incubated eggs, different start days

[steve&kris]

Hi,
Looking for some experienced thoughts/knowledge.... We've hatched 3 or 4 sets of our own eggs (not-shipped) before, and generally hatch about 70% (or close to). We run the incubator at 50-60 with egg turner on until lockdown, then run 60-65%.
This is the first time we added eggs on the second day. My wife put in 10 eggs, the next day I added 12 more. On the day we expected the first eggs to hatch we got 7 (which I assume all came from the first 10)... we thought we'd get another 8-9 more on the next day, and we got zero. The hatched chicks are on day 4 right now...so we just took them out of the incubator and put them into their brooder. The other eggs are still in the incubator, but they're past due.
When we candled them early on, all eggs from both groups were growing chicks... so it's a finish problem not a start problem.
Is there an issue with eggs getting beaten around, rolled all over by a group of day old chicks that would affect them hatching, or does anyone have thoughts on what has caused this failure. I feel really bad if we just had a dozen chicks die in their egg for some reason. Note: I have not candled the remaining eggs... I don't want to pull them out and shock them with a temp change until I'm 100% sure there won't be any more to hatch...which I'll probably call tonight or tomorrow.
Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there an issue with eggs getting beaten around, rolled all over by a group of day old chicks that would affect them hatching, or does anyone have thoughts on what has caused this failure.

It is possible them getting rolled around could have an effect. My concern about that would be when they pip if the pip hole is rolled so they cannot get air. That would be pretty rare. It could have affected one or two of those eggs hatching? I do not think that is what caused the overall failure of the second group. I also do not think the difference in lockdown made a difference. Lots of people on here miscount the days and lock down a full day early, usually with no effect on hatch.

Where I would look is how those eggs were handled before you started incubating them. Why were they started a day late? Were they shipped so they could have been mishandled during shipping. How old were they to the point they may have been too old? Were they from a different flock where something like disease or nutrition would have an effect?

When you take them out you might open a few to see if you can determine when they stopped developing. That may give you a clue.

 

[brickhaven]

I open to candle and so far no issues. Before I gave up on them I’d definitely candle them. Don’t want to toss eggs that are still developing. Good luck!

 

[steve&kris]

So... last night, on what would be day 24 going into 25...we had one hatch. It's not right...doesn't keep it's eyes open, stumbles around, keeps it's head held way up high when it's standing... I don't think it's going to make it but we're trying. One more seems to have pipped the size of a quarter since then...but it is dead and has turned rock hard since. I'm going to give them another day, but at 25 days it's definitely a problem even if they hatch. I think they fully developed and for some reason couldn't get out of their eggs.
They were from the same flock, not shipped, refrigerated inside of a week... same treatment as day prior eggs. They were only started a day later b/c my wife and I had different thoughts on how many to incubate.
I may try to open a couple today to see if they're fully developed and alive inside...but my guess is they've all smothered/starved in the egg by now, unfortunately.
A couple years ago, we hatched one group under a broody hen... it was the best experience. Unfortunately that hen was later killed by a fox and we don't have anymore really motherly hens or we would try to redo that hatching situation again. Hopefully someone becomes super broody and we can give that another shop.

 

[steve&kris]

This is a link to a google drive file with a video of this chick... trying to figure out if I should cull it to keep it from suffering(?)... starving or being picked apart by other chicks... it seems blind(ish)...it doesn't open it's eyes much (it can...just normally closed), stumbles around, keeps it's head way up high... just not normal. Cute as can be though. It's on day 3.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O2d9oJ2irWA7jMRfGNW_gwrjKSVnQ6ny/view?usp=sharing



3day chick