Not growing?

[Lavkid]

Hey everyone. I've hit day 18 and getting ready to lock down the chicken eggs in my incubator. The bator has been proven to hatch chicks and my gauges are right in the middle of the batch of eggs. I went to candle one last time to check on development and didn't like the outcome. I had 2 of 11 that filled the egg (dark) with red veins but another was half an egg big and another was only at about a quarter size??? I hand turn 3 times a day at 99.5 constant temp with the humidity fluxing between 55 and 62. 6 out of the 11 have veins and growing something but none are the same size embryo. Any ideas? Should I keep turning and not lock down?

 

[MissMaple]

Pics? I don't think you should keep turning. Let the developed ones continue and give the underdeveloped ones a chance. FYI, I'm am not a pro at this like some here.

 

[Lavkid]

 

[Lavkid]

 

[Lavkid]

 

[lazy gardener]

Does your bator have a fan?

Did you calibrate your thermometer? How?

Did you calibrate your hygrometer? How?

Did you move the eggs around in the bator, or were they all in the same relative location (the ones in the back stayed in the back, the ones in the middle stayed in the middle, the ones on the left stayed on the left, etc...)?

IMO, your humidity was too high. I recommend incubating at 30 - 40% until lock down. Your eggs look under developed. Without a fan, temp should be 102* at egg surface. With fan, 99.5*. Your bator most likely has cooler spots. Did you take a few days to check the temp throughout the box?

 

[Table4Six]

Can you see any movement inside the eggs when you're candling them?
This could be because all the eggs are placed in different spaces inside the incubator therefore each egg has a different level of heat. This happens often and that's way the eggs appear to be developing at different rates.

 

[lazy gardener]

View attachment 1307227

That one is most assuredly dead.

 

[Lavkid]

So the whole bator is the same temp with an internal fan. There are thermometers throughout the whole thing all reading the same (the red liquid ones) then I have a thermometer/ humidity temp combo in the middle of the eggs. They all get turned in the same area. The device keeping the temp accurate is an upgraded digital device. Not your normal store bought bator. 100's of chicken eggs have gone through with a 90% hatch rate so the box is proven. I just think it's weird this batch is struggling to grow.