help

[HollowOfWisps]

I candle at day 6 and don't open the brooder so temp and humidity don't fluctuate. even on this forum and others, opening the brooder fluctuating humidity and temp
would cause poor hatch rates.

Well to each their own. Hope you figure it out.

 

[ladyh]

yeah I have always had successful hatch rates except this time....would hope I would get more exact info posting a pic. this last chick is doing well and the other we will see.

 

[Mrs J]

I am not new to incubating. The first batch 6 was done in a Hova Bator. 4 hatched and then died.

The second, in nuture right 360, 4 eggs 2 hatched, one died...this last pic is the last one. I think it will die. I don't know why this is happening. I decided to spray with CS for bacteria on these, not the first, thinking that was the problem, apparently not. temp 99.5, humidity correct during incubation. raised to 65-70 during lockdown. Bator cleaned.

can anyone see from this pick, as they all looked the same what the problem is. These chickens were from Meyer whick I will NEVER buy from them again. They were supposed tobe buffs...no inter breeding. The hens are almost 2 years old and NEVER go broody. Their eggs are a light color, almost white..not brown as I was told.

I think @HollowOfWisps suggesting you look at your humidity levels is good advice. High humidity levels can affect breathing. Home → Humidity in Incubation

If you’ve ever incubated before (or even if you haven’t), you probably know that there are a lot of variables you need to keep track of. There are four primary factors to consider when incubating -- temperature, ventilation, turning, and humidity. Out of the four humidity is the most difficult factor to control and sometimes measure, which is why it is commonly misunderstood. If you’ve noticed the conflicting information on the internet about humidity, you’ve come to the right place. The Incubation Specialists at Brinsea are here to answer your questions! Check the Basics​ Our incubators that feature automatic humidity pumps are designed not to pump if the temperature is too low. So if you’ve just plugged your incubator in and can’t figure out why the pump isn’t working, check to see if it’s reached 99.5°F. If it hasn’t, give it some time to get up to temp before you give us a call. What Does Humidity Do?​ Egg shells may look solid, but they are actually porous. You can test whether a supermarket egg is good to eat by floating it in water. Fresher eggs will sink because they weigh more, while old eggs will float because they have much more empty space in them. This is also true of eggs you are trying to incubate, although we don’t recommend a float test for those eggs. While eggs are incubating they will naturally lose weight. It is important to have your humidity set to the right percentage so that your eggs are losing an ideal amount of weight. If the humidity is kept at the right level, developing chicks will be able to use the available air space to breathe and move around. If Humidity is Too Low​ Low humidity will cause the eggs to lose too much weight, which means the air space will be larger than what is ideal. A large air space also means the chick will be smaller than normal. Small chicks are weak chicks, and weak chicks cannot always hatch on their own, and they may die just before or just after hatching. It should be noted, however, that low humidity is typically less of a problem than high humidity, which we will cover next. If Humidity is Too High​ If low humidity equals too much weight loss, then high humidity equals not enough weight loss. In this case the air space will be smaller than normal, and the chick will be larger. A large chick may be a strong chick, but a small air space can affect the respiration and cause problems that way. This also causes a lack of space, making it difficult for the chick to move around and break out of the shell. Once a chick has pipped in a shell that hasn’t lost enough weight they can die due to weakness from lack of air. I hope this helps. Good luck, hope your chick makes it.

 

[nuthatched]

I candle at day 6 and don't open the brooder so temp and humidity don't fluctuate. even on this forum and others, opening the brooder fluctuating humidity and temp
would cause poor hatch rates.

Momma hens do get off their nests while brooding, a few times a day to eat and poop and stretch, you opening the incubator to candle and check the eggs every few days won't harm them. it's the wildly fluctuating temp and humidity over a long period ( say, a few days) that creates problems at hatch. :]
What is Cs?

 

[Huntmaster]

How can you determine the weight of eggs when you aren't supposed to disturb them during incubation?

Only time it is best not to disturb eggs is during lockdown. As long as your humidity recovers fairly quickly it's no problem opening your incubator except if your eggs have externally pipped then it can cause problems with shrink wrap but if you are quick and like I said your incubator recovers quickly you shouldn't have trouble with that.

 

[ladyh]

update. I go by TX A&M extension....last two chicks are fine and healthy