One chick - one day early - DEAD !!! What have I done ?

[SAORSA]

I have Coturnix quial eggs in my Hovabator. Humidity is 75, temp flux between 99,8 and 97.1.
My first time with quail. I read everything I could find here and on the internet, (some say this and others say that), and tried to come up with a happy medium of how to incubate.
I left the eggs in the trays, removed the trays from the turner and put them on the screen floor for lockdown, (read that here).

This morning I woke to one perfect chick ... dead

It was about six inches from the egg shell and still wet as if just hatched AND EXACTLY ONE DAY EARLY ! No other pips yet.

Is there anything I should change ?

I can't find anything in posts like this after really looking so if I am irritating anyone by asking a question that has already been answered a million times I'm sorry, I just can't find it

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I'm so sorry for your loss...
It seems you have everything as it should be.
One question though, do you have the vent plugs removed in the lid of your incubator for air circulation?

David

 

[SAORSA]

I did not have them removed till I found the chick. I was trying to keep the humidity up. I removed them as soon as I found the chick.
Could that be it ?

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I'm not really sure but removing the vent plugs is to provide adequate air circulation.
If you need to raise the humidity with the vents open you can add soaking wet sponges
to the incubator.
How many more eggs are still in the bator?

David

 

[SAORSA]

I still have 12 in there. Sorry for the delay, I was feeding the critters.

 

[FeatheredObsessions]

Do you have just one thermometer? hatching early usually means temp to high but yours sound ok to low? Are you using still air or forced?

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
If I had 15 eggs hatch early I might think the temps were high, just one I would think maybe a hot spot in the bator? if you can check one of your thermometers against a known standard that will give you something to work with. I just recently turned the fan off for lockdown I almost had a perfect hatch I am already trying it again

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

I wondered too about the accuracy of the thermometer. Do you have a second one you could put in as well to check?
I use the kind of indoor outdoor thermometer you buy that has a wire with a sensor on the end of it. I put the sensor thorough
one of the vent holes and suspend it with a piece of masking tape so the sensor is about the top of the eggs.
Then set the thermometer for outside temp reading.

David

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
2ND ONE--- IF THEY READ DIFFERENTLY WHICH ONE DO YOU TRUST? PERSONALLY I HAVE TRIED THE INDOOR/OUTDOOR WIRE TYPE AND THE DIFFERENCE FROM 1 TO THE NEXT WAS WILDER THAN ANY OTHER TYPE OF THERMOMETER I HAVE USED.( I HAVE 5 TOTAL--- ALL THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL AND AGE, 2 WERE VERY CLOSE THE OTHER 3 CAN BE AS FAR AS ALMOST 5 DEGREES AND 8% HUMIDITY OFF IN EITHER DIRECTION....)


THESE THINGS HAPPEN MORE FREQUENTLY THAN YOU MIGHT THINK. THE DATA YOU PROVIDE FOR SETTINGS, AND SETTING THE EGGS UPRIGHT ARE ALL VERY VERY GOOD. AS APROPHET STATED IF 15 HATCHED EARLY I WOULD WONDER ABOUT IT BEING TOO WARM, NOT FOR JUST 1. THERE'S ALWAYS 1 OUT OF THE CROWD THAT LIKES TO BE DIFFERENT... AS FAR AS PLUGS--- YES THAT CAN CERTAINLY CAUSE IT AND QUICKLY TOO, OR IT MAY BE THE CHICK JUST HATCHED TOO EARLY AND WASNT READY FOR LIFE OUTSIDE THE EGG. IT MAY HAVE HAD SERIOUS CONGENITAL DEFECTS AND HATCHED EARLY BECAUSE THEY WERE CAUSING DISTRESS??? RARELY DOES SHEDDING AN EGG SHELL CURE THIS MALADIES, THO THE CHICK HAS NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT ANYMORE THAN WE DO.

 

[SAORSA]

Well here it is, day 20. No sign of life.

I purchased an Acurite indoor - outdoor temp/humidity gage at Wallyworld. It seemed to be the most recommended here on BYC.
The glass thermometer that came with the incubator was so difficult to see and I had no idea what the humidity was.
It had a wire designed to give the outside temp but I wound up putting the whole thing in with the eggs as the humidity apparently was determined by the actual unit.
The temp was approximately three degrees lower with the glass gage than with the Acurite.
I guessed the glass gage was probably the not so accurate reading as it is only stapled to the plastic sheet and ... you know ... technology and all.
Apparently there is a question about that, (thank you JJ).

There is no bad smell from the eggs so I thought I would give it another day

before I took a look at the inside to see how things progressed before their demise.
Too optimistic do you think ????

I have never hatched Quail but I was sooo looking forward to them after reading all about them here.

I WILL TRY AGAIN !

Thank you all for helping, I LOVE THIS SITE, YOU ARE SO GREAT !!!!!