hatching problems

[chickenjim77]

So I've made an incubator out of a Styrofoam cooler and have attempted two hatches in the last two months with pretty much 0% success idk wut I'm doing wrong humidity at 45-50% temp 99.5 and turning them 3 times a day. Any suggestions?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You'll also want to post in the Incubating and Hatching Eggs forum, with as much detail as you can. https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/5/incubating-hatching-eggs Have you checked the eggs to see where you are losing them / what stage of development things are going wrong? Where are you getting the eggs / are you sure they are fertile, has anyone else hatched them in a different incubator? Do you have a thermometer that measures high/low temps? Temperature spikes can kill most of a hatch in a relatively short of time and may go un-noticed if they happen over night etc.

 

[chickenjim77]

So my eggs r coming from my backyard I have 10 RIR and 2 black austrolorps and 1 too and yes I have a thermometer that reads humidity and temp as well as highs and lows.the only thing thing that has dropped overnight is the humidity a lil bit..I noticed with the first attempt that a bunch of the eggs never started to form so I assume they were not fertile and the others were fully formed but never hatched..the ones that did hatch hatched late around day 25. Could it b possible my too can't keep up wit the girls?

 

[Kelsie2290]

If your chicks are hatching on day 25, you're incubator is probably running a low average temperature (late hatches are usually due to too low of temps overall)... Are you using multiple thermometers? Is it a still air incubator/ do you have a fan? Still airs should be run at a higher temp than forced airs. if you are turning three times a day, you are opening the incubator? Do you know how long the incubator takes to go back up to temperature?

 

[chickenjim77]

Yes I have a fan blowing over the bulb closest to the thermostat and no I only have one thermometer. When I open the bator the temp goes back pretty quickly I'd sat within a min or two

 

[chickenjim77]

The thermometer I have is placed at the opposite end from the thermostat and stays reading 99° do u think I should bump it up a tad to where it reads 100°?

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

I'm glad you joined our community.

I'm sorry to hear about your poor hatches!

My first guess is that your therometer isn't working correctly. It may read 99 degrees, but it may not be accurate. If possible, I would get another therometer and see if it reads the same temperature.

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I've never incubated so I'm no help. Sorry about the hatch issues though!