Pippin ain't easy! Day 23 and nothing is happening.

[WalnutHill]

It may be a little while yet, there looks like there is still a lot of liquid below the membrane.

You may want to hatch these in an egg carton, fat end up. It can't hurt, and it may help avoid drowning.

 

[amaurichick]

I candled and did the float test. 1 is still moving in the egg but is way smaller than the others and seems behind in development. I opened up the other 3 after I was positive they were dead. I very slowly opened up the air sac, then tore the outer membrane off and noticed that all of them were positioned with their head down almost toward the narrow part of the egg. The yolk was almost absorbed, just a little left, no active bleeding when I took them out. Their beaks, combs, feet, eyes all looked great. They were big so maybe they couldn't turn properly when it was time to pip?

They were so well formed that I kept staring and waiting for them to chirp or kick or something. But, nothing!

I don't know what to do now about the last little guy. What of he gets stuck and can't pip?

 

[amaurichick]

Sorry so graphic

 

[WalnutHill]

Malpositions are tough. Having the correct incubation temperatures and halting turning at day 18 can both help, but ensuring that humidity is correct to allow for proper air cell growth is the most important factor. When the air cell is too small, the chick grows too big and can't move into position properly. If the air cells are small due to weather conditions in your next hatch, try placing the eggs in cartons around day 16 and stop turning. With the fat end up, this should encourage the chicks to move into position while they are still small enough to do so.

For the last little guy, it's a tough call. If he can't pip, he'll die. If you assist him, he may die. If he lives, he'll be an only chick. It's not easy any way you look at it.

 

[amaurichick]

Here's what I did.
For the first 18 days, they were air cell up in an egg carton with the bottom cut out. I turned them 3x day. The temp was usually 99, but definitely fluctuated. Humidity was low (30-40) for 1-18. On day 18, I took out the duds, added water to the bottom and put a wet sponge and towel in. I also laid the eggs down on their sides. The humidity was 60-70 for 18-22. Then it all went to hell!
Maybe I candled too much and disturbed them getting into position because after day 22 I kind of became obsessed.
This is a still air, homemade styrofoam incubator. 15 watt bulb heats it to around 100 but it fluctuates with room temp.
What should I do differently?

 

[FridayYet]

Just a few things to think about:

I'd search for a thread with people with homemade incubators. From what I've read, you want the temps 101 at the top of the eggs. And it needs to stay there the whole time. Maybe you need to beef up your insulation - maybe wrap the incubator with towels & duct tape?? Use bottles of water or rocks to store and radiate heat when the room temperature drops?? It needs to be able to hold the temps even with the air vents open, since eggs need oxygen, too.

You mentioned that you woke up to 97 degrees one morning. The incubator temp might have been that low for several hours on multiple days - which causes all sorts of problems.

Wish I knew more. But I'm sure with a little searching you can find some experts who could give you better advice.

On the bright side, it sounds like your humidity was good the whole time.

 

[FridayYet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/603873/homemade-incubators/130

This thread has some good ideas.

 

[amaurichick]

Thank you! The rock idea is awesome. They do hold heat and then radiate.

Yes, I believe that the temps were too low. I'll work really hard to get it stable before another egg sees the inside!

 

[WalnutHill]

Here's what I did.
For the first 18 days, they were air cell up in an egg carton with the bottom cut out. I turned them 3x day. The temp was usually 99, but definitely fluctuated. Humidity was low (30-40) for 1-18. On day 18, I took out the duds, added water to the bottom and put a wet sponge and towel in. I also laid the eggs down on their sides. The humidity was 60-70 for 18-22. Then it all went to hell!
Maybe I candled too much and disturbed them getting into position because after day 22 I kind of became obsessed.
This is a still air, homemade styrofoam incubator. 15 watt bulb heats it to around 100 but it fluctuates with room temp.
What should I do differently?

One of the most important things you can do is to add a thermostat.

While adding thermal mass (a rock, pebbles, marbles, etc) is a good step to stabilizing temperatures, until you can control temperatures regardless of ambient temps you may as well incubate on a shelf above the clothes dryer, stove, or refrigerator.

You can buy wire-it-yourself digital thermostats like the STC-1000 on eBay for about $15. Basic electrical skills and some common home center parts are required to make a safe and complete installation as you are working with line voltage. Water heater thermostats can be used but placement of the thermostat relative to the heat source is critical.

If you're not wanting to do DIY electrical, there are several reptile thermostats available as well as some by Incubator Warehouse that can do the trick. Those with a remote probe wire are most convenient. You'd simply plug your heat source power into the receptacle on the thermostat, plug in the thermostat, and set the desired temperature.

In a still air incubator, setting the incubator temp above the egg at 101 ensures that the bottom of the egg isn't much below 99. In a circulated air incubator, setting the incubator temp at 100 does the same thing. Since the embryo grows on top of the yolk, it's important that the temp just inside the top of the egg shell is consistently close to 100F for 21 days. Small, temporary variations in temperature are not a problem, but several hours hot or cold are definitely a problem.

And since the embryo grows on top of the yolk, that is why turning is so important. If the embryo stays in one spot relative to the inner membrane for too long, it can adhere, and fail to grow normally.

Due to space constraints and the need to use the plastic small incubator turners, I've always incubated my eggs fat end up. Now that I have a GQF which tilts the entire tray, I plan to build in-tray supports so that I can incubate my turkey eggs on their sides. I look forward to seeing how the development changes.

 

[WVduckchick]

Excellent posts Walnut and Friday.

Friday mentioned vents... Do you have any ventilation in the incubator?? That could also be a big issue. Oxygen exchange is important for the developing embryo, so if you didn't have any vent holes, you will need to add some next time, in addition to the other things mentioned.

Don't get discouraged and quit... Please. Its all a learning experience, and coming here for advice was a great step you took, so please keep trying!