity for the first 18 days. Start with about 45% and monitor the air cell growth. I would also see if you can get some other local eggs to set with your eggs so you can see if it's your flock.

I hope all of my rambling makes sense, lol. This is really perplexing though! Fingers crossed for your next hatch!

Okay I will try this thanks so much for all your help