How long after 21 days?

[litljenarey]

I had a group of 14 eggs, as of day 16 everyone was developing beautifully. I didn't candle again. When I went into lockdown a few eggs were rocking.
I set these on 8/7 at 8:30pm. Monday, I had a Delaware hatch at 3:30am and three pips in my Barred Rocks. Two hatched during the day and it became like a soccer field in there! The third was zipped, them got trapped into a corner and wedged between the corner and three eggs that the other chicks rolled around and he couldn't push them off. I watched him struggle all day and night, and by Tuesday morning his chirp had gotten quieter, his struggle was less productive. I knew he wasn't gonna make it without help. I looked closely at my other eggs and no external pips, I heard no chirping except him. I quickly opened the bator, grabbed the hatched chick, the struggling chick, and the empty eggs. I had it open less than 30 seconds, the temp gauge didn't even register a change and the humidity dropped from 68% to about 65%. I moved the struggling chick to a heat lamp and let him go on his own. He made it just fine as soon as he wasn't blocked.

I've had no movement, pips, chirps, anything since Monday morning before opening the incubator.
How long should I wait for the others? My husband thinks they are all duds and I should toss them. I think it's because he has 10 chicks in the living room and he's nervous about adding more, lol. I'm thinking I should give them at least 2 more days. I'm having a hard time believing that they were all developing on day 16 and some were rocking on day 18 and they all gave up after that.

Is it normal to have a few days between chicks hatching?

 

[sumi]

I've had one batch hatch on day 22-23 with a late bloomer on day 25. So don't give up hope just yet. You can float test the rest of the eggs to check. Here's a thread about it:

Float Testing, Checking Egg Viability For Late Or Overdue Hatching

 

[what did I do]

I chip away at the air cell to see if there is anything living in there. If I see anything living I quit and put it back.

 

[charro2]

Your husband might be right, but just in case, it doesn't hurt anything to give it a day or two.

 

[litljenarey]

Well, I float tested and they seemed to float alright except for one that was very very round, the air cell was in the center area so he probably never got into a good position. No movements though so I candled and no movement but good air cells. I went to my husbands toolbox and got his stethoscope that he uses for engine knock, I heard nothing.
So I opened the eggs.
Every one of them is dead and I don't see any reason??? chicks are fully formed, yolks absorbed, membranes aren't shrink wrapped or dried, everyone seems to be in the right position (I'm doing this based on pictures, so I don't have alot of experience knowing where they should be) no internal pips. It's like they got to the right time and just quit.

10 out of 14 eggs just died??

I have no idea what went wrong.

I give up. The incubator is going on Craigslist today. Over the two month I have put into my incubator 46 eggs that cost about $135. My first group of 14 I had one make it to lockdown and it pipped the wrong end and died. My kids are too young to understand and they were expecting a chick when they came home from school, so I quickly bought a chick from a local farm for $5. Second group of 14 I had two make it but my humidity went nutty and only one hatched. third group of 11 eggs, I had 5 in lockdown and 4 hatch. This last group had all 14 make it but only 4 hatched? So I have 10 chicks averaging $14 per chick. I should have had a bunch of SQ birds and my best hatch was from a dozen three week old REFRIGERATED MUTT EGGS. that goes against everything I have read on any forum or book about hatching.

You know what, I'm going to rant and rave for a second because I'm just annoyed! I really really wanted a standard Cochin and none of those made it. I was hoping for a few Delawares and only one of those hatched. I wanted large fowl, brown egg layers. the mutts came from white and green eggs, and we end up with a Silkie. The Silkie was the replacement chick, the kids first chick, and their favorite and its a few weeks old now and I'm beginning to suspect "Sophie" is a roo. With the way this is going, 90% of these will end up being roosters and I'll have to start all over.


I should have just bought a few pullets that were close to egg laying age in the breeds that I wanted, but NOOO I thought it would be more fun and the kids would have better pet chickens if we hatched them and raised them.

I am not having fun.



On the plus side, my husband is having a friggin BLAST naming these things. The kids named the first two. Sophie- the silkie, Danielle- a silver laced Wyandotte. Then came Dr. Boost and Cinnamon- mutts from the white eggs, Chip and Dale- Mutts from the green eggs. Lady Dingleberry- Delaware (because of the yellow fuzzy buns she has always seems to have a skidmark, lol), Emo (because shes all black and shes never interested in what the other chicks are doing), Cheepers (never stops cheeping), and Sparticus (the only one the kids saw hatch, he was stuck and he's smaller than all the rest but he is the first to explore something new, first to try a new food and will charge you when you open the crate. Pretty sure hes a roo)- Barred Rocks

 

[alisar]

I'm about to board the same boat soon with the hatching eggs. I'm going to have to think of creative ways to explain non hatching eggs to the kids. I think I'll just lie and say those ones must not have gotten fertilized.