School hatch failed--please help us get it right! UPDATE--PICS ADDED!

[ky chicks]

My son's 2nd grade teacher requested eggs to hatch, and I was happy to bring some in since I have never tried it before. Friday (5/7) was day 21, so I spent the whole day at school checking the eggs, but nothing happened. We're going to start with fresh eggs tomorrow, so please help me figure out what went wrong. Here's what we did:

The eggs were put in the incubator within 3 days of being laid. They were unwashed (but clean) and not refrigerated.

We candled on day 5, and all 6 of the eggs showed some veining.

On day 12 or 13, 5 of the eggs showed obvious progression. They looked almost half full of chick, if I'm remembering correctly.

We quickly candled again on day 18 when we added the water to the incubator. Two of the eggs were completely dark except for the air cell, and the others looked like they hadn't progressed since our last check. The incubator wasn't opened again.

We were sure those 2 eggs would hatch. The temperature was steady at 100 degrees. I'm not sure what kind of incubator it is, but it's still air (brand new). Water was added every few days by the teacher. We used an egg turner, and initially put in the eggs upside down (air cell down), but I looked up the proper orientation and turned them over on day 2. Since they all showed progression, I didn't think that had caused a problem.

I'm sure none of the kids messed with the eggs. They are still in the incubator, but I'm going to bring them home tomorrow and crack them open to see what's in there. Would pictures help determine what went wrong?

We were all so excited about this hatch--please help us figure out what to do differently! Tomorrow I'm going to take in a dozen with the hope that we'll get at least a couple of chicks!

Thanks for reading, and for any advice you might have!

 

[Julie08]

Sorry things went wrong. I would have left them in the incubator until day 25.

It sounds like you did every thing right. Did you bump your humidity up after day 18? it should be between 50 and 55 days 1 through 18 then 65% during lock down

Yes opening the eggs would help determine why they did not hatch. Did you remove them from the incubator on Friday?

 

[justmeandtheflock]

The temp at the top of the eggs in a still air should be 102. It is possible they are just going to be late due to low temps. Good luck!

 

[Gypsy07]

100 degrees is a bit low for a still air bator. I'm not sure, but I think it should have been more like 102 at the tops of the eggs. 100 is for a fan assisted bator where the temperature is (supposed to be) even throughout. Your eggs were developing nicely according to your descriptions of what you saw candling, so they could still hatch out fine. I'd say DON'T take them out of the bator yet!!! Low temperatures just mean slower development and later hatching. Some people on here have had hatches on day 24 and even day 25. My two hatches nothing happened till days 22 and 23 and I've just found out my bator was running a bit cool.

Good luck with them! Let us know what happens...

 

[ra]

Did the incubator get opened after day 18? They can get shrink wrapped when the lid is opened and the humidity drops quick?

 

[ky chicks]

So there's still hope!?! They're still in the incubator because we hoped they would hatch over the weekend. When I went in to check them this morning, the teacher suggested that we try again, so I decided to leave them until tomorrow when I bring more. I think the temp was set to 100 because that's what the incubator instructions said, but we'll bump it up a little for the next try if these don't hatch by tomorrow. The humidity should be good--the incubator hasn't been opened since day 18. I had given up on them, but now I'll keep my fingers crossed! Thanks for the quick replies!

 

[Julie08]

Good luck keep us posted.

 

[ky chicks]

So today is day 25. I took in a fresh dozen eggs for the incubator and brought home the 6 that didn't hatch. We had to get the new ones in today in order to hatch before school is out for summer. I have VERY little hope that the ones I brought home will hatch, but I can't bring myself to give up until at least the end of the day. I took them from the incubator directly to a plastic container (with a lid) lined with warm damp towels, brought it home, and put it under a lamp to keep the temp between 101 and 103--shooting for 102. If I listen really hard, (and maybe use my imagination) I would swear I hear a little scratchy noise. But wouldn't I hear peeping if anything at all? Otherwise, there's no sign of life in there. I don't really think they'll hatch, but I've read some pretty miraculous hatch stories here.

 

[Julie08]

at this point you run the risk of them being deformed, weak, generally poor condition I would shut'er down, sorry things didnt turn out the way you wanted, good luck with the next bunch

 

[ky chicks]

Here are some photos I took when I cracked them open. What do you think?

This one clearly didn't go far, but I want to give you guys examples of how far they all progressed in case that helps. There was only one like this:

I don't know why this image is bigger than the rest--my mistake, I'm sure.


There were 3 about like this:

This is one of the two I thought would hatch:

Any ideas? We put 12 more eggs in the incubator 2 days ago (with the temp at 102 this time), and we're really anxious to see some chicks! It's a good thing I don't have my own incubator--even with our failed hatch, I can see how it would be addictive!