I swear I'm chucking the bator out the window...eggs and all!

[MuranoFarms]

I have never EVER had a good hatch! I've set 15 different hatches since December with 6 more going on now. I had 6 hatches with a 0 hatch rate. I have 2 incubators, so staggered hatching isn't a problem. One is the designated hatcher. They are both LG's. This time though I'm using a Brinsea eco and I still just don't think they're going to hatch. Everything has been calibrated and recalibrated and sanitized and cleaned.
I just give up!

I swear.....the whole darn mess is going in the woods! Let the bears hatch em...they'll probably do better then I have!

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

Hey, before you throw those LG's out to the bears, I will take them...... I love our LG's and have great luck with them. They can be very temperamental but can also be wonderful.
At what point are you loosing your eggs? Are they going full term or dying before that? Are you keeping a daily journal of incubation temps and humidity readings along with other notes on spikes or dips? We find that this really helps if we had a bad hatch because we can open the eggs and see at what point they died and look at the corresponding journal entries to see what might have been the problem.

 

[MuranoFarms]

I kept excellent records until maybe 2 or 3 hatches ago.....it started to too depressing! I have had some early blood rings and lots that just never start. That doesn't bother me....it happens, no big deal. Lately I've had a lot of week 2 quitters. That doesn't really bug me either. What's killing me is, I've had a whole bunch go all the way to lockdown and quit either during lockdown or the in the few days before. I've opened them up and they haven't even pipped internally. They don't look dry or seem gooey inside. They just never hatch.

I have an Extech 445717 thermometer/hygrometer http://www.all-spec.com/products/445715.html It has a min/max memory and every night before bed I reset it. Temps stay within 100-102 still air. I do have the turner. The LG's are both up on 2X4's with the plugs out till lockdown.

Right now I'm hatching in the brinsea. I positioned the eggs large side near the walls which are clear so I can hold my flashlight up to the side and see into the eggs. I have 1 that's been internally pipped for almost 24 hours. Today is day 21. Now I'm stuck with the 'do I help or not' issue.

 

[zatsdeb]

I went through the same thing last year and I took the turner out.. and turned them by hand, twice a day. also found a better place for the incubator in the master bathroom and had almost perfect hatches. might want to try with a few chicken eggs turning by hand. it worked for me.

 

[houndit]

Quote:
Are the eggs shipped? If they are try some local eggs. Usually shipped eggs are really hard to hatch. I had my first successful shipped eggs hatch last week. I spent hundreds of dollars last year and got very little. My eggs always hatched better. I had little giants and hova bators. This year I got a cabinet incubator. 7 of 12 shipped eggs hatched. Last year I was fortunate to get 1 out of 13.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:
Most of them are shipped. Several of my girls just started laying within the last 2 months. I just 'removed' the EE boys from the flock so I was hoping to wait a few weeks to incubate the eggs till the boys 'influence' was gone. I did incubate my guinea eggs. 4 out of 11 hatched, with 3 others making it to lockdown but not hatching. I've shipped my eggs and they've hatched 5 of 8 and 6 of 8. lol That's irony right there! People I'm shipping to are having better hatch rates then I am!

At least I can laugh about it!

 

[chrisarvor]

Like you my eggs are shipped and i struggle to get 2 out of 12, i am having better luck with Gambel quail for some reason

What do you run the humidity at?


I have just set 12 Californian with no water this time ,some of my eggs pip and they die other just dont pip but the chicks are perfectly formed
so i am going to try a dry run then a small amount of water at the end

Some of my survivors are quail that i have broken the eggs open after the other had pipped and i have emptied the egg myself
against all the rules but they have survived

 

[IwannaBEaMERMAID]

all the 4 times i have tried incubating, only 2 chickens hatched total !!! each time there was 12 eggs ! and i think the ones i have under a broody all died !!!

 

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:

 

[Redcatcher]

Where are you taking your temperature reading from? Even the size of the egg is going to make a difference when incubating with a still air incubator. Take the reading at the top of the eggs, regardless of the size. Bantam sized eggs are not going receive the same amount of heat that large eggs are going to. Those LG incubators are also famous for having hot and cold spots even with the fan. You will want to group your eggs around the best temperature reading. I am having a terrible time with shipped eggs yet I buy more. I lost all 13 of my Hmong eggs, all but one of my speckled Kelso eggs (the one surviving egg was an extra and not even a Kelso, it is a Redquill), and only 2 Madagascar eggs are still alive. None of them are inexpensive eggs, either. I feel your pain.