Hatching Narragansett Turkeys - HELP??

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
What????? bacteria in the air cell but not in the egg? I'm sorry to be speaking up but.... come on here.

The shell is porous, same as the membrane. If you have a bacteria problem in your incubator they wouldn't make it to the pip stage, they would die in the shell. also your chicken eggs would have the same issue

If the shell draws down to much - low RH during incubation the poult can't turn in the shell to pip all the way around. they will go into the air sack and can't get any further or pip the shell and stop there.

If it's to wet the poult will drown.

The best way to hatch turkey eggs is go with what you know on chicken eggs and adjust from there. If you can hatch chicken eggs you can hatch turkey eggs. The temp settings for chicken eggs are just a touch to high for turkeys - the turkey eggs will hatch a day-ish early - ours do all the time with no issuses. If you get good chicken egg hatches try the same thing with turkeys and see what happens. Sometimes it seems so frustrating but it's not nuclear physics

NP is easier. Think about your hen, the eggs sit longer than recommended, she doesn't have temp or RH settings, she doesn't turn every 4 hours or adjust the temp and RH during the last phase. they turn the eggs right up until hatch.

Don't give up but keep trying - walkswithdog has a system that works, as do we and alot of others. Take all the advice given and go from there, if you set them they will hatch. And of course we are here to help

Steve in NC

 

[Struttn1]

On my last 3 hatches I have placed a folded wet bath towel in the hatching incubator instead of messing with the water troughs and I am getting excellent hatches and they pop out of those shells without a bit of problem and as soon as all the eggs hatch I yank the towel out and the poults dry quickly.

If you are using a styrofoam incubator be sure to remove one of the vent plugs when they begin pipping.

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

What????? bacteria in the air cell but not in the egg? I'm sorry to be speaking up but.... come on here.

The shell is porous, same as the membrane. If you have a bacteria problem in your incubator they wouldn't make it to the pip stage, they would die in the shell. also your chicken eggs would have the same issue

Look it up Steve, that is why the big hatcheries use formaldehyde in their hatchers right before the hatch to kill all the bacteria, to increase the hatch. You can have bacteria on the egg surface and it never penetrate the egg until the pip and then a yellow crust forms over its beak and kills it (bacteria)

Eggs can and do hatch that have bacteria in them.

When a large number of bacteria get onto the shell surface, the chances of bacteria invading the egg increase. Bacteria inside the egg may use the nutrients found in the egg to multiply, robbing the embryo of a crucial food source or perhaps producing a toxin harmful to the embryo. During incubation, bacteria can actually prevent embryonic development, ultimately causing the embryo to die. Even if the embryo of a contaminated egg survives hatching, the chick will either die in the broiler house or simply not grow as it should.

Contaminated eggs that fail to hatch in the incubator can also affect other, healthy eggs. If one contaminated egg should crack in the incubator, it may spread bacteria to other eggs or newly hatched chicks. In fact, one egg can affect an entire incubator.

Does the Egg Possess Any Anti-microbial Defenses?

Although bacteria and mold can easily find a path into a cracked egg, the intact egg possesses many defenses that prevent microbial infection. Barriers that protect the egg include the cuticle, the shell, the shell membrane and the albumen or egg white.

A protein layer located on the shell surface is called the "cuticle." The cuticle helps occlude, or cover over, some of the pore openings to minimize bacterial penetration. Sometimes, though, if the cuticle layer is thin, the pores are too large or the shell too thin, bacteria can enter through the pore of the shell. If this should happen, the shell has two membranes lining the inside of it which act like a filter to prevent penetration. Additionally, the albumen contains natural compounds which can kill any bacteria that may evade the egg's other protective features.​

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Look it up Steve, that is why the big hatcheries use formaldehyde in their hatchers right before the hatch to kill all the bacteria, to increase the hatch. You can have bacteria on the egg surface and it never penetrate the egg until the pip and then a yellow crust forms over its beak and kills it (bacteria)

Eggs can and do hatch that have bacteria in them.

When a large number of bacteria get onto the shell surface, the chances of bacteria invading the egg increase. Bacteria inside the egg may use the nutrients found in the egg to multiply, robbing the embryo of a crucial food source or perhaps producing a toxin harmful to the embryo. During incubation, bacteria can actually prevent embryonic development, ultimately causing the embryo to die. Even if the embryo of a contaminated egg survives hatching, the chick will either die in the broiler house or simply not grow as it should.

Contaminated eggs that fail to hatch in the incubator can also affect other, healthy eggs. If one contaminated egg should crack in the incubator, it may spread bacteria to other eggs or newly hatched chicks. In fact, one egg can affect an entire incubator.

Does the Egg Possess Any Anti-microbial Defenses?

Although bacteria and mold can easily find a path into a cracked egg, the intact egg possesses many defenses that prevent microbial infection. Barriers that protect the egg include the cuticle, the shell, the shell membrane and the albumen or egg white.

A protein layer located on the shell surface is called the "cuticle." The cuticle helps occlude, or cover over, some of the pore openings to minimize bacterial penetration. Sometimes, though, if the cuticle layer is thin, the pores are too large or the shell too thin, bacteria can enter through the pore of the shell. If this should happen, the shell has two membranes lining the inside of it which act like a filter to prevent penetration. Additionally, the albumen contains natural compounds which can kill any bacteria that may evade the egg's other protective features.

Harp, I speak from personel experience and don't need to look it up. We have been hatching since Christmas last year. the incubators have run non stop and also been used as hatchers. According to what "you read" we do everything wrong - wash dirty eggs before setting, don't sterilize between hatches. Our hatch rates run in the 90%+ range. We have also gotten some very good hatch rates from shipped eggs this year. It's not luck we do it year after year.

Please let us in on how you run your incubator and some pics would be great!

Steve in NC

 

[geeperspeepers]

Hi there,

I may have missed it but what was your RH humidity during incubation? I've found that turkeys usually hatch out relatively easily when compared to waterfowl. Mine hatched out right on time and once the central circle was pecked open they zipped and popped out withing 40 minutes. Is your humidity in the 40's when incubating? If it was higher, the air cell may not be; large enough to provide adequate space and air for the poult to move into position, or breath when hatching. If they have made it all of the way up to their last turn (candle to see movement on that day) then it may be a few things. Are you making sure to turn stored eggs and keep them cool? Are you making sure to keep the humidity in the approximate range (more40.......47) and never letting it dry out too long? And the most important question of all, are you tuning the eggs approximately evenly 3 times (or 5-7X at the beginning ) over 24 hours? I think if you follow the guidelines posted in the posts above you should do well hatching some poults. Best of luck and post some pics if you get some. My last hatch was 2 BB's and 3 RP's/ 6 fertile eggs. Pick up a good digital thermometer/hygrometer and never let sunshine hit your incubator. This is all I can think of. Keep us posted

gp