Late hatching

[silkiefluff]

I'm getting a bit frustrated with my hatching.. I have a Hova Bator and I have done other hatches in the years with it. As long as there isn't any power outages, I get atleast a chick or two. I, unfortunately, have wood heat so my outside-incubator temp fluctuates, but I am home all day to watch it and adjust accordingly. This last hatch it went down a couple times overnight, but when day 19 came all eggs candled perfectly. It is now day 23 and one egg (the one right under the wafer) hatched last night. I have not removed the top and both trays were filled with water prior to lock down.

I don't see any more cracks or hear any peeping, but plan to wait a couple more days just in case. I've tried to troubleshoot why they are getting this far and not hatching, but I can't seem to find my answer.... Any ideas?

 

[sourland]

Have you calibrated your thermometer recently? Perhaps it is reading higher that actual temps.

 

[silkiefluff]

No, I haven't. I was just using the one that came with it (sitting it on the eggs during incubation).

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I use three thermometers in mine and would recommend to anyone to use at least two thermometers at all times. I lost my first hatch to a faulty thermometer, it won't happen again. I had 17 eggs that time moving at lockdown and ended up with one hatching and surviving at day 24 and one hatched and died day 25. My new thermometer was 6 degrees off. I trusted it because it was new and couldn't be that far off, right? Never again. My second hatch-3 thermometers. 16 chicks at lockdown 13 chicks hatched.