HELP!!!!! 1st time hatching turkey eggs

[frizzlelove83]

Hello Everyone!
This is my first time hatching turkey eggs and it was a disaster! After 4 weeks of diligently candling the eggs and tossing the fertile ones it was hatching time. Out of 12 eggs only one pipped, but it didn't hatch. Now a week later they have all been thrown away. On closer examination of the eggs all of them had fully developed poults. Many of them had very large unabsorbed yolk sacs. The eggs started in a forced air incubator at 99F and 50-60% humidity, they were automaticly turned and were moved to a still air incubator 3 days before hatching at 101F and always 50-60% humidity. i further examined the dead eggs and found them very hard to crack open.Another odd thing i found was a very large unabsorbed yolk sack. If you have and ways you can help please do.
sincerely,
frizzlelove83

 

[frizzlelove83]

thanks so much! when i try in a month or so i'll lower the humidity. another problem i had was the hard eggshells. when i went to go throw them out i threw them as hard as i could and none cracked. i had to find a rock to crack the eggs open on to examine the dead poults.

 

[justrain]

Thank you for your response. I am hatching my first turkey eggs this week so have been reading everything I can on the forums to be sure I am doing it right... everything temp/humidity in the beginning was on target and steady so am hoping for a successful ending. I have read some say 50% for early stage of incubation and 80% for lockdown..I went along with the same temp/humidity I do for my chickens.. The humidity part is one thing that worries me having never hatched before I want to be sure to do it right.

I think you'll be fine if you follow the same rules you apply to your chickens. As I mentioned, patience is my greatest enemy.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hello Everyone!
This is my first time hatching turkey eggs and it was a disaster! After 4 weeks of diligently candling the eggs and tossing the fertile ones it was hatching time. Out of 12 eggs only one pipped, but it didn't hatch. Now a week later they have all been thrown away. On closer examination of the eggs all of them had fully developed poults. Many of them had very large unabsorbed yolk sacs. The eggs started in a forced air incubator at 99F and 50-60% humidity, they were automaticly turned and were moved to a still air incubator 3 days before hatching at 101F and always 50-60% humidity. i further examined the dead eggs and found them very hard to crack open.Another odd thing i found was a very large unabsorbed yolk sack. If you have and ways you can help please do.
sincerely,
frizzlelove83

@WalnutHill might be of help. She raises turkeys.

 

[dheltzel]

Porters Heritage Turkeys has instructions on their website that are very helpful. I believe you had the humidity too high for the first 25 days. Until lockdown, I incubate at 20 - 30% humidity, then try to get it up over 80% for lockdown.

I only get about 1/3 of the fertile eggs to actually hatch, so maybe you should get a second opinion.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Porters Heritage Turkeys has instructions on their website that are very helpful. I believe you had the humidity too high for the first 25 days. Until lockdown, I incubate at 20 - 30% humidity, then try to get it up over 80% for lockdown.

I only get about 1/3 of the fertile eggs to actually hatch, so maybe you should get a second opinion.

I was thinking the same thing because I am pretty sure that chicken/turkey/duck and quail all hatch under the same conditions, just different incubation periods and for chickens that is high. I use 30%. But I didn't want to say that and steer them wrong. I also understand that cabinet incubators don't run as well with the lower humidity and I don't know what kind of incubator either.

 

[feedman77]

I think the humidity was to high.

I as others stated shoot for 20-30 percent during incubation.

I had terrible hatches on my early eggs last year. I had 40 going into lock down with good movement and only hatched 4. All died within the 3 day lock down period.

But as I got later in the year my hatch percentage went up. Turkeys hatching can be frustrating.

My latest batch got 3 of 14 to lock down none hatched. Ebay eggs.

We're these your eggs or shipped?

Sometime the parent nutrition has an effect on the eggs.

Sorry none hatched for you.

 

[JetCat]

i really don't think the humidity was the problem. i do a lot of staggered hatches in two cabinet incubators, one i dry incubate in for the most part and the other i run around 50% because i do all my quail eggs in it and around here they'll dry out on you if you don't. i've incubated quail/chicken/duck/turkey/peacock eggs in that same incubator and never had any issues with hatch. my first thought was air exchange in the incubator you used for hatching in.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

i really don't think the humidity was the problem. i do a lot of staggered hatches in two cabinet incubators, one i dry incubate in for the most part and the other i run around 50% because i do all my quail eggs in it and around here they'll dry out on you if you don't. i've incubated quail/chicken/duck/turkey/peacock eggs in that same incubator and never had any issues with hatch. my first thought was air exchange in the incubator you used for hatching in.

Cabinet incubators do run successfully at 50% humidity, however the styros and smaller bators generally need a lower humidity, so a lot of it depends on the type of bator.

 

[JetCat]

Cabinet incubators do run successfully at 50% humidity, however the styros and smaller bators generally need a lower humidity, so a lot of it depends on the type of bator.

Granted I don't have an excessive amount of experience incubating in the styrofoam incubators I do have one that is used mostly for small hatches and on occasion incubation too and I don't find it to run any different as far as the environment goes. An egg incubating at 50% rh @ 99.5° knows not if its in a cabinet or a styrofoam incubator I'd think. Can you further elaborate on what the difference is??