Very Discouraged

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

There are some things you have control over, some things you don't. You had no control what happened to those eggs before they were in your hands. You don't know how old they were or what conditions they were stored in. If they were mailed you don't know what conditions they saw while in the mail. You'll sometimes read on here to expect a 50% hatch with mailed eggs. I've hatched mailed eggs twice. One time I got a 20% hatch, the other a 100% hatch. That's close to a 50% hatch rate for an average but each one was way different. Those were both from the same seller. There is no telling what conditions your eggs saw before you got them. You may have done an excellent job to get half of them to hatch and live.

I've had hatches both under a broody hen and in an incubator over within les than 24 hours of the first egg hatching. I've had hatched under a broody hen and in my incubator stretch out like yours, into the third day. No two hatches are exactly the same. I don't think I'm doing anything different when I get those different results. That's probably just due to the differences in the eggs.

Even if that chick had pipped, it had not absorbed the yolk. Helping it would probably not have saved it. About half the chicks I help die anyway. There is a reason they can't hatch on their own, there is something just not right with them.

Part of getting ready to hatch involves drying up blood vessels in the membrane that surrounds the chick. If those chicks were bloody they had not reached that stage so could not survive. Nothing you could do to help them.

What does that 12 egg incubator look like? Can you link to that make an model so we can look at it. My incubator is a lot bigger than that so I know I'm not familiar with yours. Is it a still air or forced air. Automatic turner or did you hand turn them?

Some incubators, especially still air, can have warm or cool spots. That can affect when the different eggs hatch. That's something I'd be looking for. Did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? I don't trust the pre-sets from the factory.

I don't know what happened. Part of it could easily be something that happened before you got hold of the eggs. It could be the incubator or something you did or did not do during incubation. Even if I were there looking at it I'd probably have trouble being able to tell. Congratulations on those six chicks you got and better luck next time.

Thank you!

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

There are some things you have control over, some things you don't. You had no control what happened to those eggs before they were in your hands. You don't know how old they were or what conditions they were stored in. If they were mailed you don't know what conditions they saw while in the mail. You'll sometimes read on here to expect a 50% hatch with mailed eggs. I've hatched mailed eggs twice. One time I got a 20% hatch, the other a 100% hatch. That's close to a 50% hatch rate for an average but each one was way different. Those were both from the same seller. There is no telling what conditions your eggs saw before you got them. You may have done an excellent job to get half of them to hatch and live.

I've had hatches both under a broody hen and in an incubator over within les than 24 hours of the first egg hatching. I've had hatched under a broody hen and in my incubator stretch out like yours, into the third day. No two hatches are exactly the same. I don't think I'm doing anything different when I get those different results. That's probably just due to the differences in the eggs.

Even if that chick had pipped, it had not absorbed the yolk. Helping it would probably not have saved it. About half the chicks I help die anyway. There is a reason they can't hatch on their own, there is something just not right with them.

Part of getting ready to hatch involves drying up blood vessels in the membrane that surrounds the chick. If those chicks were bloody they had not reached that stage so could not survive. Nothing you could do to help them.

What does that 12 egg incubator look like? Can you link to that make an model so we can look at it. My incubator is a lot bigger than that so I know I'm not familiar with yours. Is it a still air or forced air. Automatic turner or did you hand turn them?

Some incubators, especially still air, can have warm or cool spots. That can affect when the different eggs hatch. That's something I'd be looking for. Did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? I don't trust the pre-sets from the factory.

I don't know what happened. Part of it could easily be something that happened before you got hold of the eggs. It could be the incubator or something you did or did not do during incubation. Even if I were there looking at it I'd probably have trouble being able to tell. Congratulations on those six chicks you got and better luck next time.

Thank you!

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

There are some things you have control over, some things you don't. You had no control what happened to those eggs before they were in your hands. You don't know how old they were or what conditions they were stored in. If they were mailed you don't know what conditions they saw while in the mail. You'll sometimes read on here to expect a 50% hatch with mailed eggs. I've hatched mailed eggs twice. One time I got a 20% hatch, the other a 100% hatch. That's close to a 50% hatch rate for an average but each one was way different. Those were both from the same seller. There is no telling what conditions your eggs saw before you got them. You may have done an excellent job to get half of them to hatch and live.

I've had hatches both under a broody hen and in an incubator over within les than 24 hours of the first egg hatching. I've had hatched under a broody hen and in my incubator stretch out like yours, into the third day. No two hatches are exactly the same. I don't think I'm doing anything different when I get those different results. That's probably just due to the differences in the eggs.

Even if that chick had pipped, it had not absorbed the yolk. Helping it would probably not have saved it. About half the chicks I help die anyway. There is a reason they can't hatch on their own, there is something just not right with them.

Part of getting ready to hatch involves drying up blood vessels in the membrane that surrounds the chick. If those chicks were bloody they had not reached that stage so could not survive. Nothing you could do to help them.

What does that 12 egg incubator look like? Can you link to that make an model so we can look at it. My incubator is a lot bigger than that so I know I'm not familiar with yours. Is it a still air or forced air. Automatic turner or did you hand turn them?

Some incubators, especially still air, can have warm or cool spots. That can affect when the different eggs hatch. That's something I'd be looking for. Did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? I don't trust the pre-sets from the factory.

I don't know what happened. Part of it could easily be something that happened before you got hold of the eggs. It could be the incubator or something you did or did not do during incubation. Even if I were there looking at it I'd probably have trouble being able to tell. Congratulations on those six chicks you got and better luck next time.

Thank you!

There are some things you have control over, some things you don't. You had no control what happened to those eggs before they were in your hands. You don't know how old they were or what conditions they were stored in. If they were mailed you don't know what conditions they saw while in the mail. You'll sometimes read on here to expect a 50% hatch with mailed eggs. I've hatched mailed eggs twice. One time I got a 20% hatch, the other a 100% hatch. That's close to a 50% hatch rate for an average but each one was way different. Those were both from the same seller. There is no telling what conditions your eggs saw before you got them. You may have done an excellent job to get half of them to hatch and live.

I've had hatches both under a broody hen and in an incubator over within les than 24 hours of the first egg hatching. I've had hatched under a broody hen and in my incubator stretch out like yours, into the third day. No two hatches are exactly the same. I don't think I'm doing anything different when I get those different results. That's probably just due to the differences in the eggs.

Even if that chick had pipped, it had not absorbed the yolk. Helping it would probably not have saved it. About half the chicks I help die anyway. There is a reason they can't hatch on their own, there is something just not right with them.

Part of getting ready to hatch involves drying up blood vessels in the membrane that surrounds the chick. If those chicks were bloody they had not reached that stage so could not survive. Nothing you could do to help them.

What does that 12 egg incubator look like? Can you link to that make an model so we can look at it. My incubator is a lot bigger than that so I know I'm not familiar with yours. Is it a still air or forced air. Automatic turner or did you hand turn them?

Some incubators, especially still air, can have warm or cool spots. That can affect when the different eggs hatch. That's something I'd be looking for. Did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? I don't trust the pre-sets from the factory.

I don't know what happened. Part of it could easily be something that happened before you got hold of the eggs. It could be the incubator or something you did or did not do during incubation. Even if I were there looking at it I'd probably have trouble being able to tell. Congratulations on those six chicks you got and better luck next time.

Thank you!

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

Sorry Barb, I know what I am going to say won't bring them back, but verify your Humidity and temperature readings using the methods these folks have outlined in the hatching forums. When I get eggs online I try to make sure they are less than 200 miles away so they won't do a lot of travelling to get to me. I am sorry they didn't make it but don't give up....

Thank you!

Shipped eggs are always risky. The aircells are often damaged on arrival and and even if they start to develop will sometimes fail to hatch even after lockdown. 50% hatch rate is actually quite good for shipped eggs.I have had anywhere from 0% to 85% hatch rate with shipped eggs.

Thank you!

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

There are some things you have control over, some things you don't. You had no control what happened to those eggs before they were in your hands. You don't know how old they were or what conditions they were stored in. If they were mailed you don't know what conditions they saw while in the mail. You'll sometimes read on here to expect a 50% hatch with mailed eggs. I've hatched mailed eggs twice. One time I got a 20% hatch, the other a 100% hatch. That's close to a 50% hatch rate for an average but each one was way different. Those were both from the same seller. There is no telling what conditions your eggs saw before you got them. You may have done an excellent job to get half of them to hatch and live.

I've had hatches both under a broody hen and in an incubator over within les than 24 hours of the first egg hatching. I've had hatched under a broody hen and in my incubator stretch out like yours, into the third day. No two hatches are exactly the same. I don't think I'm doing anything different when I get those different results. That's probably just due to the differences in the eggs.

Even if that chick had pipped, it had not absorbed the yolk. Helping it would probably not have saved it. About half the chicks I help die anyway. There is a reason they can't hatch on their own, there is something just not right with them.

Part of getting ready to hatch involves drying up blood vessels in the membrane that surrounds the chick. If those chicks were bloody they had not reached that stage so could not survive. Nothing you could do to help them.

What does that 12 egg incubator look like? Can you link to that make an model so we can look at it. My incubator is a lot bigger than that so I know I'm not familiar with yours. Is it a still air or forced air. Automatic turner or did you hand turn them?

Some incubators, especially still air, can have warm or cool spots. That can affect when the different eggs hatch. That's something I'd be looking for. Did you calibrate your thermometer and hygrometer? I don't trust the pre-sets from the factory.

I don't know what happened. Part of it could easily be something that happened before you got hold of the eggs. It could be the incubator or something you did or did not do during incubation. Even if I were there looking at it I'd probably have trouble being able to tell. Congratulations on those six chicks you got and better luck next time.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08S6LJCHF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you! That makes me feel better. This is the link. It is hard to get the humidity right. I think I will get a better one if I try again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am not familiar with that incubator. It looks simple enough but the reviews aren't great. I just don't get a good feeling about that incubator but it is inexpensive. From what I can tell you have to calibrate the temperature, different people mentioned the factory presets were not right.

You need your own hygrometer. The way the humidity is controlled is by which of the reservoirs has water in it. That method is pretty standard in a lot of incubators but it is not that responsive, it can be challenging to get humidity right and maintain it. That's the method mine uses. It can take a long time for humidity to stabilize.

A good incubator can get kind of expensive. I don't see anything that bad about the basic design but I'm not sure how well it is made.

 

[spartacus_63]

50% on shipped eggs is pretty good.

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08S6LJCHF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you! That makes me feel better. This is the link. It is hard to get the humidity right. I think I will get a better one if I try again.

Thanks; I will get a better one before I do this again.

 

[SpicyDill]

That same incubator is marketed under a couple of different names. I have the HHD-marketed one. It'll get the job done, but not well. There are no ventilation holes for fresh air, humidity is difficult to keep stable, and the onboard thermometer tends to be off. I stuck a Govee in mine last time I used it and fared somewhat better, but there's only so much you can do with its flaws. I bit the bullet and upgraded to a better model. The Nurture Right is still pretty affordable and extremely well-liked. I went with a pricier Brinsea, myself.

 

[NNYchick]

50 percent it a great hatch for shipped eggs. I just incubated 24 shipped eggs in my brinsea 56EX, 13 developed to lockdown, 6 hatched on their own and I assisted 2 that zipped part way and stopped they ended up with leg issues and didn’t make it, 24%. I had 94% of my own backyard eggs of the same breed incubated with them. Shipping is tough on eggs even if you get them to lockdown no guarantee they will be able to hatch. This is also why I don’t pay big money for shipped eggs, I’m not much of a gambler.