If your eggs are developing, but just don't hatch, and when you open them, there is a lot of water, the chicks are sticky & can't get out of the shell, or the air cell is still small, you are drowing the chicks due to too high humidity.
I use the completely dry incubation method. No water at all for the 1st 18 days. Then I put in water & try for 65-80% humidity for the last 3 days.
I drowned a lot of Marans chicks before I caught on to this method. It also works well for my Blue Laced Red Wyandottes & Ameraucanas (blue wheaten).
Marans eggs are harder so they don't evaporate as well as other eggs. Its also written on the French Marans site about special incubating & too high humidity.
It tooke me a long time before I actually didn't add water. I kept reducing the amount of water, afraid of not adding water, but finally I took the plunge and got much better hatches.
So, it works for me, might work for you.l
Sue
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