Horrible Hatching Experience, Please Help

[Breezy8830]

Well I have a new incubator (store bought styrafom). I purchased 8 chicken eggs, set them in the automatic egg turner and let it be. I added water as instructed. The temp stayed around 99.5.

Well hatching day (day 21) was thursday or friday. Sunday/Monday I had two live chicks that needed help to come out.

Chick one was cheeping since thursday, by saturday it had a small hole, by monday the hole was still the same (Monday it was helped out)

Chick two same thing.

Chick three same thing but I think chick one and two killed it because they moved around the incubator alot.

Now, nothing else opened.

Today, we opened the rest and one was a duds, one had died a while ago because it was very small and no feathers. And three were fully developed...

When chick one and two were out they moved the other eggs all over the place. Could this have been the death of the other three?

What can I do next time to prevent this?

I think hubby might have opened the incubator a few times trying to save the first two.

What else could have gone wrong?

 

[Egg_newton]

Don't feel too bad. I am on my first hatch too. I only have six viable eggs so far out of 25. And who knows how many of those will make it. I guess the old saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" is true. What was your humidity? Maybe it was too low/high? I am currently in lockdown mode. I put the eggs in a egg carton to hatch. It is supposed to help contain hatching mess and keep the hatched chickies from kicking around the non hatched chickies.

 

[bubblebean11]

Yes the carton is the way to go. Get the styrofoam ones though because they wont soak up the water. Im sorry things didnt go so well.

 

[Paganbird]

I use the cardboard cartons.
I use sponges for humidity... so no water to "soak up."

 

[Rammy]

I love my birds.... Do they have a poultry patch?



This made me laugh. Thats cute!! I know what you mean!!