Incubation Problems

meeko626

Chirping
8 Years
Apr 4, 2015
29
5
89
Hi everyone!

So I’m going to drop a lot of info in the next paragraph and I’d like to hear your advice and opinions on what went wrong!

I’ve had laying hens for about 5 years and added a rooster to the lineup this year. He’s a GLW and really takes care of his hens! I was super excited to raise up some chicks from him, and so I purchased the farm innovators model 4250 with the automatic egg turner from amazon. The reviews were decent on it. As soon as I cracked open the first egg that appeared fertilized about 5 1/2 weeks ago, I saved up 24 eggs and set them on August 2nd. I got another thermometer for the inside of the incubator and adjusted the temperature so that the inside of the incubator was 100. I kept the humidity around 55% for the first 18 days. On day 14 I candled and had to pull 15 eggs that turned out not to be fertilized.

Last Thursday (Day 18) I removed the remaining 9 eggs from the egg turner and cranked the humidity to about 68-70%. Saturday there were a few eggs wobbling, and Sunday my first chick hatched! The only problem is that so far that’s the only chick to hatch. I removed the chick last night and put it in the brooder along with some friends I bought from TSC so it wouldn’t be lonely. Today, I candled again and then did the float test. In total, I removed 5 eggs that were dead. I performed some “egg-topsies” and can post photos if it would help diagnose the issue. Three died prior to lockdown and two were in the process of absorbing their yolks. There are three still in the incubator, but I’m losing hope on them fast since it’s day 24. Any thoughts as to what went wrong would be helpful!

Thank you!!!
 
How old are your hens if you've had layers for 5 years? It's just that age can affect the quality of the eggs and so their ability to produce healthy chicks.

Did you calibrate your thermometer? It's important to know how accurate your equipment is especially where temperatures is concerned because that's the most important factor when incubating. Search in the articles and there are methods for doing this. Incubators often have warmer and cooler spots too so it's important to move your eggs around over the course of incubation to even out any warmer and colder spots.

55% humidity is quite high and humidity is something that you have to figure out what works for you in your set-up. If the humidity is too high the egg doesn't lose enough moisture and the chick can grow too large to get into the correct position for hatch. I start out with 30% but last hatch I had to increase the humidity in the 3rd week because my eggs were losing too much weight. I weigh my eggs and work out the average - eggs should lose 12-15% of their start weight by day 18.

If your eggs still look full and dark under the air cell then there's still hope. If there is a yellow, watery layer between the shadow of the chick and the base of the air cell that means the chick has died. Have the air cells dipped down significantly? If the chick is getting ready to pip internally you'll see a hint of shadow at the high end under the air cell then the chick pips into the lower end.

Hope that helps some.
 
Hi everyone!

So I’m going to drop a lot of info in the next paragraph and I’d like to hear your advice and opinions on what went wrong!

I’ve had laying hens for about 5 years and added a rooster to the lineup this year. He’s a GLW and really takes care of his hens! I was super excited to raise up some chicks from him, and so I purchased the farm innovators model 4250 with the automatic egg turner from amazon. The reviews were decent on it. As soon as I cracked open the first egg that appeared fertilized about 5 1/2 weeks ago, I saved up 24 eggs and set them on August 2nd. I got another thermometer for the inside of the incubator and adjusted the temperature so that the inside of the incubator was 100. I kept the humidity around 55% for the first 18 days. On day 14 I candled and had to pull 15 eggs that turned out not to be fertilized.

Last Thursday (Day 18) I removed the remaining 9 eggs from the egg turner and cranked the humidity to about 68-70%. Saturday there were a few eggs wobbling, and Sunday my first chick hatched! The only problem is that so far that’s the only chick to hatch. I removed the chick last night and put it in the brooder along with some friends I bought from TSC so it wouldn’t be lonely. Today, I candled again and then did the float test. In total, I removed 5 eggs that were dead. I performed some “egg-topsies” and can post photos if it would help diagnose the issue. Three died prior to lockdown and two were in the process of absorbing their yolks. There are three still in the incubator, but I’m losing hope on them fast since it’s day 24. Any thoughts as to what went wrong would be helpful!

Thank you!!!

I was going to mention possible issues with humidity as well but it looks like JaeG has you covered. I also find starting around 30% tends to work well for my eggs and then I adjust humidity if the air cells appear to not be growing enough during incubation or grow too much. Air cells a little too large is better than a bit too small.
 
How old are your hens if you've had layers for 5 years? It's just that age can affect the quality of the eggs and so their ability to produce healthy chicks.

Did you calibrate your thermometer? It's important to know how accurate your equipment is especially where temperatures is concerned because that's the most important factor when incubating. Search in the articles and there are methods for doing this. Incubators often have warmer and cooler spots too so it's important to move your eggs around over the course of incubation to even out any warmer and colder spots.

55% humidity is quite high and humidity is something that you have to figure out what works for you in your set-up. If the humidity is too high the egg doesn't lose enough moisture and the chick can grow too large to get into the correct position for hatch. I start out with 30% but last hatch I had to increase the humidity in the 3rd week because my eggs were losing too much weight. I weigh my eggs and work out the average - eggs should lose 12-15% of their start weight by day 18.

If your eggs still look full and dark under the air cell then there's still hope. If there is a yellow, watery layer between the shadow of the chick and the base of the air cell that means the chick has died. Have the air cells dipped down significantly? If the chick is getting ready to pip internally you'll see a hint of shadow at the high end under the air cell then the chick pips into the lower end.

Hope that helps some.

So I have 2 hens that are 5, 3 that are 4, 4 that are about 5.5 months, and 1 that is unknown.

I was thinking about purchasing a thermometer from a chem lab supply place for next time to help with accuracy, but I will definitely take a look at the articles here with calibrating.

The only reason that I had humidity that high was because that’s what the incubator said to do, but after this low of a hatch rate I definitely trust your advice over the manufactures lol!!

I’ll go take a peak at those air cells again.
Thank you so much for your advice!!!!
 
How old are your hens if you've had layers for 5 years? It's just that age can affect the quality of the eggs and so their ability to produce healthy chicks.

Did you calibrate your thermometer? It's important to know how accurate your equipment is especially where temperatures is concerned because that's the most important factor when incubating. Search in the articles and there are methods for doing this. Incubators often have warmer and cooler spots too so it's important to move your eggs around over the course of incubation to even out any warmer and colder spots.

55% humidity is quite high and humidity is something that you have to figure out what works for you in your set-up. If the humidity is too high the egg doesn't lose enough moisture and the chick can grow too large to get into the correct position for hatch. I start out with 30% but last hatch I had to increase the humidity in the 3rd week because my eggs were losing too much weight. I weigh my eggs and work out the average - eggs should lose 12-15% of their start weight by day 18.

If your eggs still look full and dark under the air cell then there's still hope. If there is a yellow, watery layer between the shadow of the chick and the base of the air cell that means the chick has died. Have the air cells dipped down significantly? If the chick is getting ready to pip internally you'll see a hint of shadow at the high end under the air cell then the chick pips into the lower end.

Hope that helps some.
Looks like two of the eggs definitely have a weird yellowy layer but the other one looks dipped with the shadow! Hopefully it pulls through
 

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