Only 1 chick hatched three incubations in a row

[Skippersnh]

my roosters have been laying huge eggs since i put them on layer feed

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What do you recommend for breeder feed?

My flock eats the all flock by nutrena. It seems to be working well since every chick I've hatched from my flock has been in excellent health.

I have only had access to one breeder feed in the past. Currently, I adjust nutrient intake by supplementing store feed with some essential amino acids and enhanced vitamins.
Some breeders are left to formulate their own feeds like I am.
Until you ask the manufacturer what the complete calculated nutrient profile of the feed you want to buy is, which a phone call will provide, you likely won't know what the essential amino acid, vitamin and mineral levels are.

Even the mixes of feeds I've seen breeders of show fowl use aren't creating a good nutrient profile.

Fertrell will help formulate something for your purposes.
I choose to get the best feed I can find going into breeding season, add some fishmeal and kelp and then add Nutri-Drench to the water at least 3 times a week.

I believe Blue Seal makes a breeder feed but I haven't researched the nutrient profile since I can't buy it here.
From the info on their website, the amino acids seem to be a tad low as does the vitamin E. The vitamin A is good.

 

[FortCluck]

my roosters have been laying huge eggs since i put them on layer feed

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I'm honestly thinking it's the incubator itself. Everything you've described seems like you were doing everything perfectly. I'm hoping adding ventilation works.

Did you set the eggs yet?

I have not set the eggs yet. I will do so this evening. I am also curious to check the humidity. This morning I filled 1 of the trays full of water (the incubator has 3 small trays in the middle). With the previous ventilation of the 4 small holes, 1 tray would last most of the week and would keep the humidity around 50%. If humidity is holding when I get home, I will set the eggs. I suspect the tray will be visibly reduced. I’ll probably have to replenish the tray more often than before I drilled in expanded ventilation holes.

As I already have 10 eggs set aside from this week off of my Cracker games (my RJF or American game bantam type), I’ll try them and see what happens.

My chickens get most of their nutrition from free ranging. My farm is large and is in the middle of the woods. The land is rich in wild browse and insects. Their diet should be quiet varied. The laying crumbles are just a supplement I give them. I would suspect them eating something poisonous before I’d suspect them having a deficiency. The flora and fauna is too diverse on the farm to narrow down a list of suspected sources for toxic foods. If they’re eating something that’s killing the embryos, the chances of finding it will be remote. And I have too many different breeds for it to likely be a genetic issue. The two Cracker game roosters that breed all of my free range flock are brothers but the OEGB rooster is unrelated to them and there is no cross breeding between the OEGB flock and the free range game/leghorn/wyandotte flock. Which as I type that out, I realize that should suggest against it being something they’re eating from the wild. The OEGBs don’t free range. The OEGBs are the only flock that eat exclusively laying crumble except for treats I give them. So if there’s a problem with their nutrition, the only common denominator across the flocks is the laying crumbles. My crumbles are packaged by the local feed store.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have not set the eggs yet. I will do so this evening. I am also curious to check the humidity. This morning I filled 1 of the trays full of water (the incubator has 3 small trays in the middle). With the previous ventilation of the 4 small holes, 1 tray would last most of the week and would keep the humidity around 50%. If humidity is holding when I get home, I will set the eggs. I suspect the tray will be visibly reduced. I’ll probably have to replenish the tray more often than before I drilled in expanded ventilation holes.

As I already have 10 eggs set aside from this week off of my Cracker games (my RJF or American game bantam type), I’ll try them and see what happens.

My chickens get most of their nutrition from free ranging. My farm is large and is in the middle of the woods. The land is rich in wild browse and insects. Their diet should be quiet varied. The laying crumbles are just a supplement I give them. I would suspect them eating something poisonous before I’d suspect them having a deficiency. The flora and fauna is too diverse on the farm to narrow down a list of suspected sources for toxic foods. If they’re eating something that’s killing the embryos, the chances of finding it will be remote. And I have too many different breeds for it to likely be a genetic issue. The two Cracker game roosters that breed all of my free range flock are brothers but the OEGB rooster is unrelated to them and there is no cross breeding between the OEGB flock and the free range game/leghorn/wyandotte flock. Which as I type that out, I realize that should suggest against it being something they’re eating from the wild. The OEGBs don’t free range. The OEGBs are the only flock that eat exclusively laying crumble except for treats I give them. So if there’s a problem with their nutrition, the only common denominator across the flocks is the laying crumbles. My crumbles are packaged by the local feed store.

That was just my 2 cents worth. Take it with a grain of salt. Let us know when you figure out what the problem has been.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I take myself with a grain of salt too. If I knew the answer I wouldn’t have had 3 failed hatches in a row. If ventilation isn’t the answer, I’ll have to try what other variables I can every 21 days.

So when I came home the first water tray was partially full but humidity was only 28%. Room humidity is 30%. Temperature was spot on at 99.5F and 37.5C on the incubator’s controls. I forgot to say I recalibrated the incubator’s thermostat last night, the incubator is running about .5C hotter with the increased circulation, which I find fascinating but I have no explanation for. I am noticing it is maintaining a stable temperature down to the tenth much easier.

All three trays filled to the top has bumped the humidity up to 50% and it hovers between 48% and 50%. I’m going to let it run a while that way before I load it with eggs. At the least I‘m clearly going to have to plug a couple of the big vent holes during lockdown.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I have the answer.

I was wrong, it was not ventilation. It was the automatic turner on the unit. Turning them too fast constantly in 1 direction. Apparently quail can take it but chickens cannot. I've had multiple natural hatches with broody hens off my eggs in the months since my last post here (hens hatch year round in Florida). So I ruled out an egg problem. And I had another 2 hatches fail with the improved ventilation. So it wasn't that. I bought a second incubator that was also round and turned the eggs counter clockwise as the unit in question does and I got a good hatch off the second incubator. Instead of constantly turning the eggs, the second incubator turns them in increments ever 8 hours and keeps them stationary in between. I started thinking that turning was probably the problem.

My final test was to take the original unit, remove the automatic turning tray, and hand turn the eggs. I started with 13 jungle fowl hybrid eggs. Removed 3 the first week for lack of development (although I was in error on one and accidentally removed a good egg as I saw after cracking it open), removed a 4th egg on week 2. All 9 of the remaining eggs hatched yesterday. I turned them twice a day by hand. I had no precise method of turning them except that I drew a "X" and an "O" on each side of the eggs and turned them all to one letter or the other roughly every 12 hours.

So if anyone in the thread suggested the turner, give yourself a pat on the back.

I'm actually so pleased with how my hand turning worked that I'm going to pack the little incubator to capacity and do it again. As where the unit could only hold 10 eggs with the turner without doubling up slots, I think I can fit near 30 eggs in packed tight. 13 eggs was less than half the incubator.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I have the answer.

I was wrong, it was not ventilation. It was the automatic turner on the unit. Turning them too fast constantly in 1 direction. Apparently quail can take it but chickens cannot. I've had multiple natural hatches with broody hens off my eggs in the months since my last post here (hens hatch year round in Florida). So I ruled out an egg problem. And I had another 2 hatches fail with the improved ventilation. So it wasn't that. I bought a second incubator that was also round and turned the eggs counter clockwise as the unit in question does and I got a good hatch off the second incubator. Instead of constantly turning the eggs, the second incubator turns them in increments ever 8 hours and keeps them stationary in between. I started thinking that turning was probably the problem.

My final test was to take the original unit, remove the automatic turning tray, and hand turn the eggs. I started with 13 jungle fowl hybrid eggs. Removed 3 the first week for lack of development (although I was in error on one and accidentally removed a good egg as I saw after cracking it open), removed a 4th egg on week 2. All 9 of the remaining eggs hatched yesterday. I turned them twice a day by hand. I had no precise method of turning them except that I drew a "X" and an "O" on each side of the eggs and turned them all to one letter or the other roughly every 12 hours.

So if anyone in the thread suggested the turner, give yourself a pat on the back.

I'm actually so pleased with how my hand turning worked that I'm going to pack the little incubator to capacity and do it again. As where the unit could only hold 10 eggs with the turner without doubling up slots, I think I can fit near 30 eggs in packed tight. 13 eggs was less than half the incubator.

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Hi Florida Bullfrog! Glad you figured out what was wrong, I was just going to go out and drill holes in my incubator!
Hoping you can help me. I have one of those Janoel 10 incubators. I have trouble keeping the temp high enough. I have 9 gorgeous maran eggs that I need to move in to it, as my top of the line Brinsea is full. They will be dry incubated, per the breeders recommendations, though I live in Hawaii, so limited how low I can get the humidity to go.
Any suggestions with this incubator? I will be hand turning as you did.
I find I have to keep a towel wrapped around the base to keep the heat from seeping out. My last hatch three years ago with this incubator was 2 out of 6.
Thanks for any advice you have, I read your whole thread.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Hi Florida Bullfrog! Glad you figured out what was wrong, I was just going to go out and drill holes in my incubator!
Hoping you can help me. I have one of those Janoel 10 incubators. I have trouble keeping the temp high enough. I have 9 gorgeous maran eggs that I need to move in to it, as my top of the line Brinsea is full. They will be dry incubated, per the breeders recommendations, though I live in Hawaii, so limited how low I can get the humidity to go.
Any suggestions with this incubator? I will be hand turning as you did.
I find I have to keep a towel wrapped around the base to keep the heat from seeping out. My last hatch three years ago with this incubator was 2 out of 6.
Thanks for any advice you have, I read your whole thread.

I’ll help best I can. First, I keep my unit either in an AC controlled room that doesn’t drop below 72F, or alternatively when its set up in my barn I run a oil heater by it during the cool months just so that its sitting in a pocket of warmth.

Second, I only run it on an insulated buffer between it and whatever its set on. Currently I use a side off of an insulated grocery baG. The cloth kind that has reflective insides. I cut the bag up and set the unit on it reflective side up.

Third, I pack the unit to capacity and beyond. I’m currently running it with 31 guineafow eggs. They’re stacked on top of each other. The temperature stays more stable when there’s more eggs to hold heat.

Finally, you can both recalibrate the internal thermometer and change its upper limit so that you can set the temperature above the factory default ranges.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

THANK YOU, Florida Bullfrog!!!! You are awesome!
I found some info about calibrating on YOUTUBE, so I was able to drive the temp up a few degrees. I am currently running it and will do so over night to make sure it holds the temp (so far reading 100 degrees on 3 different thermometers). Planning to move eggs over tomorrow. Love the insulated bag idea, we have several of those, some have seen better days, so will use one. I will also place under my Brinseas, adding cardboard, as my incubators are on a marble table. Did not think of that!
Thanks again!