Hatching issues

[Ratchnick]

I have had 3 hatches so far. They do not hatch like popcorn as other people say but slowly over about 36 hours. How long after a pip should it take to start zipping? I know with others poultry it can be a while but i keep getting quail that pip but wont zip, just die in the shell.

Temp 99.5 calibrated
Humidiy 80%

 

[FloorCandy]

What percentage of the chicks pip and don’t hatch?

 

[Ratchnick]

28% last hatch

 

[Nabiki]

Are these coturnix quail? If so, 80% humidity is way too high! I keep mine at about 30% during incubation, raising it to aroudn 50-60% during hatching. Also, do you have calibrated thermometers and hygrometer inside, or are you trusting your incubator's readings? The incubator readings are practically never right.

It can take 24 hours from pip to zip.

 

[Ratchnick]

Yes i have calibrated stuff, 80% is just for lockdown, if i put in less water for lower humidity it i will have to refill the water and potentialy shrinkwrap. I have never heard of high humudity causing this issue but it could be i guess.

 

[Ratchnick]

Yes they are coturnix

 

[JaeG]

Are the vents on your incubator fully open for the hatch? Some have plugs that need removing, some have vents that need opening. It's easy to forget to do but very important that the hatching eggs get a constant supply of fresh air.

There are always early and late chicks and it's a bit of a misnomer that they all hatch together. The bulk of them should, but there will always be stragglers.

Make sure you constantly move the eggs to different spots in the incubator to average out any warmer and cooler spots too. All incubators seem to have warmer and cooler spots so if eggs aren't moved around while incubating this will cause the hatch to be spread out as well.

 

[Nabiki]

Yes i have calibrated stuff, 80% is just for lockdown, if i put in less water for lower humidity it i will have to refill the water and potentialy shrinkwrap. I have never heard of high humudity causing this issue but it could be i guess.

You can get lower humidity and still fill it less often by putting in a container with limited surface area. I use small yogurt jars and partially cover the mouth with tin foil until I get the right humidity. If the humidity is too high, the chicks might suffocate. In my early hatches when I used higher humidity, I also got a lot more curled toes.

 

[Ratchnick]

You can get lower humidity and still fill it less often by putting in a container with limited surface area. I use small yogurt jars and partially cover the mouth with tin foil until I get the right humidity. If the humidity is too high, the chicks might suffocate. In my early hatches when I used higher humidity, I also got a lot more curled toes.

Yes i have thought about limiting surface area but there is not room for a taller container, the height in the water chamber is one inch tall. There is one vent that's about 5/8th of an inch round, i have thought of cutting a larger adjustable vent, maybe that will work? On my first hatch i had 2 of 36 with curled toes, since then i calubrated my hygrometer and no more issues.

 

[Ratchnick]

I Didn't know about hot spots in the bator but it makes sense, like a bbq grill. Next time i will rotate the position in the bator.