UPDATED:incubating eggs took new turn!Set 3 eggs,& a new book 4 BYC?

[19hhbelgian]

So, Set 3 eggs tonight, after adjusting my incubator...

Wish them luck!

We have also come to the conclusion there should be a book on "incubating eggs for Dummies"... Question is what should the title really be??

See page #2 for details!


Ok... I have a Suro totally automatic, including the RH, incubator. I Basically don't have to do anything but candle the eggs and make sure the water stays full in the jug that I'm using. The temperature is correct, along with the RH read out (I've compared both with other thermometers and RH gauges). I stop turning at day 18 and wait and wait and wait... Til they are finally a few days past the due date. I check them and they have just quit. I can't tell you how many times this has happened, and it's very frustrating. My latest victim was a poor little polish chick. This was the liveliest embryo I'd ever seen, then I checked him just before lock-down and no movement at all (and by candling, I could tell he'd quit, but I didn't want to believe it, so I put him back in the bator). I got him out yesterday to do the water bounce test, and in the process I accidentally cracked the shell. He was definitely gone. I opened the egg up, and everything looked perfect. He would have been a beautiful little chocolate polish

I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. Should I just not candle & hope for the best when day 21 comes around? Other than that, I can't think of anything accept for the fact that my DH has been playing his drums (which are in the basement with the incubator) pretty much recently... Could the vibrations be "scrambling" my babies?? Like I said, I'm desperate!! I really love hatching, but I'm feeling like it's not worth it anymore. I wait, and see these great little chicks developing, only to be completely disappointed after all that time

HELP!!

 

[hinkjc]

Did you completely remove the chick from the egg for a post mortem? Was the yolk absorbed or unabsorbed? I can think of a quite a few things that can cause this issue, that can range from improper humidity, improper temps (even tho the thermometer says it's right, doesn't mean it is), improper turning, poor ventilation, heredity issues, disease, etc. Here is a good troubleshooting guide to start ruliing things out. I hope this is helpful.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/aa204

 

[fremo]

Hi,
I have known of a number of incubations that have failed due to thunderstorms so would not be surprised at all if the drum rehearsals are your problems. Chicks have little sessions of trying to break out and are encouraged by the sound of their siblings trying to break out. They then have little rest periods and start again. I would imagine the sound of a drum session would be quite traumatic. Banish the boy and try again. Good luck.

 

[19hhbelgian]

See, now that's the advice I was looking for

In all honesty he is a very good musician, but I'm not one that enjoys drum solos every night

I'm going to ask him to put it on hold for a month and will get more thermometers and hygrometers to triple verify my readings. I'm also going to only candle 1 time, after 7 days... Figure if you aren't developing by then, you probably won't start. Then if I actually get some to hatch, who ever doesn't hatch, I'll candle again and see what's up... Sounds like a plan! Thanks to both of you for the advice... The website is great Hinkjc!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I dont think the drums have anything to do with it. There are lots of random noises in many incubator that would probably be a lot louder.

What we need to know is,
what is the actual temp an humidity in the incubator at hatch time?
What are they the first 18 days,
What is the temp an humidity of the room that the incubator is in?

 

[PandoraTaylor]

yep,

More Questions than answers.

 

[19hhbelgian]

Quote:
Temp and humidity at hatch - Temp 99.9 Humidity 58%
First 18 - Temp I keep at 99.9 (main breed I put in the bator is seramas) & humidity I'll bump up to 60%
Temp humidity of room - Temp 67 humidity 60% (We have a dehumidifier to keep it drier down there - turns on and off on it's own depending on humidity %)

I have checked the temp and humidity of the bator with other hygrometers and thermometers that I know are correct, and the bator is pretty much right on - no big differences... Pretty much no difference at all. Anything else I need to answer?

 

[Eggcellent]

Have you tried running a lower humidity for the first 18 days? I run 30% humidity for the first 18 and have very few quitters. Most batches the only ones that haven't hatched are clear eggs.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I think I would try running the incubator dry for the first 18 days or at least see what I could do to cut the humidity in half for those days. I would think that room humidity for the average person is between 30% an 50%. You are well above that. As air comes in to your bator an warms it has to absorb less moisture to get back to a set humidity level than someone that has a room humidity of around 40%. How do your air sacks look a day 18? I may be way off but thats the only thing I can think of.

 

[19hhbelgian]

The air sack usually looks normal - sometimes I'll have one that elongates, which I totally don't understand, but otherwise, things normally look the way they should. I will definitely try running the incubator dry for the first 18... Just collected some more eggs this morning - now I'm excited to put them in and give it a whirl!

Thank You!!