Hatch help needed

[Sfraker]

I just incubated my second batch of guinea eggs. The first batch was only 5 eggs. Two hatched, one died maybe a week or so prior to the hatch. The other two internally pipped and died.


This batch was 12 eggs. Two hatched. One hatched partway, basically it opened a quarter sized hole in the egg, but never absorbed the yolk or veins and died still in it's egg.
I opened up the other 9 once I candled and saw no movement. Two were fully developed but never pipped internally.
The other 7 pipped internally then died before doing an external pip

I had my humidity at 47% throughout incubation then at 65% during lockdown. My temp was between 99.5 and 100. I use two digital thermometers with humidity readings.

I checked the air cells weekly and they looked just like they should. Since this is my first attempts at hatching I am thinking it's the humidity however when I opened up the eggs I'm not sure what I am looking for. The membranes seemed dry/sticky but I have nothing to compare them too.

Any suggestions on what I should expect to see?

I don't plan on hatching any more guineas this year. But most likely I will next year and I don't want this high of a fail rate. It was heart breaking.

Thank you!

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm really sorry to hear that.

Yeah, we've had troubles like that, even where chicks make it out of the egg but die. Could the breeding stock be inbreeding or have poor genetics?
It sounds like you are doing everything right. I myself haven't ever hatched keets, so I can't be sure about what is wrong.

Best of luck! I hope it turns out well next year.

 

[Sfraker]

Shoot! I never thought about the breeding stock. I got my original guineas from an gentleman that was incredibly knowledgeable on the phone. When I got there it was a mess with more keets/guineas than he could handle and conditions were poor. The gentleman was elderly and I got the impression that things had just gotten out of hand over the years. What probably started as a passion had taken over his property and he was too old to handle it all. I had reservations about buying from him but since I just wanted a couple and I felt bad for him (his living conditions weren't the best either) I bought them.

I will buy a couple guineas from a more reputable place this year and try hatching their eggs to increase my flock next year.

 

[Kimberly09]

Try increasing your humidity at lockdown. From what I've read and heard you need above 70% humidity for them to be able to hatch well.

 

[Sfraker]

I will do both. I will get fresh blood into my flock and I will increase the humidity. Thank you for your help! I'm so glad I found this site!