Official BYC Poll: Which Egg Hatching Problems Have You Encountered?

[3KillerBs]

How can you tell what happened by cracking them open? I’ve always been interested in cracking them but I don’t think I have the heart to do it. I’ve got 3 incubating now, one quit last week and I just couldn’t crack it.

I'm a beginner, but my understanding is that if I do the eggtospies and learn when development stops I can, over time and by observing trends, improve the overall health of my flock, improve my management practices, and improve my hatching technique.

Here's are some charts of issues and likely causes:

http://extension.msstate.edu/content/trouble-shooting-failures-egg-incubation

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8127.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems.67011/

 

[TJAnonymous]

Here's an egg that was DIS right at the end. I came to the conclusion that she was shrink-wrapped.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I had another one pass this morning, day 16. At this point in incubation what is it usually that keeps them from continuing? I still have the egg cause I debated cracking it but I don’t know if I can....

 

[Blooie]

I had another one pass this morning, day 16. At this point in incubation what is it usually that keeps them from continuing? I still have the egg cause I debated cracking it but I don’t know if I can....

I just put the egg in question in a large ziplock bag and gently crack it right in there. The contents are contained but I can still see what I need to see.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I'm a beginner, but my understanding is that if I do the eggtospies and learn when development stops I can, over time and by observing trends, improve the overall health of my flock, improve my management practices, and improve my hatching technique.

Here's are some charts of issues and likely causes:

http://extension.msstate.edu/content/trouble-shooting-failures-egg-incubation

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8127.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-failure-to-hatch-diagnosing-incubation-problems.67011/

Thanks for these, had a chance to go through them today. I feel they were more informative for me than cracking which I really didn’t want to do.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for these, had a chance to go through them today. I feel they were more informative for me than cracking which I really didn’t want to do.

Well, you crack the egg to find out when development stopped and if there were any noticeable malpositions. But it's not a pleasant thing.

 

[Tnballgirl]

It is good practice to crack open unhatched eggs. This often allows one to determine if the egg was fertilized, at what stage the embryo died, and possibly why. Infertile eggs contain only yellow contents, with no sign of an embryo or blood.

Warning: breaking an infertile egg can be risky. It is likely that the contents are rotten. Even worse are eggs that explode when you touch them, covering you with putrid slime. Wear old clothes and perhaps cover the egg with a bag or towel when you touch it to avoid splashing.

This poll is primarily for people who hatch eggs in an incubator. A good mother hen will do most of the work for you. So in this poll, we would like to find out: Which Egg Hatching Problems Have You Encountered?

Place your vote above, and please elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

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Further Reading:

• A Simple Guide To Hatching Chicken Eggs
• The Beginner's Guide to Incubation
• How To Incubate and Hatch Chicken Eggs
• Guide to Assisted Hatching for All Poultry
• Getting Your Chickens to Lay Eggs

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

I had one duckling hatch butt end out, and the bottom of the egg was stuck on his head.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

In the past I have hatched 1 cross beak (don't think it was genetic), 5 shrink-wrapped chicks (all hatched and survived with assistance) and 4 with yolk sac still attached (3 survived). I have also had a couple chicks die in the shell without pipping. I have also had some quitters. Some of my chicks have hatched a week apart even though they were set on the same date. Lots of things can go wrong with incubating. Even though you have losses it is still so much fun no matter how many times you have done it!

 

[buckock]

Checked some, and have more to add not on the list - 1) shrink-wrapped chicks, with the membrane drying out on them, caused by 2) failure to zip all the way after pipping, and drying out after spending too long half-opened unable to zip out.

This just happened to me. Little sticky got some help (my first assist as I’m usually hands off) since it was a shipped egg. It was exhausted and I gave it a 50-50 chance when I deposited it back in the incubator… Now doing fine on Day 4 and most of the sticky bits are gone.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Lately mines all been late hatching and then some fully formed but died