Low Hatch Rate

[MROO]

I pray the eggs hatch out well for you! Let us know how the hatching is going tomorrow and if you get any fuzzy babies!

Welcome little Pippin/Pippi, Capt. Cuddles' firstborn! He/she is about a minute old in this first portrait. The egg is what we hope will be a sibling, by this time tomorrow. So, Pip, peep away and wake up your roomie. It's hatch time!

 

[Stephine]

Here's one, It's a PDF file, on second page under Temperature and humidity during storage.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=20&ved=2ahUKEwiQzfzIgrPhAhUsnq0KHa0UBLEQFjATegQICBAC&url=https://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/posc/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2012/08/EPS-001-Incubating-and-Hatching-Eggs1.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1oMdjCJe4UpAOJQUPWgz31

Here's another stating at what temperature the egg will stop developing, 21°C = 69°F
https://www.petersime.com/hatchery-development-department/egg-storage

Here's another:

https://books.google.com/books?id=eIFRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA513&lpg=PA513&dq=72°F+and+egg+development&source=bl&ots=1lLJt3n-F1&sig=ACfU3U30TZnP-BEg2n4q6TVh4lNfTTpbcQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjW59iJirPhAhVPQq0KHf82Ap8Q6AEwE3oECAkQAQ

Thanks! Good to know.

 

[aart]

Many people keep their eggs (for eating) on the counter not the fridge and 72 is within the range of normal living area temperatures...

That was my thought....don't tell my customers.

 

[Kiki]

Or talk to your parents about your siblings nasty habits?

 

[WindingRoad]

Hello everyone! Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions!
I have an advanced Brinsea incubator and I am having low hatch rates. It is all automatic and everything so it should work really well. I have read a lot of reviews about how they always have high hatching rates because they are such good incubators. It is of my understanding that a good average hatch rate is about 85%.
My last hatch had about a 30% hatch rate with fertile eggs. I am thinking that maybe I am not cleaning the incubator thoroughly enough and that is why it is giving me low hatch rates.
I do everything all natural and I don't use chemicals. I clean the non-electrical parts in the sink with soap and warm water. Then after I have cleaned them with soap I disinfect them with vinegar. For the electrical parts I go over them with a rag dampened in vinegar.
I know that dirty incubators can give you a low hatch rate. I am wondering if perhaps the vinegar isn't cleaning the incubator good enough and that is why I am having low hatch rates.
I am thinking I might try to let the incubator sit out in the sun for a while to solarize it. Maybe it would help get rid of the harmful bacteria.
Does anybody else out there have experience with cleaning incubators with vinegar and still having good hatch rates? Can you think of what the problem might be? Does anybody have any ideas for cleaning an incubator naturally?

How did you afford the advanced model and you can't afford chicken feed?

 

[Fishkeeper]

It looks and sounds like your chickens are doing fairly well. I wouldn't hatch chicks with any intent to keep them longer than a day or two (they don't need food for that long, still absorbing the yolk), but your adults seem to be managing well. Sounds like they're eating more or less what they would if they were ferals foraging entirely for themselves. Your problem is probably your incubator. You may be able to build a new one for relatively cheap.

Have you ever had a hen of any species go broody?

I'm not sure peafowl would be the best idea. You'd have to be able to afford the food for them, for one, and for the chicks. Plus, how much demand is there for peafowl in the area? You sell a few batches of chicks, and then everyone who wants them has them. Guineafowl may be better to try to hatch, especially since you already have them, but you'd need to have chick feed ready there.

You mentioned buying bedding for the chickens. If you switch to deep litter in the coop and run, the only supplies you'll need for that are leaves and maybe some sawdust and other compost ingredients, which won't cost you anything.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Yes, I think your chickens should be healthy enough to lay healthy eggs. They look healthy, and if they're laying eggs that have proper shells, on a regular basis, they probably are healthy. If they were malnourished, they would lose weight, have duller feathers, and be laying noticeably poor-quality eggs.

I think you're having a problem with your incubator, or with something genetic.

 

[grandbayou]

Hello everyone! Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions!
I have an advanced Brinsea incubator and I am having low hatch rates. It is all automatic and everything so it should work really well. I have read a lot of reviews about how they always have high hatching rates because they are such good incubators. It is of my understanding that a good average hatch rate is about 85%.
My last hatch had about a 30% hatch rate with fertile eggs. I am thinking that maybe I am not cleaning the incubator thoroughly enough and that is why it is giving me low hatch rates.
I do everything all natural and I don't use chemicals. I clean the non-electrical parts in the sink with soap and warm water. Then after I have cleaned them with soap I disinfect them with vinegar. For the electrical parts I go over them with a rag dampened in vinegar.
I know that dirty incubators can give you a low hatch rate. I am wondering if perhaps the vinegar isn't cleaning the incubator good enough and that is why I am having low hatch rates.
I am thinking I might try to let the incubator sit out in the sun for a while to solarize it. Maybe it would help get rid of the harmful bacteria.
Does anybody else out there have experience with cleaning incubators with vinegar and still having good hatch rates? Can you think of what the problem might be? Does anybody have any ideas for cleaning an incubator naturally?

The key is how well the temp control works. If the thermostat sticks one time eggs could be ruined.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I must not be keeping things clean enough, I'll have to try harder.

From here I can't tell anything that you are doing wrong. Just to make sure we are on the same page a rotten egg is one that has that horrible rotten egg smell. If left alone just a short time it can explode or it may start seeping a really rotten liquid through the porous shell. I've never had one in an incubator. The only time I had one under a broody hen was when an egg was broken and that egg material got on the other eggs. That was a zero hatch rate. For you to be getting some just doesn't sound right with the precautions you are taking.

Usually some of the eggs hatch the day they should and some hatch the day after. Every once in a while they will hatch on the 3rd day but rarely.

It sounds like your incubator may be running just a tiny bit cool, but not cool enough to cause that big a problem with hatch rates. When I got mine it was running warmer than it should and I had chicks pipping three days early with the complete hatch over before the day early. I still got above a 70% hatch. I reduced the incubating temperature by a full degree and the timing improved but they still were a tad early. You might try increasing your incubating temperature maybe 1/4 of a degree to see if it helps timing but that is not your problem with low hatch rates.

If you have an old-time medical thermometer that can be used to calibrate your thermostat/thermometer. Those should be calibrated. Shake down the medical thermometer and put it in the incubator with your regular one. The medical thermometer only shows the high and sticks there so watch that. I had trouble finding an old time medical thermometer that could be used. Now they are all new and improved which works taking your temperature but not calibrating another one.

You might call your county extension office. They should calibrate pressure gauges used for pressure canners, usually for free. They might calibrate your hatching thermometer for you but ask if there is a cost. All it costs you is a phone call to find out.

 

[007Sean]

That low?!

Yes, that low. That's why it's not good to get shipped eggs in hot weather. The eggs will start incubating, when they arrive, the common practice is to let them settle. If you let them settle in a cool room, you have effectively killed the developing embryos.
For this reason, I put the eggs immediately into the incubator. They can settle in the incubator with the turner off.
If you need to see documentation supporting this, I'll post it.