Low Hatch Rate

[Claires Poultry]

Hello..I'm wondering if it's not the humidity that's causing your issues?..If you live in a humid climate them you need to drop the humidity to around 40 or lower to get the air cells to develop properly.
Best wishes...

I think I could say that we live in a pretty humid climate. Not as humid as some place like Missouri but still pretty humid I think. We regularly have humidity levels 50-80%. The incubator usually reads humidity much lower than that though. I try to keep the humidity in the incubator 40-50% humidity. I rarely see it read higher than that unless it is during hatching when the humidity is supposed to be 65% or more.

 

[Claires Poultry]

Eggs can start developing when ambient temperatures reach 72°F.

Thanks for letting me know. That is very useful to know, it could be part of the problem. I usually store my hatching eggs in the coolest spot in the house which is 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the time of the year.

 

[Kiki]

I think I could say that we live in a pretty humid climate. Not as humid as some place like Missouri but still pretty humid I think. We regularly have humidity levels 50-80%. The incubator usually reads humidity much lower than that though. I try to keep the humidity in the incubator 40-50% humidity. I rarely see it read higher than that unless it is during hatching when the humidity is supposed to be 65% or more.

The humidity is very high where I live.

I keep my humidity around 30 percent throughout which means I barely add any water until hatch time. And them I only bump it up to 50%.
I think you might want to experiment with your next batch and run yours a little lower.
But if you don't buy a separate humidity gauge and salt test/calibrate it you will never know what your real humidity levels are. You can not trust the readings of installed ones that come with bators.

 

[Claires Poultry]

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.

So are you saying that you think the way the chickens are eating is good enough that the eggs should hatch well assuming everything else is proper?

I also want to bring it to your attention that I have been feeding the chicks chick starter. I just haven't been able to feed the grown hens a complete layer feed. I know firsthand that the chicks WILL NOT GROW if they don't get chick starter. I figured that it would be better to get chick starter for the chicks than layer feed for the hens. Chickens will still lay eggs if they aren't eating a complete feed but if chicks don't get chick starter they won't grow, literally. The hens would probably lay better on a complete feed but the chicks are more important.

I do have to raise some chicks for ourselves for replacement hens and to eat.

Yes, a few of my chickens go broody every year, along with my Muscovies, and guineas.
Almost all my Muscovy hens go broody every year, and the guineas, too. I usually have control over the Muscovies and the chickens, but the guineas run away and hide their nests and I can't always find them until they come back with keets (baby guineas).

I hatch as many birds as I can with broody hens but the earliest the birds start going broody is in April which means at the very earliest I can have hatchlings by the beginning of May.

I would like to have my replacement hens hatched out by the beginning or middle of April so they have more time to become good laying hens. It is best if the they can grow-out and start laying before it gets cold here because then they will be better laying hens. If it starts getting cold out before they start laying and laying well then they won't start laying until the next year - late winter or spring.

I live in North Dakota where it starts getting cold early in the year so it is important to get the chicks hatched as early as possible - in April.

I have no problem hatching the Muscovies late in the year - I hatch the Muscovies all the way through July. They only take 15 weeks to get to butchering size and they won't lay until breeding season starts the next year anyways. But as for the chickens, they take 20 weeks and I have to hatch them earlier. I don't even hatch any Muscovies in the incubator cause it doesn't work very well and it's not necessary. My Muscovies are great mothers sitting on up to 16 eggs at a time and hatching up to 3 batches a year. I have considered hatching chicken eggs under my Muscovies but I assume it wouldn't work very well because Muscovies keep their nest a much more humid environment than the chickens.
Perhaps I should experiment with it just to see.

One thing I find interesting is that my Muscovies eat the same way as my chickens and they have no problem hatching endless ducklings, literally. They have high hatch rates - 100% quite often. So with the chickens maybe it is a problem with the incubator or something during incubation.

I hatched some chicks with my Australorps that went broody last year. They can only sit on about 10 eggs at a time. The broody hens had better hatch rates than the incubator but still not quite an 85% hatch rate.

I do keep the nest boxes clean and I only use clean, undamaged eggs for hatching which should help keep bad bacteria out.

My whole reason for wanting to use an incubator is so that I can hatch more than 5-10 chicks at a time and hatch them earlier so they will be better layers, otherwise I would only use the broody hens to hatch chicks.

Thank you for your opinion on the peafowl. You have a good point. I'll think about it.

I use pine shavings and peat moss for their bedding and I only clean the coops once a year. I have tried the deep litter method before but it didn't work out very well. In the winter we regularly have temps -20 to -50 degrees Fahrenheit and it freezes solid. Then when it thaws out it is a wet sloppy mess. Pine shavings and peat moss especially, are really absorbent and I rarely run into wet and messy problems when I use them even with my Muscovies that are naturally very messy birds.

 

[Claires Poultry]

The humidity is very high where I live.

I keep my humidity around 30 percent throughout which means I barely add any water until hatch time. And them I only bump it up to 50%.
I think you might want to experiment with your next batch and run yours a little lower.
But if you don't buy a separate humidity gauge and salt test/calibrate it you will never know what your real humidity levels are. You can not trust the readings of installed ones that come with bators.

Thanks for letting me know. I will have to try that out - keeping the humidity lower.
I have a question though, what is a calibrated thermometer or how do you calibrate a thermometer? I tried to look up what a calibrated thermometer is and I just found like something that you use to calibrate a thermometer. They where $50 or more.
I don't really understand. Can you please explain what it is and/or how it works.
Thank you

 

[Kiki]

Thanks for letting me know. I will have to try that out - keeping the humidity lower.
I have a question though, what is a calibrated thermometer or how do you calibrate a thermometer? I tried to look up what a calibrated thermometer is and I just found like something that you use to calibrate a thermometer. They where $50 or more.
I don't really understand. Can you please explain what it is and/or how it works.
Thank you

See if this helps:
Testing/calibrating incubator thermometers and hygrometers.

 

[Claires Poultry]

That's a lot different diet from just feeding them wheat. For thousands of years chickens have lived on farms like yours where they foraged for practically everything they ate in good weather months and were fed home grown supplements like wheat or corn in the winter months. I was raised on one of those farms in the hills and ridges of Appalachia. We didn't have any extra money either. The only supplemental food our chickens got was home grown corn in the winter. We only used broody hens, no incubators, and they just went broody in the good weather months when forage was better. Those broody hens had good hatch rates. If you are trying to hatch eggs in winter maybe diet has something to do with hatch rate but not in summer.

Diet has nothing to do with the eggs going rotten. Eggs go rotten because bacteria gets inside. The material inside the egg is greatly nutritious to bacteria, they really thrive on it. Incubation temperature is perfect for bacteria growth. Once bacteria gets inside the shell it multiplies rapidly. That's why scientists often use eggs kept at incubation temperatures to culture bacteria.

So how does bacteria get inside? Just before the hen lays the egg she puts a coating on it that we call bloom. That's why a freshly laid egg looks wet, it is. That bloom quickly dries and forms a protective barrier that helps stop bacteria from getting inside. It is so effective that a hen can lay eggs for a couple of weeks in a hidden nest on the ground somewhere, then incubate them for three more weeks and bacteria not get inside. Ducks and turkeys do the same thing for longer incubation periods.

The egg shell is porous so without that bloom bacteria can easily get inside. For an egg to go rotten on a regular basis that bloom is probably being compromised. If you wash the eggs, handle them with dirty oily or wet hands, sandpaper dirt off the shell, or rub them clean with your thumb you can remove that bloom. If the egg has clumps of poop or dirt on it that can compromise the bloom. I've seen bits of bedding sort of get stuck in that wet bloom so when you remove it you leave an opening for bacteria. Don't set cracked eggs, those cracks give bacteria a route inside plus the egg will loose way too much moisture to hatch. A dirty incubator can cause bacteria to get inside but how you describe cleaning yours should work well. I use bleach instead of vinegar but just warm soapy water should be real close to enough.

I'll set eggs that have a light dusting of dirt, not poop though. Poop on the eggs is bad. I'll repeat, diet has nothing to do with the eggs going rotten. Something is happening to let bacteria inside.

Can you get some eggs from another source and do a test hatch? It is possible that your rooster has some kind of problem. A test hatch with other eggs should tell you if the problem is with the flock or source of eggs. When you transport those eggs be careful not to shake them on rough country roads. I made that mistake once and got a 30% hatch rate from the eggs being shaken so bad. The breeder I got those eggs from was upset that the hatch rate was that bad but it was my fault, not her flock's.

Your parents probably grew up like I did, seeing chickens do quite well the way you are feeding them. Your grandparents probably did too, all the way back to pioneer days. They know from experience that chickens can do quite well and be valuable livestock raised and kept that way. But you got yours from a breeder, not pioneer chicken stock. Have you spoken to that breeder about your problem? That might be an expert source you can take advantage of.

When you do get chicks to hatch are they early or late? If they are consistently 2 to 3 days early your incubator is too warm regardless of what the thermometer says. If they are consistently 2 to 3 days late it is too cool. If they are pretty much in time the problem is not your thermostat/thermometer.

Other than that try going through those troubleshooting guides and see if you can figure out what is going on. Good luck.

I actually don't even try, let alone want, to hatch eggs in winter because it gets bitterly cold here in North Dakota - (-20) to (-50) degrees Fahrenheit (with plenty of wind), is very normal winter weather for here. It is not fun at all! I absolutely HATE the cold!!!

I understand that eggs have bloom on them for protection against bacteria that is why I don't and won't wash any eggs that I plan on hatching.

I know that some hatching manuals say that you can use sandpaper to remove dirty spots off eggs that you are going to hatch. I don't even do this because I believe that if an egg has any amount of dirtiness on it, it shouldn't be used for hatching.

I keep the nest boxes extra clean when I am collecting eggs for hatching.
I always candle the eggs before I put them in the incubator to check for cracks or thin shells. I don't use eggs with poop on them, either.
I always rinse my hands in vinegar before touching or getting into the incubator.
I must not be keeping things clean enough, I'll have to try harder.

I will email the breeder I got my Australorps from and tell her what's going on.

I don't know anybody that I could get hatching eggs from unless I ordered them off the computer. But that is a great idea. I doubt my mom or dad want to buy hatching eggs right now, though. I would but I'm broke.

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.

 

[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.