HELP! Day 26 opened egg at air sac, chick alive inside

[eggsrcool]

I'm not sure. The temp seems to be the biggest factor.

 

[Mahonri]

shucks!

 

[Chikpee]

Ha ha in my haste to post this morning I called myself Chick Piddle!!!

 

[walkswithdog]

That late it's almost always a temperature problem, some incubators have cool spots, some thermometers become inaccurate or thermostats fail.

A healthy hatch is somewhere between 19 and 21 days - all of them all out by the end of the 21st day. Any longer and something was up.

Once there's reason for equipment checking - calibrate your thermometers first. Make sure they're accurate.

Then if they are accurate. Several questions help sort trouble. If it's an incubator without a fan, considering adding one, they do help prevent cool spots. If it has a fan bump your temps for the next hatch up .5 degrees (half a degree). Check when the next batch hatch. All mine tend to be out at day 20 and I'm used to that.

It's a matter of learning to use the equipment you have. And always remembering that equipment becomes inaccurate without warning.

If it is a homemade - re-evaluate your fan position as well. Air should cycle up and away from eggs, not blow onto them.

Incubation is an art and it takes adjustment and learning. And everybody has a different set up.

 

[Chikpee]

Quote:
Thanks. Its really disappointing and I feel so bad that they didn't make it and it's my fault.

But I REALLY REALLY want to have a successful hatch, which might be a little selfish. But I have learned a lot.

I'm going to do some temperature mapping with supermarket eggs and get everything spot on before I do the next lot.

This BYC is great for support though - I wouldn't really have anyone to ask otherwise

 

[Chikpee]

Thanks walkswithdog, that's good advice and reassuring.

I have a Covatutto 16 - still air and I reckon a fair temperature gradient across the bottom.

I can't buy anything more sophisticated at present so I have two choices - to try again with better temperature checking, or to pick out the components and build something better.

 

[Chicken Chat]

I know it's easy to feel guilty but don't. You learn things with each hatch, keep notes. Were these shipped eggs?

 

[Chikpee]

They were shipped (UK to Ireland) and they were six days in the post because everything happens really slowly in Ireland, but they were posted the day they were laid and 11 out of 12 started growing so I had discounted that as a factor. What do you think?

 

[Chicken Chat]

They only reason I asked if they were shipped is to say that the next time you decide to incubate again, see if you can find someone local to buy eggs from. Your hatch rates will go way up. Shipping is really hard on eggs. If the package is roughly handled, the air cells can easily be dislodged. If that happens, your baby will start to develope and then die. If you do ship, remember to let the eggs sit for at least 8 to 12 hours to settle before they go into the incubator.

 

[Chikpee]

Oh i didn't realise that they might start then die from shipping

There's so little choice here that I feel kind of stuck with the shipping.

I plan to get some more from the same person as at the very least they were nearly all fertile. The first lot I got I may as well have bought from Tesco(supermarket), nothing there whatsoever. Completely ripped off!

These were allsorts so would have been all unique and really cheered the place up. I'm very fond of my poor battered rescues but they do look a bit like they have done 5 rounds...

Thanks for the advice