Quitters—environmental or genetic?

[MaryZoe]

What are your thoughts about quitters—eggs that start to develop but quit along the way. Is it more likely due to the incubation process or some genetic flaw in my hens? I’ve had a higher than usual number of quitters recently and I’m wondering what’s going on. I’ve used a variety of incubators. I have 5 separate Brinsea ‘bators, and it seems to happen regardless of the ‘bator. I also raise a lot of Araucana, so I suspect I may be breeding tufted to tufted and getting the lethal gene. That would explain a decent number of the quitters, since they tend to be blue eggs.

 

[FortCluck]

I usually think that quitters are either due to the breeding stock or how you store/incubate your eggs.

When I had a lot of quitters my first hatch most said it wasn't humidity. I had added water to my incubator because that's what the incubator said to do. I had very bad air cells from the humidity. Now I do dry incubating where I don't add any water.

This hatch that I am currently doing I had a few quitters and I even had some that externally pipped then died. I was told that it's most likely due to genetics and the nutritional aspect of the chickens. These eggs were not from my farm so I am not in control of what they feed or how they stored their eggs.

There's so much that could be a factor and it's very hard to narrow it down just to one thing.

 

[MaryZoe]

Interesting. Sometimes my eggs are over a week old when I start them. Maybe up to 2 weeks on my counter, moved 2-3 times a day. My chix are pretty healthy—good feed, nutritional snacks and plenty of space to free range. I wonder if the eggs are too old at 2 weeks.

 

[FortCluck]

Interesting. Sometimes my eggs are over a week old when I start them. Maybe up to 2 weeks on my counter, moved 2-3 times a day. My chix are pretty healthy—good feed, nutritional snacks and plenty of space to free range. I wonder if the eggs are too old at 2 weeks.

I never put in eggs that are older than a week. I think that the most days recommended you should go is 10 days from what I have learned and read.

Try just putting in eggs that are only a week old and see if that helps. If you have less quitters then I would consider that one of the issues.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

http://www.lohmann-information.com/content/l_i_48_artikel14.pdfhttps://www.petersime.com/hatchery-development-department/egg-storage/
Eggs peak in hatchability at 5 days and then drop steadily every day thereafter. So hatching eggs within 1 week of lay is the best option.