They die at day 18 everytime!

[jhart101]

Quote:
So 100 is too cool in a still air even on bottom? Wouldn't the air temp at top of egg be in the 102 range??? I'm confused. Maybe this is one of my problems...too cool.

 

[Hotttmommi]

I am confused too. What should the temp be at the top of the eggs in a still air?

 

[walkswithdog]

If I were still doing still air - I'd have thermometers in both places being very certain and being certain both were accurate. Heck I actually have two to three thermometers in each bator depending on time of year.

Our house is under insulated. Temps will vary, I want to make sure temps are good at egg level and both end of the bator just being careful.

In spring and summer and usually most of fall I worry less but over winter I'm a thermometer nut. Seems to be working there are ummmm ... a perfectly normal number of chicks and poults running around here.

 

[DANNY]

Hey Lori
All my hens have built in hygrometers. If you don't beleive it come and look what happens at hatch time. Just kidding. Those hens know what they are doing. Back to the bators. I think in our southeast humidity is so high that you could get away with dry hatches. Humidity is the last thing i worry about. It usually runs about 45% and i am hatching over 90% of fertile eggs this year including ducks, turkeys and peafowl. There are so many variables in hatch location, inaccurate thermo/hygro's, where is the incubator located and where are you measuring temperature. I think everybody has to find what works for them and their situation. I also a lot of people are scared to make changes but if it's not working you have to fix it.

 

[jhart101]

I have 2 digital and 1 mercury in both the incubator and hatcher. I have them all placed on bottom...not touching any eggs or sponges. Obviously all 3 are a "little off", but no more than .5 degree total. I take the average of the three as well as the average of the 2 digital for humidity. What you are saying is I should place one on bottom of tray, one on top of eggs and float a 3rd to make sure the others are correct in measuring temps?

 

[walkswithdog]

I'd certainly have one on the bottom and one on top of the eggs. Unless you monitor the temp at the top of the eggs, you're not going to be assured of having the right "heat layer".

It's that whole layer that matters from the bottom of the eggs, to the top - like a blanket of air the egg lays in.

It's not a thin layer you're looking at 1.5 inches or more of necessary heat layer. Analog thermometers are good for on top of eggs.

You can get very accurate ones cheaply and the batteries dont run out. Liquid are better than spring.

 

[halo]

Ive changed my ideas on incubation and hatching ever since I totally screwed up a hatch a few months ago and had the best hatch ever. I always mark on my calendar when I set the eggs, what day 5 is, and what day 18 is. That way I know when to candle, and when to move to the hatcher. I had a big batch of blue rocks to hatch, and somehow I marked day 18 as being a whole week later than when it was. So as my eggs incubate, I add water periodically, maybe every 3 or 4 days. The humidity stays at around 35-45 or so. I awoke one morning to a racket in my incubator, and there was half the eggs hatched and rolling around the bator and turner. I left them all in there and they all finished hatching the next day. I didnt add any more water or open the lid. So Im now into benign neglect when it comes to hatching. My personal theory is that when the chicks hatch, the moisture inside the eggs raises the humidity by itself. Now, when I move eggs to the hatcher, I add water like I would when they were incubating. Once they start hatching, I leave them alone. I think too much humidity has killed more unhatched chicks than anything else.

 

[pbjmaker]

Some of my best hatches have happened that way - ignore the bator, dry hatch. I had 2 100% hatches that way (small amount of eggs both times).

I had issues yesterday with my bator getting unplugged and the humidity jumping to 89% and so far it doesn't look promising for most of the eggs that were supposed to hatch today ( only 2/11). That makes me wonder if they developed some condensation inside the shell that killed them as they pipped internally.

 

[Backyard Farm]

Hi -
I didn't have time to ready all the posts so I am probably repeating what others have said but...

some thoughts..

could be temp too low

or maybe

you want eggs to loose about 12 - 13 % of orginal weight by day 18. I find I need about 42% humidity to do this.

then up humidity to about 65% ish for hatching. (wet sponges good for increasing humidity during hatch or misting AROUND eggs)... too much less during HATCH (only) and I seem to get some chicks sticking in the eggs... unable to finish pipping and stuck to membrane.


If you want any help with weighing and tracking weight loss as a way to monitor/adjust humidity, just email me. you just need a "jewelry" scale... about $15 on ebay.

I think too much humidity AKA ..not enough weight loss during day 1 - 18 prevents more chicks from hatching when they seem to be fully developed than anything else.

... but more than anything else, I am wondering if they are not getting enough oxygen with holes being plugged??? maybe try leaving the holes open and use wet sponges and misting around the eggs to keep humidity up during hatching.


it is so sad and frustrating to loose babies.

 

[walkswithdog]

Halo I totally agree and I will eventually be needing more eggs - two of these chicks are MONSTERS. Big black buggers. Rolf and Tina are huge. The blues are very close in size and all are much bigger than my little brown PR baby but his daddy was a late bloomer too. Both blues and both blacks have a little white I'm assuming feathers away at mature feather like the BA's do.

For a funny - one of the new PR babies barely a week - has attached very strongly to the poults so when I put the older ones(yours and the one PR) and the poults into a larger brooder it cried inconsolably until put back in with the larger group. Sigh. Birds.