Hatching issues

[bostons barn]

Im fairly new at owning chickens but have been successful at hatching free range and incubated mallards. I was given two hens to add to my other hens and roos which i have also hatched eggs from. The new hens eggs it seems like the embryos die or never get all the way developed. I have had them for two months now and have not been able to hatch a chick from either chicken. Any ideas why

 

[loveourbirds]

are you using the hens, or an incubator?

temperature could be the issue if its an incubator, most thermometers are off - and can really mess with the hatch. even the thermometers that come with your incubator.

it can also be illness, or deficiencies in the hens. run your protein at about 18%, use vitamins and electrolytes mix (in the water) and see if that helps you.

 

[Pathfinders]

This is a great list of things to look at when you're troubleshooting incubation problems:

http://www.poultry.msstate.edu/pdf/extension/troubleshooting_incubation.pdf

Hope things get better for you!

 

[bostons barn]

Im using an incubator but i dont seem to have an issue with the other hens in the flock just these two newer ones. They are all being fed and watered the same and my incubator is brand new. I have not had any issues with my duck eggs either

 

[loveourbirds]

ok, if i really had to guess: i would think that the ones you are having trouble with were in a barn and suffer from vitamin D deficiency.

of course this is just a guess. vitamin A deficiency will cause similar results as they work together. most chickens get plenty of vitamin A from grass and greens. D is a little harder to build back up.

 

[bostons barn]

I dont know about the previous place they lived in but i do let my chickens and ducks roamduring the day but pit my chickens up at night. So if i cont to do that and add vits to their water hopefully by spring they will snap out of this. They are really sweet and one of them actually follows me everywhere and and wants me to pick her up she even hangs out by the house door waiting for me to come out. We live on 5 acres which half is treed so they get plenty of protein from bugs frogs and small snakes which is why i started getting chickens and they do their job well. I will try them again in the spring. Ty for your suggestions

 

[loveourbirds]

vitamins will *probably help*.

there are other possible issues, from inbreeding to illness, age of hens can play a part in it too.

i have no real proof on this, but it might come in handy:
several chicken feeds contain soy products. soy is high in protein, but it contains antivitamins. when i learned this, i dropped as much soy from my mix as i could. at that point i changed my entire mix, so im not sure the soy was the only problem. however when i changed, i noticed better hatchability in the eggs; and better overall flock health. i have also noticed better weight gain, darker, redder combs, and faster feather regrowth.

 

[bostons barn]

My roos have very large very red combs (americana/rhode island mix) and they all seem to be in good health including the new hens although they are a little thinner than my original flock.

 

[loveourbirds]

do you know about when the chicks start quitting in the shells?

 

[bostons barn]

They vary in stages. Most stop 3 to 7 days before they are suppose to hatch