Hatching/pipping problem. Newbie, please help am so fed up :-(

[Dewsetter]

Can somebody please help me this is driving me insane and just feel like sitting down and crying. I know it sounds dramatic but I have been so excited over the last 3 weeks and this is really getting me down.

I incubated 6 Cream Legbar hybrids in a Brinsea Mini Eco. The eggs were posted on the afternoon of the day they were laid. 1 was infertile when candled at day 7 and another showed a blood ring at day 11 and when opened had the blood ring but no distinguishable embryo.
I have followed the instructions on the incubator to the letter. I turned them 3 times a day then stopped at day 18 and increased humidity then also. The temperature has been consistent at 37.5 C but I have no way of measuring humidity only that I filled half the water chamber up from day 1 to day 18 and the full chamber up following this, as per the instructions.
On day 18 and 19 three of the eggs were moving lots and 1 wasn't. On day 20 I did not see and eggs moving but I suppose they may have done it when I wasn't there. I never heard any peeping.
On day 21 the egg that had never moved pipped and fully hatched later that day. This has now been 24 hours ago and I have not seen any movement or heard any noises from the remaining 3 eggs. I have got 1 very healthy but very lonely little chick.
Any ideas anybody?
Could the eggs moving on day 18 have been trying to pip and found it too difficuly and subsequently died?
Could they still hatch even though there is no movement or noise?
Why did the egg that sucessfully hatched never move but hatch and produce a nice healthy chick?

I have not long finished a horrible course of chemotherapy and I thought this would be good therapy for me. I am beginning to think it's all far too stressful as this is really bothering me now. I wanted chickens to keep at home for eggs but wanted to experience the whole process from the beginning by hatching my own eggs.
Please help x

 

[chics in the sun]

I am new to incubating, so I don't know what to tell you. I just wanted to give you this -

And don't give up yet.

 

[katie4]

Good luck with healing your body and mind! Animals are wonderful therapy. What a lucky chickie your solo feathered friend is!

My experience is that when one things goes wrong while incubating most or all of the chicks don't hatch. When things are just right, hatching percentages are high (Like 70%). There are so many variables that can detrimentally affect the egg that entire tomes may not cover all the issues!

A "wet bulb" thermometer is your second-best friend when incubating. They can be ordered from any biological supply company. One is Carolina Biological Supply, but there are many others. Perhaps the manufacturer of your incubator can sell you an aftermarket wet bulb set-up. One for a forced air model of incubator was $5.95 that I bought several years ago. Shipping was more expensive than the item!

Check out some books from your library or purchase some. I especially like beginners' books like "Idiot's Guide to Rasing Chickens," Storey's guide (4th edition is currently in print), "The Joy of Keeping Chickens : The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit," and a multitude of other books.

I checked out as many books as I could from my public library, skimmed them and got my small flock set up, and then bought my favorites from Amazon.com. Search for "raising chickens." Each of these beginners' or general books has its own emphasis but all will have a section on incubation. Many of my favorites have additional references in the back.

BYC has been a great place to get very specific questions answered. I have learned a lot of really great information from the many folks who are experienced chicken raisers!

Good luck, and happy learning on your quest to have chicks hatch before your eyes!

 

[Jocasta]

Quote:
You can't be sure. All I know is there was a full 48hrs difference between the first pip and last pip of my recent hatch. I wouldn't toss them until day 25 (so long as they aren't smelling. Fingers crossed you get some more chickies soon!

So long as there aren't any other pips, you'll be safe to remove your little fellow as soon as he is dry - just make sure you do it quick so that humidity can get right back where's it's needed. You may want to put a fluffy toy and a mirror in the brooder so that he doesn't get too lonely.

 

[Dewsetter]

Thank you so much everybody for your wonderful messages, I really appreciate that you have all taken the time to reply to me. There is still no sign of anything else hatching. I have put a little fluffy toy in for my solo chick and have been looking on the internet for somewhere I can get a day old chick from tomorrow as a companion. I have a few possibilities so if no more hatch overnight I will travel first thing in the morning.
I will definitely keep my eggs in the incubator until all chance of them hatching has passed.
I will keep you posted as to any progress and my very best wishes to you all. xx

 

[wolftracks]

I rarely see movement and some just don't peep until they're ready.

I've had a few day 25 hatches. Don't know why. I've seen where some have day 28 hatches.

Use this link and you'll have a much easier time hatching them out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/we...63&PHPSESSID=4192d74cadbe3dfe3107953d2a70f1c4

Don't give up. Give them time and check to make sure everything is right for getting them out.

 

[chics in the sun]

And do keep us posted! I am incubating for the first time, too, and boy is it stressful!

 

[Denninmi]

Yes, I wouldn't give up yet. They often surprise you. Eggs that you think are dead often aren't, and sometimes the ones that look good die for no apparent reason.

21 days (or whatever as the species may be) seems to be the best case scenario, IMHO -- a minimum length of time. I've never had any of my hatches all just get to day 21 (or whatever the number) and all just pop out. Generally, the hatching follows a typical bell curve pattern over the course of 2 or 3 days -- a couple of early pioneers, most come in the middle, and then a couple of stragglers.

Regarding your Brinsea. I have the kind with the automatic humidity control and pump, so it's not exactly analogous to your model. But, I do kind of think that the humidity recommendations seem too high. When I was running hatches at 45 to 50% during incubation, and then upping to the recommended 65 to 70 % at lockdown, I was getting a lot of late in shell deaths -- I think the eggs were not losing enough moisture, and then drowned. I am getting much better hatches and healthier chicks by keeping the humidity 5 to as much as 10 % below the numbers Brinsea suggests -- I just hatched some quail, running them at 35 to 40 % during incubation, and 55% for hatch, and they all seem nice and healthy, and it was definitely a good hatch for me.

 

[just2rosey]

No one else seems to have mentioned, but your were hatching shipped eggs. I have been learning to hatch on shipped eggs since January, and it has been a bumpy road. I am now having 100% hatch rates on my own eggs, but still have varied and often sad hatch rates in the same hatch from shipped eggs. This last hatch I started with 5 of my own eggs, and 8 shipped eggs. Only 3 shipped eggs made it to lockdown, and only one hatched. The hatch before that I had 13 eggs from two breeders, 6 from one made it to lockdown, with 4 hatching, and 5 from the other made it to lockdown, with 1 hatching. Before those 2 out of 7..... I have had many quit in lockdown for no obvious reason. I felt to blame until I started hatching local eggs, and had perfect hatches with those. Don't give up, because it is a delightful thing to do when all goes well. Assume the problem was in the shipping. Do yourself a favor and buy some fertile eggs locally, and pick up a small dial hygrometer so you can be sure of your humidity. After you have confidence in your hatching prowess, try shipped eggs again. Good Luck, and I pray you continue to heal and make a full recovery.

 

[Dewsetter]

Thank you everybody for the wonderful advice and support.
I decided last night that my eggs wouldn't hatch so candled them and then cracked them open.
One of the eggs looked like it had died at about 10 days or so following the start of incubation. I suppose if I was more experienced I would have been able to see this during candling but my eggs were very dark brown and it was difficult for the inexperienced eye to know what to look for.
The other 2 eggs looked ready to go! The yolks had been absorbed but there was no sign of internal pipping into the air cell. Also they both had prolapsed and rather oedematous cloacas (or cloacae? not sure of the plural!) Does anbody know what causes this? Could it just be from bacteria and the fact that the chicks had been dead for several days and being heated still in the incubator or could it be down to a struggle? Has anybody seen this before?
The air cells were relatively small so I am definitely going to invest in a hygrometer and a wet bulb thermometer also.

I would love to be able to produce fertile eggs from my own hens but as I live fairly close to my neighbours, I don't think they would be very happy being woken up at the crack of dawn. I have bought some eggs locally though. Really close to home, it's amazing what you find on google lol! I also bought two chicks from the same lady to keep my lonely one happy.

Thanks again to everybody for the support, I never expected anyone to even see my post so it's really nice to find such friendly and helpful advice.

Best wishes

Lisa x