Hatching Eggs in Summer/Hot Weather

[ChookieG]

Hey guys, I was told a year back that hatch rate drops significantly during the Summer/Hot months. I've been getting 80% hatch rates when I incubate in the cooler months but my most recent hatch this Summer (first time doing so in hot days) has only been about 60-65%. Has this been your experience too?

 

[cavemanrich]

I do not hatch out chicks, but do have 2 questions that need to be clarified.

Is the fertility rate equal for you during the different seasons???

Are the chicks dying in the shells because the incubation temperatures got too high??? Your incubator only heats. If the ambient temperature is above 104°F/40°C the interior of incubator tends to reach that temperature as well.

Copy and paste.
What temperature kills chicken eggs?


The optimum (for hens) is 37.5 °C (99.5°F), above this temperature as well as a reduced hatch there will be an increase in the number of crippled and deformed chicks. Above 40.5 °C (104.9°F) no embryos will survive.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[ChookieG]

I do not hatch out chicks, but do have 2 questions that need to be clarified.

Is the fertility rate equal for you during the different seasons???

Are the chicks dying in the shells because the incubation temperatures got too high??? Your incubator only heats. If the ambient temperature is above 104°F/40°C the interior of incubator tends to reach that temperature as well.

Copy and paste.
What temperature kills chicken eggs?


The optimum (for hens) is 37.5 °C (99.5°F), above this temperature as well as a reduced hatch there will be an increase in the number of crippled and deformed chicks. Above 40.5 °C (104.9°F) no embryos will survive.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Hi there @cavemanrich, the fertility rate is at 100% based on just seeing bullseye eggs. However I'm seeing more late stage mortalities during incubation....not sure what it may be due to. The room where the incubator is kept is well insulated so ambient temperatures are around 24-30 deg c so it never reaches 37.5. I'm wondering whether the low hatch rate may be due to the eggs being laid and left in the nesting box at higher temps of around 20-25 deg c. The nesting box temps for my Spring & Winter hatches had always been around 10-15 deg c.

 

[Ridgerunner]

25 C = 77 F. That is getting close to the recommended upper limit for storing eggs but how long they are stored at those temperatures makes a difference too. I often collect eggs for hatching when the ambient temperature is approaching 35 C (95 F) but I collect two or three times a day when it is that hot. I don't think 25 C would be a problem, to me that is not very warm for summer, even for an overnight low.

Don't look for the bull's eye to determine if they were fertile when they went into the incubator. The bull's eye develops before the egg is laid. If something is happening to the fertility after it is laid that tells you nothing. Either candle the eggs a week after incubation starts or open the unhatched eggs to see what went on inside.

If you are looking at averages, one summer hatch is not much of a data base. I've had different hatches vary by 15% hatch rate, each hatch is different, but 15% is a pretty large difference. It is possible something is different in the eggs for spring and summer. That could be how or how long the eggs are stored, how the chickens are fed, maybe something else, but your heat would not be high in my radar.

 

[ChookieG]

25 C = 77 F. That is getting close to the recommended upper limit for storing eggs but how long they are stored at those temperatures makes a difference too.

Hey @Ridgerunner, thanks so much for your advice.

I collected the eggs as soon as possible, mostly in the early morning when the day's still cool and also as soon as they're laid at other times of the day. For the most recent hatch this Summer (where I had 60% hatch success), I collected 2 dozen eggs over 2 weeks and stored them at approx 16-18 deg c at 80% humidity. No turning was done over this period.

Don't look for the bull's eye to determine if they were fertile when they went into the incubator. The bull's eye develops before the egg is laid. If something is happening to the fertility after it is laid that tells you nothing. Either candle the eggs a week after incubation starts or open the unhatched eggs to see what went on inside.

Thanks. I didn't do an egg eggtopsie on the unhatched eggs but will do so in the future. I suspect some of the eggs may have shrink-wrapped at late stage so I'll check my hygrometer again.

If you are looking at averages, one summer hatch is not much of a data base. I've had different hatches vary by 15% hatch rate, each hatch is different, but 15% is a pretty large difference. It is possible something is different in the eggs for spring and summer. That could be how or how long the eggs are stored, how the chickens are fed, maybe something else, but your heat would not be high in my radar.

There were 3 infertile eggs on my first candle on Day 7 and I'm thinking the low hatch rate may be due to the age of the rooster. He had only just started to develop his sickle and saddle feathers when I started collecting the eggs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The storage temperature and humidity were good, not turning during storage may be the culprit. From what I've read you don't have to turn them the first few days but after that it helps. How much it helps depends on how long they are stored and conditions in the egg. For example, if the chaliza is a little weak it could be a real problem. If the yolk touched the inside of the eggshell it could get stuck. It could dry out too much through the porous shell or the embryo could be stuck and not be able to pip. Shrink wrap may not have been your problem, the embryo may have been able to develop but not pip because it was stuck.
Did you also store your spring hatches for 2 weeks before incubating? Or turn them? Were there differences in how they were stored?

I don't know how much the age of the cockerel matters. The types of problems I've had with immaturity is that the mating didn't take place to start with. That his sperm wasn't ready is possible but for 65% of them it was.

 

[ChookieG]

The storage temperature and humidity were good, not turning during storage may be the culprit. From what I've read you don't have to turn them the first few days but after that it helps. How much it helps depends on how long they are stored and conditions in the egg. For example, if the chaliza is a little weak it could be a real problem. If the yolk touched the inside of the eggshell it could get stuck. It could dry out too much through the porous shell or the embryo could be stuck and not be able to pip. Shrink wrap may not have been your problem, the embryo may have been able to develop but not pip because it was stuck.

The eggs in my Winter and Spring hatches were never turned but they were mostly collected within 7 - 10 days.

I forgot to mention I had a few malpositioned eggs in the Summer hatch - approx 30% with one dying at external pipping probably due to a bleed-out. Do you think that may also be due to not turning the eggs during storage?

I'll definitely begin turning next time.

Were there differences in how they were stored?

It would be similar - only difference is ambient temps were much lower in the Winter and Spring hatches.


I don't know how much the age of the cockerel matters. The types of problems I've had with immaturity is that the mating didn't take place to start with. That his sperm wasn't ready is possible but for 65% of them it was.


Good point....my cockerel will be fully mature in future hatches so I can rule male infertility out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you think that may also be due to not turning the eggs during storage?

Yes

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have hatched in both seasons. My last summer hatch (late spring) I had 34/36 chicks hatch from store (but local) eggs. Recently I winter hatched 11/14 shipped eggs.

My recent hatch, (11/14) we had a bad cold spell. The eggs shipped out in 6 degree weather and I covered all the windows in that room with quilts. The room stayed about 60, I dry hatched, till day 18.

I have a new egg shipment coming next week and hope to get a few eggs from my hens.