Help please... Internal Pip then died... any ideas folks? Marans

[phishless13]

So i always get pretty decent responses here. I tried to hatch Marans eggs. Many went full term but did not externally pip. I waited and waited and did float test to see movement and saw none. I opened up the eggs and most if not all had internally pipped and then died. There did seem to be alot of fluid by the chicks head so possible drowning? The air cell looked adequate. I ran humidity lower than normal as suggested. 35-45 during first 18 days. Also i usually put my eggs in egg cartons for lockdown and have pretty decent success with this method in the past. I would like to try again because I really want to raise Marans but I don't want to incubate until I have a better idea of what went wrong. 1 chick did survive but i assisted. The chick is weak and has deformed feet which i am attempting to mend before making the decision to cull or not. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated especially if you have experience with Marans.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

If there was fluid in the eggs you opened, to me that says your humidity was too high. Did you calibrate your hygrometer before you started incubating? If you use a cheap hygro, they're notoriously inaccurate. I calibrate my hygrometers and thermometers before every hatch...

 

[phishless13]

I did not calibrate it but checked it with two other ones and it was fine. Ran two incubators and the other hatch in the other incubator was ok. Maybe i should have ran the humidity lower because they were Marans?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

It could be possible that all of your hygrometers were wrong. The breed doesn't make a difference. However, something else that may have, were if they eggs were porous. Did you candle them, and if so, were they porous? Porous eggs tend to need less humidity.

 

[aart]

You can't actually calibrate most household hygrometers because you can't adjust them to read correctly,
but you can test them very easily then note any inaccuracy to apply to your readings:

Hygrometers can be tested by putting 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup water in a dish or jar and mixing it to a slurry.
Put the salt slurry jar and the hygrometer next to each other in a large sealed plastic bag.
After 8-12 hours the hygrometer should read 75%... note any differences and you're set.


Marans eggs can be difficult to hatch, I think because of the thick bloom and dense shells.
Maybe do a search on 'hatching maran eggs'.