Help! I'm past day 21. No chicks.

[SallyH]

This is my first time incubating eggs. I believe I have followed the incubation instructions as close to perfect as I can get them. My eggs should have hatched Saturday or Sunday. Haven't checked yet this morning but as of last night there were no signs of hatching. On Monday, just to see what was going on, I broke open one of the eggs. There was a full-grown chick, still alive, in there. What am I doing wrong? How can I get the eggs to hatch? I set the eggs on February 18, then I put the eggs on lockdown March 8. Some of the eggs I have in cardboard cartons and some are just laying on the wire. I was just experimenting to see which one would be best. I don't have a way to measure the humidity but I've filled the wells with water.

 

[greybuzzard]

Well, if it was me, I would wet some paper towels and put them in so that the humidity would come up, as you say you have no way to measure humidity,,,,just my 2 cents...

 

[HEChicken]

You haven't mentioned what kind of incubator you have, whether it is still air or circulated, what temp you were at (or how you are measuring the temp) - and all of these things make a difference when it comes to incubating. Did you calibrate your themometer before starting incubation? If it is off by a little or a lot, can make a big difference. If its off by a little and is reading high, you may have been incubating at a lower temperature than you thought, which would cause chicks to develop more slowly and hatch late. On the humidity, when it is your first time hatching its a good idea to use a calibrated hygrometer so you *know* what your humidity is. In lockdown it should be so high that the windows of the incubator are fogged up (again, depending on type of incubator). Did you candle before lockdown to see which eggs had developed chicks in them?

Before you crack open any more eggs and find live chicks inside, I would suggest candling to see if there is movement. Movement can be hard to see when they are full term because they take up most of the room in the egg, but rather than just crack the egg, you would be better to make a small hold in the air sac end, to see if there is a live chick. If there is, immediately put it back in the incubator and let nature take its course.

 

[SallyH]

Yes, I did all those things. I have a thermometer and it has been right at the top of the eggs. 99.5 consistently. It was calibrated for two or three days before I set the eggs. I'm going to put the wet paper towels in. I've been putting water in the wells of the egg cartons but I still think it could probably use humidity. My incubator is not fancy. It is a styrofoam one from Tractor Supply. If I get serious about hatching eggs I will invest in a better incubator

 

[cva34]

21 days is not set in Stone.Its like a base line/average number.A day or 2 either side is not unusual..Best of luck ...cva34

 

[greybuzzard]

In any event, let us know how things turned out, well I hope....