Turkey hatch problem

[dnunnally]

I've tried 2 batches of turkey eggs, and only 3 poults out of 30 eggs each time. I had great success with a batch of chicken eggs (from my flock), 12 out of 15. I'm using a fan circulating incubator with auto turning rack, 2 thermometers, 99.6 degrees, 55-60% humidity, for days 1-25, then removing the turning rack and upping the humidity to 80% or so. Everything 'seems' fine until I remove the turning rack and lay the eggs on the wire rack. I can't point to anything specifically, but at that time, it seems something goes wrong. Up to that point, the eggs seem to be alive. Then something happens, bad. Both times with the turkeys, I got 1 poult hatching immediately (on day 25-26) and 1-3 pipping thru over the next couple days, and 2 of those hatching successfully. All the other eggs are dead. No sounds, movement, pips, nothing. I've opened enough of those eggs to determine that fertilization and nearly 100% development is not the problem. However, with both batches of turkey eggs, I lost power (electricity, due to storm) on or about day 24-25. The first batch, power was out for 12 hrs (I don't know how low the temp dropped). The second batch, I lost power on day 26 for about 4 hrs and the temp dropped to 91 degrees.

I'm wondering what the problem is, especially with the turkeys. Was it the temp drop or something else? One observation is that the turner doesn't appear to turn the larger turkey eggs as far as it does with the smaller chicken eggs. Most times, when I look, the eggs are leaning away, and only occasionally, do they turn back the other direction. Could it be that when I lay the eggs on the wire, on their sides, that the poults can't breathe?

Am I doing something wrong/ Comments?

thanks
david

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I put my turkey eggs on an auto turner as well, they hatch just fine after I lay them on their sides.
The only thing I really do differently than you is humidity. I dry incubate. I keep my humidity around 25-35% for the first 25 days, then bump it up to 65-70% during lockdown. Maybe they're drowning when they internally pip?
Its a bummer when you invest that much time and they don't hatch, especially since turkeys go a week longer than chickens.

Better luck next time!

 

[dnunnally]

Thanks for your reply. I've wondered about the humidity, too.

On the latest batch, I have realized that most of the eggs did not develop, either fertilization or rough shipping. I suspect the latter. I'm hoping to find a local source of eggs and try again.

 

[RubyNala97]

I put my turkey eggs on an auto turner as well, they hatch just fine after I lay them on their sides.
The only thing I really do differently than you is humidity. I dry incubate. I keep my humidity around 25-35% for the first 25 days, then bump it up to 65-70% during lockdown. Maybe they're drowning when they internally pip?
Its a bummer when you invest that much time and they don't hatch, especially since turkeys go a week longer than chickens.

Better luck next time!

X2. I agree. Your humidity may be too high. How do your air cells look through incubation? I'm wondering if your eggs are loosing enough moisture. If not the poults can be too big to turn and pip. So they would be suffocating in the egg. You opened the eggs that did not hatch? They were fully formed?