Incubating and Hatching chicks with this incubator, low hatch rates, need advice

[rascal66]

Hello!

I am doing lots of incubation this year, and the incubator I am using is the Chinese 48 egg incubator. (Unfortunately I did not do enough research on this bator, but it hasnt been terrible.)

So far, I had one round of eggs incubated and hatch. It was about 23 Eggs and I had 14 hatch alive and healthy. I had at least 5 that pipped but died in the shell before unzipping. The others either died in the egg or were unfertile. This was the best hatch I have had yet. Last year, I did two rounds of incubation and hatch rates was about 1/3 or of what I set in the incubator. (Meaning about 1/3 of the eggs hatched).
I just finished my 2nd hatch this year and I only had 10 chicks hatch of 30 eggs. I have yet to open the eggs to investigate, it is now day 25, but I already had two die from being pipped and stuck inside the egg because the membrane and yolk got them very sticky, and suffocated them as it oozed onto their beaks. So now I only have 8 live chicks from this hatch.

Why are my hatch rates so horrible? Is there anyway I can get a better rate? Is it my cheapy incubator? Is it know to have bad fluctuating temps?

I've tried doing some research, and it appears that either my temps get too high or there is lack of ventilation.

 

[2 many chickens]

What was your humidity before lockdown?
What was it at lockdown?
Curious because sometimes too little or too much humidity can cause issues

 

[rascal66]

What was your humidity before lockdown?
What was it at lockdown?
Curious because sometimes too little or too much humidity can cause issues

So for days 1-18, I try to keep the humidity at around 45+/-. Nothing higher than 50 for the most part, otherwise I crack open the incubator a tiny bit to vent out the excess.

At lock down, I try to hold the humidity at 65 - 70, but this very last hatch I was struggling with it a bit. Not sure why.

 

[rascal66]

So for days 1-18, I try to keep the humidity at around 45+/-. Nothing higher than 50 for the most part, otherwise I crack open the incubator a tiny bit to vent out the excess.

At lock down, I try to hold the humidity at 65 - 70, but this very last hatch I was struggling with it a bit. Not sure why.

I still managed a humidity above 60, but I'm just worried about that. My last hatch was more successful than this one. I at least had almost half my eggs hatch. This time i only had 10 of 30

 

[Ms Biddy]

Humidity above 60 should be okay. Do you monitor or mark the air cells of the eggs and have they been the right size at lock down?

 

[rascal66]

Humidity above 60 should be okay. Do you monitor or mark the air cells of the eggs and have they been the right size at lock down?

This is something I have not been practicing. I will be opening up the eggs tomorrow to get a better idea or anything eggtopsy to see how far along they have gotten

 

[Ms Biddy]

I've incubated at 45% before and for me it was too high. This is one possibility that could contribute to sticky chicks and dead in shell chicks but it's not really possible to attribute it to that without also monitoring air cells. Some people swear by humidity in that range, but I now incubate between 30-35%. Are you using an accurate hygrometer and does your thermostat keep steady temps in the incubator?

 

[rascal66]

I've incubated at 45% before and for me it was too high. This is one possibility that could contribute to sticky chicks and dead in shell chicks but it's not really possible to attribute it to that without also monitoring air cells. Some people swear by humidity in that range, but I now incubate between 30-35%. Are you using an accurate hygrometer and does your thermostat keep steady temps in the incubator?

I may have to play with my incubators settings, but normally it wouldn't allow to go under 40 in humidity without the alarm going off. First time I've ever incubated eggs, I actually had the humidity at around 50-55. I still had some hatch but the rates weren't great. I found that doing it at 40-50 has given me better results so far.

Sadly I have one of those chinese incubators. It has a digital read for temp and humidity. How accurate they are, I'm not entirely sure.

 

[PlayTheGame]

I may have to play with my incubators settings, but normally it wouldn't allow to go under 40 in humidity without the alarm going off. First time I've ever incubated eggs, I actually had the humidity at around 50-55. I still had some hatch but the rates weren't great. I found that doing it at 40-50 has given me better results so far.

Sadly I have one of those chinese incubators. It has a digital read for temp and humidity. How accurate they are, I'm not entirely sure.

I am wondering the same thing.................... My temp stays steady at 100.1
but my humidity is all over the place

 

[Ms Biddy]

I may have to play with my incubators settings, but normally it wouldn't allow to go under 40 in humidity without the alarm going off. First time I've ever incubated eggs, I actually had the humidity at around 50-55. I still had some hatch but the rates weren't great. I found that doing it at 40-50 has given me better results so far.

Sadly I have one of those chinese incubators. It has a digital read for temp and humidity. How accurate they are, I'm not entirely sure.

Before your next hatch, get a good thermometer and hygrometer and test them. The methods can be searched here. Make note of any discrepancies and then compare to your incubator. It's not uncommon for incubator readings to be off, sometimes more than you'd expect.