Less than 2 weeks for spring- Hatchtime to follow.

[frenchblackcopper]

Was out feeding the flock tonight and the sun was actually out for the first time in what seems like weeks here.Now the winds blowing,snow is flying again and the temps are down to 18 degrees and expected to be close to ZERO the next few days. The males trains are looking great and coming along fine except for some of the coming 2 year olds.

I'm now starting to pencil in how I want to breed for the year. It's time next week to change my ration in anticipating hatching and as always, was trolling the net and came across this study about fertility and harching problems. http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs33.htm

It lists several of the issues we see many newbies to peafowl come here and ask about. There are so many variables to have a sucessful hatchrate that even if one area is overlooked or not up to par,it can greatly influence your final peacrop. We've all been there at one time or another. But this list gives the causes associated with why chicks dies early,or fails to pip and zip,ect. Enjoy

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

This link isn't working

 

[zazouse]

R. A. Ernst, F.A. Bradley, M.E. Delany, U.K. Abbott and R.M. Craig
Animal Science Department, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
Observation: Excessive infertility for species
PROBLEM


CAUSES


REMEDIES
True infertility [Definition]
Poor insemination technique Inseminate more frequently at proper depth with good semen
Hens not inseminated, wrong male to female ratio Inseminate hens; replace males; use more males
Preferential mating in pen matings Mate hen with different male
Male sterility Change males
Males not mating Check for disease, nutrition problems, foot problems and social dominance of females
Males too old Use young males; reinforce natural with artificial insemination if old, valuable males must be used
Observation: Over 3% dead 1st 3 days of incubation
PROBLEMS


CAUSES


REMEDIES
Pre-oviposital death [Definition]

Inbred strains Avoid excessive inbreeding; use young males
Parthenogenesis in turkeys Do not use as breeders, toms and/or hens showing high incidence of parthenogenesis
Fertile, no development (FND) [Definition] Eggs stored at too low temperature Store hatching eggs properly (550F to 680F) see PFS No. 22
Eggs stored too long Store chicken, pheasant, duck, goose and quail eggs no longer than one week; turkey and partridge eggs no longer than two weeks
Eggs washed at too high temperatures Dry clean eggs; eliminate dirties; lower temperatures of wash water slightly; produce clean eggs
Positive development (PD) [Definition] Poor collection schedule during hot or cold weather When temperature in house or nest box exceeds 80° F, collect eggs several times during the day
Blastoderm without embryo (BWE) [Definition] Improper storage temperature Store eggs properly (55° F to 68° F) see PFS No. 22
Cystic embryos [Definition] Eggs stored too long Store chicken, pheasant, duck, goose and quail eggs no longer than one week; turkey and partridge eggs no longer than two weeks
Rough handling or shipping procedures Careful handling from time eggs are gathered until chicks or poults are hatched
Diseased flock (e.g. mycoplasmas, Newcastle disease) Inspect flock for general and specific health conditions
Aged or abnormal spermatozoa Check insemination technique; use young males
Eggs from inbred flock Some losses are unavoidable with inbreeding; change males and/or introduce new genetic stock
Improper egg storage temperature or pre-incubation temperature Do not allow eggs to pre-incubate; use correct setter temperature (99.5° F); check egg storage temperature
Eggs from hens housed above 5,000 feet Avoid high altitude
Observation: Over .5% Dead day 4 to transfer
PROBLEMS


CAUSES


REMEDIES
Many dead embryos Improper temperature Check thermometer for accuracy
Unknown power failure If power fails open machine until power is restored
Improper turning Turn eggs three or more times each day
Eggs from inbred stocks Avoid excessive inbreeding
Poor ventilation of hatchery or incubator Provide proper air exchange
Disease or infected eggs Use eggs from disease-free flocks; Do not wash eggs in cold water
Observation: Over 8% dead after transfer
PROBLEMS


CAUSES


REMEDIES
Embryos dying before pipping Low temperature incubating conditions; humidity too high. Maintain 99.5° F dry-bulb, 86° F wet-bulb temperature in fan ventilated setter
Infected eggs Do not wash eggs in cold water; set only nest clean eggs
Poor nutrition of breeder flock Check breeder diet; nearly all known vitamins and minerals, if absent or in short supply, can cause late mortality and poor chick quality
Certain genetic lethals Use vigorous strains
Embryos weak and fail to pip or pip weakly
Vitamin E deficiency
Use fresh feed or supplement Vitamin E in water
Many pips stuck to shell Hatcher humidity too low Maintain 90° F wet-bulb temperature after pipping begins
Excessive residual albumen caused by high humidity and/or low temperature incubation Check thermometers and thermostats; monitor temperature and humidity
Chicks pipped and dead Disease Use disease free stock
Overheating in hatcher; low hatcher humidity Check hatcher temperature and humidity
Nutritional deficiency Feed balanced diet
Malpositions [Definition] Eggs set small-end up Position eggs properly in trays (large end up or horizontal)
Chicks hatch too early, are thin and noisy Temperature too high during incubation period Check thermometer; 1° F in excess of 99.5° F will cause approximately 24-hour earlier hatch
Chicks hatch late, are soft and lethargic Temperature too low and humidity too high during incubation period Check thermometer; 1° F below 99.5° F will cause late hatch
Old eggs Set only fresh eggs; allow extra time for hatch by setting old eggs early
Sudden losses at any time Improper fumigation Do not fumigate between 24 and 96 hours of incubation.
Mercury spilled in incubator or hatcher Check for broken thermometer or thermostat; clean up all spilled mercury immediately
Power or equipment failure or overheating Check incubator temperature at least twice daily; refer to owners manual for proper maintenance procedure

 

[zazouse]

Here is an artical from UPA
Here is a link to other articals about eggs ahttp://www.unitedpeafowlassociation.org/Articles1.htmlnd hatching

HATCHING TIME

By Ed Davis
(Reprinted with permission)
Why did this egg not hatch?· What did I do wrong?... There are several common categories of problems that
you might experience during incubation.

*Problem #1: CLEAR EGGS
If the eggs show no sign of developing it is probably infertile. On the other hand it might have been fertile
but it could have gotten badly chilled in the first few days of incubation. How does this happen? The hen
may have tried to sit a couple of days then got off the nest when you found the eggs. It is hard to recognize
any development until the third or fourth day of incubation.

*Problem #2: EARLY DEATH
When candling after a few days, a thin blood ring is recognizable in an otherwise clear egg. This is caused
by the incubation temperature being too high or the egg being chilled. A stored egg that has been left too
long can also cause early death.

*Problem #3: LATE DEATH
Late death occurs when he egg dies after about 40% of incubation. The two most likely causes for this are
probably wrong temperature and possibly incorrect turning. Another reason could be infective bacteria.
This can cause death at any time of incubation... It can cause death several days after incubation! The only
way to confirm this is to have the chick or egg sent for post mortem examination. This can also be caused
by heavy inbreeding. Also, some characteristics in poultry such as tufts in Araucana chickens and the short
leg gene in Japanese bantams are connected to lethal genes. When both parents carry these
characteristics (short leg is bred for short leg, for example), approximately 25% of the fertile eggs will result
in late deaths in the shell.

Problem #4: DEAD IN SHELL
This is the most common problem among incubation complications. Death in the shell results when a
chick starts to breathe but dies before it can escape from the egg. The chick doesn't have to pip the shell to
start breathing, it will begin to breathe air in the air sac. Death in the shell can be caused by several things
such as wrong temperature, wrong humidity, wrong turning, and of course infectious disease.

Start to look for your problem by the process of elimination. Most of us can't afford to send each egg for
post mortem. Let's look at the other possibilities. If you pretty well keep a check on the temperature then
you know it is not the cause. Remember even if you had a temperature spike that it may have not killed the
developing chick. It takes more than a few minutes at a higher temperature than normal before the
developing chick is killed. If you had other eggs in the incubator that hatched with the egg that didn't, this
can probably be ruled out. You may need to look at turning but if it was turned just like the other eggs then
possibly turning can be ruled out also. If you candle the eggs regularly, you will know if turning is the
problem by the amount of vein growth. By the time 60% of incubation is complete you should have vein
growth covering the whole inside of the egg if the egg has approximately the same air.

Just because some eggs were set at a certain humidity and hatched does not mean that all eggs take the
same humidity. Some of the eggs have a denser or thinner shell; you can't tell this by just picking up the
egg. They may have even come from the same hen but they still might require different humidity levels. If
you have a certain breed that you are having trouble with, this may be the problem. Candle the eggs from
this hen and compare them to the eggs you are hatching with the same amount of incubation. The airspace
should be about the same amount. This will give you a good indication if the humidity is all right. Depending
on how important this is to you, you can invest in a pair of scales to weigh the eggs to see if you have the
right amount of weight loss. The correct amount is 15% loss when the chick internally pips the airspace. If
you go to this trouble, you should also know that it is hard to correct the weight loss after the first two
weeks of incubation. There are only two potential possibilities left. One is infectious disease. The other is
possibly the parent birds. If the egg has come from badly fed parents or closely related parents than the egg
could be considered sub standard, so That although the embryo develops during incubation it is too weak
to hatch. If you are worried about the parents being related, maybe you should find another breeder to trade
stock with. This is especially true if the birds in question are being fed the same and housed the same as
the birds producing other eggs that are hatching.

If the chick has difficulty pushing out of the egg shell after it has chipped all the way around the egg and the
chick is sticky feeling, The most common problem is simply the hatcher is not humid enough. It is difficult
for the chick to rotate in the shell because it is drying out this is what causes it to be sticky. If the humidity is
too low during the whole incubation period, then this will cause this problem at hatching also.

After hatching, if the chick seems swollen and too big for the shell, then the humidity was too high during
the whole incubation period. The chick did not lose enough weight during incubation. Even if the humidity
was too high during incubation, it will still need maximum humidity for hatching.

If the chick hatches very early then it might just be too high temperature during incubation. Check your
thermometer. Hatching too late is probably a sign of the temperature being too low or the eggs getting
chilled during incubation.

The most critical time of incubation is the first ten days of incubation Some of the breeders will set eggs
under a broody hen for this time period. If you can get the egg through this time, then you can even make a
few small mistakes and the egg will still hatch. But you need to remember that the broody hen cannot
control humidity, she also does not know if the egg has a thin or a thick shell. She may also be too heavy
for some of the more delicate eggs such as the peacock pheasants. Some time you can overcome this by
placing several eggs under her to help support her weight.

Some of these solutions you may think are impossible if you only have one incubator, but there are some
simple experiments that you can try. If you think your eggs are losing too much weight during incubation,
then you can wrap most of the eggs in tin foil or paint most of the shell with fingernail polish to reduce the
weight loss. If the egg is not losing enough weight, then you can scuff the surface of the cuticle with a fine
grit sandpaper so the eggs can lose weight more efficiently. Do not be afraid to experiment within reason,
after all, if the eggs are not hatching, then something is definitely wrong and needs correcting. Maybe with
these suggestions you will haves batter hatching season.



REFERENCES
Harvey, Rob. Practical Incubation

 

[MinxFox]

Thanks for the information! I am hoping to do some hatching this year after skipping last year. My issues are the peachick pips but has trouble breaking out of the shell, which AugeredIn told me was probably a calcium deficiency so I am hoping that now with lots of grit and crushed egg shells I can totally prevent this issue from happening this year. It is very stressful helping out a peachick and it is part of why I wasn't really wanting to hatch last year. Hopefully the calcium is the solution. I don't think it is a vitamin E problem because after looking up vitamin E, it says it is most abundantly found in sunflower seeds, and I primarily feed that to my birds.

Another issue I have had is some peachicks hatch with crooked toes. I don't know if there is a way to prevent that nutritionally. At least now I have a good method for making peachick slippers.