Help

[roosterfoot]

Ok I need help. I have a still air hova-bator. I have tried to hatch 3 sets of eggs. The temp ranges from 99.5 to 100.4 I have kept the humidity around 45-53. Then at lockdown I keep it at 60-65. At the day of hatching I always get 5 to6 eggs that try to hatch. They get half of the shell broken and it`s like they give up and die. I have lost half of my hatch every time. What am I doing wrong?

 

[sourland]

Are the eggs all from the same source? Is there any possibility that there is a lack of vigor in the birds that you are trying to hatch? This can happen in heavily inbred strains.

 

[roosterfoot]

The three sets of eggs I tried to hatch were all from different breeders.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

For a still air bator the temp should be 101.5. So your is a little low but not that big of a deal. I would try uping the humidity a little. Maybe the membrane is getting dried out before they can finish. All you can do is keep trying untill you find what works for you.

 

[aveca]

Thats really interesting..are the eggs shipped eggs? local eggs that you picked up?

There might be something in the environment , boy thats tough..if they were shipped eggs, try to do a hatch with some local eggs that you can just pick up from a breeder. I have an APA judge freind who literally drives across the US with a special van and picks up birds and eggs that he wants..I thought he was absolutly crazy until we went through all of this with that rare breed.. I get it now..he said it will always be too much of a gamble with the post office.

A freind and I got many shipmens of a rare breed from several different breeders and we would always get 2 or three to hatch and the rest no matter what we did had trouble..might have been the inbreeding due to the rarity of that breed, had better luck with breeds other than that rare one. and we keep the embryo absolutly still and upright for up to 7 days in incubator to try and give it strength later on..worked for certian breeds but that rare one never did well shipped..

Another local freind gave them a batch of light sussex and they all hatched but 2 out of 20.. same incubator that you have