I am new to hatching. I have hatched 3 batches so far.
First Hatch:
Hova Bator Still Air
Temps - Presumed to be 102
Humidity - Presumed to be 20%-40% 0-18 days & 70%-80% at lockdown
I set 14 of my own eggs. 4 out of the 14 were fertile. 1 died around day 10 and the other 3 made it to lockdown and hatched on their own on days 21 & 22. 2 were brahma/orpington mixes that were perfectly healthy besides the fact that one was a little wetter and took a little longer to dry. The 3rd was a serama. It hatched last and the cord was still stuck to the egg. Being a first timer, I assisted and think I should have left it alone, since it died 12 hours later. Lesson Learned! Remaining 2 perfectly healthy!
Second Hatch:
Days 0-18 in Hova Bator Still Air
18-21 LG Still Air 9300
Temps - Presumed to be 102
Humidity - Presumed to be 20%-40% 0-18 Days & 70% at lockdown
***Temps began to change here during this batch so my humidity and temps fluctuated more than the first set.***
I set 35 of my own eggs this time. 24 out of the 35 were fertile. I lost most early on and ended up with 18 going into lockdown. 3 Call Ducks(on day 23 in separate hatcher), 2 SLW, 7 Easter Eggers, 3 Brahma/Orpington Mixes, & 3 Seramas. I lost all 3 call ducks after lockdown. They had loads of fluid in the shells. They were all 3 fully developed with no yolks absorbed. There was also amber goo on edges of membrane. Some also looked like they were glued to one area. Air Cells looked on small side for one, but better on other 2. I also lost 1 Serama, 1 Brahma/Orpington mix, & 1 Easter Egger. They were all fully developed, but never internally pipped. They were in position. The remainders started hatching on day 21 & were finished by day 23. They all made it out without assistance except the last one, a brahma/orpington mix. It had internally pipped, so I made it a safe hole and monitored it wetting the membrane. It did the rest. They were all a little wet, but all were perfectly healthy.
Now here is where it really goes down hill!!
3rd Hatch:
LG Still Air 9300
Temps - Presumed to be 98 - 102
Humidity - Presumed to be 20 - 50%
*** After I lost the call ducks, I bought a brinsea spot check. I found that this bator was running at 98-99 even though it was set at 103 and my thermometer which I thought was accururate was reading 102. This was for the first 7 days. After that, I made adjustments but found there were many unveven spots in the incubator> I also bought a hygrometer, which I thought was better and found that my humidity appeared to be holding between 20-40%***
I set 10 eggs in the bator and all 10 were fertile. I lost 1 around day 15. The other 9 went into lockdown alive. The first one, and Easter Egger hatched on its own on day 21. The 2nd Easter Egger popped out early on day 22 then nothing. I decided to candle. 2 were dead, but the other five were moving so I put them back. That night, I checked again and 2 seramas had also died. So out of the 4 dead, one serama was in the correct position but loads of fluid came out when I opened it and the air cell was small. The other 2 seramas were fully formed and facing the air cell but their beaks were down. I had to dig their heads out to see beaks. I did not open the Easter Egger, since it did not look good and I was scared to see what was inside. I then made a safe hole for the remaining 3, 2 had internally pipped but the 3rd had not. I pierced the inner membrane carefully to allow the chicks beak access to air cell. It was clearly having trouble moving. After 30 hours of moistening the membranes, and chipping away a little here and their, they all 3 hatched. 2 seramas and easter egger. They appear to have had trouble moving around and they were extremely gooey. All 5 are now happy and healthy.
What am I doing wrong? I now have 84 more eggs on day 16 and am worried. I have been monitoring temps, they stay relatively steady in my hova bator but are very uneven in the LG 9300 I just figured out about calibrating my digital hygrometer and the first one I looked at shows it was 9 lower than it should have been. The humidity fluctuated from 40 - 55% today and I am already running dry. I also have a dehumidifier in the room. I think the air cells look okay but some have more fluid than they should for day 16 in my opinion. I have already lost 1 call duck to similar issues as before, and another is looking to be following suit.
First Hatch:
Hova Bator Still Air
Temps - Presumed to be 102
Humidity - Presumed to be 20%-40% 0-18 days & 70%-80% at lockdown
I set 14 of my own eggs. 4 out of the 14 were fertile. 1 died around day 10 and the other 3 made it to lockdown and hatched on their own on days 21 & 22. 2 were brahma/orpington mixes that were perfectly healthy besides the fact that one was a little wetter and took a little longer to dry. The 3rd was a serama. It hatched last and the cord was still stuck to the egg. Being a first timer, I assisted and think I should have left it alone, since it died 12 hours later. Lesson Learned! Remaining 2 perfectly healthy!
Second Hatch:
Days 0-18 in Hova Bator Still Air
18-21 LG Still Air 9300
Temps - Presumed to be 102
Humidity - Presumed to be 20%-40% 0-18 Days & 70% at lockdown
***Temps began to change here during this batch so my humidity and temps fluctuated more than the first set.***
I set 35 of my own eggs this time. 24 out of the 35 were fertile. I lost most early on and ended up with 18 going into lockdown. 3 Call Ducks(on day 23 in separate hatcher), 2 SLW, 7 Easter Eggers, 3 Brahma/Orpington Mixes, & 3 Seramas. I lost all 3 call ducks after lockdown. They had loads of fluid in the shells. They were all 3 fully developed with no yolks absorbed. There was also amber goo on edges of membrane. Some also looked like they were glued to one area. Air Cells looked on small side for one, but better on other 2. I also lost 1 Serama, 1 Brahma/Orpington mix, & 1 Easter Egger. They were all fully developed, but never internally pipped. They were in position. The remainders started hatching on day 21 & were finished by day 23. They all made it out without assistance except the last one, a brahma/orpington mix. It had internally pipped, so I made it a safe hole and monitored it wetting the membrane. It did the rest. They were all a little wet, but all were perfectly healthy.
Now here is where it really goes down hill!!
3rd Hatch:
LG Still Air 9300
Temps - Presumed to be 98 - 102
Humidity - Presumed to be 20 - 50%
*** After I lost the call ducks, I bought a brinsea spot check. I found that this bator was running at 98-99 even though it was set at 103 and my thermometer which I thought was accururate was reading 102. This was for the first 7 days. After that, I made adjustments but found there were many unveven spots in the incubator> I also bought a hygrometer, which I thought was better and found that my humidity appeared to be holding between 20-40%***
I set 10 eggs in the bator and all 10 were fertile. I lost 1 around day 15. The other 9 went into lockdown alive. The first one, and Easter Egger hatched on its own on day 21. The 2nd Easter Egger popped out early on day 22 then nothing. I decided to candle. 2 were dead, but the other five were moving so I put them back. That night, I checked again and 2 seramas had also died. So out of the 4 dead, one serama was in the correct position but loads of fluid came out when I opened it and the air cell was small. The other 2 seramas were fully formed and facing the air cell but their beaks were down. I had to dig their heads out to see beaks. I did not open the Easter Egger, since it did not look good and I was scared to see what was inside. I then made a safe hole for the remaining 3, 2 had internally pipped but the 3rd had not. I pierced the inner membrane carefully to allow the chicks beak access to air cell. It was clearly having trouble moving. After 30 hours of moistening the membranes, and chipping away a little here and their, they all 3 hatched. 2 seramas and easter egger. They appear to have had trouble moving around and they were extremely gooey. All 5 are now happy and healthy.
What am I doing wrong? I now have 84 more eggs on day 16 and am worried. I have been monitoring temps, they stay relatively steady in my hova bator but are very uneven in the LG 9300 I just figured out about calibrating my digital hygrometer and the first one I looked at shows it was 9 lower than it should have been. The humidity fluctuated from 40 - 55% today and I am already running dry. I also have a dehumidifier in the room. I think the air cells look okay but some have more fluid than they should for day 16 in my opinion. I have already lost 1 call duck to similar issues as before, and another is looking to be following suit.
