So discouraged

[Lazys]

I purchased an incubator from ebay. it seems to work but I am doing something wrong. First setting was all duck eggs. I didn't realize that the settings were off that time and out of 47 I got 8 hatched. there were only 7 duds when I broke the eggs and the rest were fully formed ducks that died in their shell. they took longer to hatch because my temp was lower than I thought. So I got 2 hygrometers, one battery operated and one old fashioned type. I ran the incubator for several days in advance and got things worked out as well as figured out how to set the alarms on the incubator and calibrated it. I set 27 duck eggs and 7 days later 16 chicken eggs, none were older than one week. I planned them to hatch at the same time. The incubator ran 99-100 the entire time based on the hygrometers with 40-60 percent humidity. on day 24 of the duck eggs being in the incubator I heard chirping and there were 4 chicken eggs piping and two duck eggs were piping. I took them out of the turner, and the next morning two chicks were hatched and the ducks had their beaks out. Later that day another chick hatched, and two of the original basically stopped moving. another chick hatched last night, which would be day 26 of the ducks minus 7 for the chicks. the ducks have not progressed and do not appear to be moving any more, and two of the original chick eggs are also appearing to be dead. nothing else has pipped even.
what could be the problem? I am just so discouraged and ready to throw this incubator away.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Okay, so your first batch was late and your second batch was early? Is your incubator forced (does it have a fan) or still air (no fan).

A couple of things jump out from reading your post. If your humidity was 40-60% during the first 18 days, that may have been a bit high. The 40% isn't too bad, but 50-60% is pretty high for those first days. Did you notice your chicks really wet inside when you opened the dead ones? Humidity is important, but too much is deadly. The eggs need to loose around 13% of their weight those first 18 days, and it leave in the form of moisture evaporating from the pores in the egg shell. If your humidity is too high during that time, they don't loose enough moisture, and when the chicks pip internally, they're met with a gush of water that drowns them.
Something else, I noticed you said you got two hygrometers (which I'm assuming are thermometers and not hygrometers, or maybe combos with both, anyway...), but you didn't say you calibrated them before using them. If your temp was 99-100 on that second batch, your chicks should not have been early. So, I think that your temperature may still be off. If your 'bator is a still air, with no fan, you should be aiming for somewhere around 101.5*F. If its forced air, you should try to keep the temp as close to 99.5* as you can.

 

[Lazys]

I am assuming it is forced air, I hear it running.
My hygrometers have both humidity and temp. How do you calibrate them? I didn't know the weren't ready to use out of the box.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

What kind of thermometer do you have?

 

[Lazys]

I have an analog and a battery operated one.
chicks are hathing again, but are so crammed up they don't move when they get out of the egg.