What am I doing wrong?! :(

[cwams217]

I have been incubating eggs this summer for the first time. I have two styrofoam incubators that I am using one for the eggs in the beginning then I move them to the second one 3 days before hatching. I have an automatic turner in one and I had 3 chicken eggs at the end of May that were developed and due to hatch. One pipped but did not make it and the other two never did anything. Now I have 12 guinea eggs and 5 Ancona duck eggs that are fully developed and were due to hatch yesterday but nothing has happened the temp has always been 99.5 and the humidity at the beginning was 70 and now it's around 80-85. I am so devastated that nothing is hatching. I don't know what I am doing wrong

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

I have been incubating eggs this summer for the first time. I have two styrofoam incubators that I am using one for the eggs in the beginning then I move them to the second one 3 days before hatching. I have an automatic turner in one and I had 3 chicken eggs at the end of May that were developed and due to hatch. One pipped but did not make it and the other two never did anything. Now I have 12 guinea eggs and 5 Ancona duck eggs that are fully developed and were due to hatch yesterday but nothing has happened

the temp has always been 99.5 and the humidity at the beginning was 70 and now it's around 80-85. I am so devastated that nothing is hatching. I don't know what I am doing wrong

You might want to lower your humidity to about 60%. Too much humidity can drown them in the egg!! Hope this helps. Don't give up on them too soon.

 

[cwams217]

How long should I give them after their due date before I get rid of them??

 

[missnu01]

Hmm... my humidity days 1-18 is between 25 and 30 percent. Then on day 18 I raise it to 60 percent and I get nearly prefect hatches every time

 

[cwams217]

Ugh I have read so many different humidity a and temperatures and everything. It's so frustrating!!

 

[missnu01]

While that is true and everyone has their own methods, but the trick is to follow some of these people's hatch a long posts that way you can basically get their technique and results and then go with what the people that actually have good hatches are doing. That way you can see just how well their method works, and don't go with one person. Because there's a lot of people that say do it this way, and a bunch of others say do it that way, so read through to how it all went and go with whatever side of the fence is getting better results. Heck is how I came to my method these 5 people do it this way and they have great hatches. .. so I'm going to do it this way and I too have great results. Very first time 18/18, then this year 13/14, then 17/17 so on and so forth... eggs that made it to lock down that hatch I usually start with 18 or 20. I almost always lose at least 2 early on except my last batch this year, only one blood ring really early on...and the one earlier this year that had one not hatch, started with 16 eggs... have 12 of my eggs and 12 shipped eggs going now. All doing pretty well, but I started with 29, but the shipped eggs were shipped really... so most are doing good. Had another batch of 12 that didn't fare so well through the mail, so only 3 or 4 really have anything going on, and I will be surprised if any make it. But, usually every egg that goes into lock down equals that number or really close to it in the brooder. And all I did was emulate the people that seemed to get the best hatches. Research research research. Then decide for yourself which "faction" to go with. Just like what food to feed. Some people say this some people say that, check what issues they've had and then pick one to try. And eventually you will have your own method with good success borrowing and expanding on other people's ideas. That is the wonder of forums. You geta million different viewpoints and opinions on subjects. Just pick which one works for you

 

[missnu01]

Also these are all chicken eggs. .. guineas take less time of course and ducks have different humidity, but my chicken hatching method is down. Lol. Plan to try turkeys before too long, one way or another

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

How long should I give them after their due date before I get rid of them??

I would give them about 3 days.

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

Hmm... my humidity days 1-18 is between 25 and 30 percent. Then on day 18 I raise it to 60 percent and I get nearly prefect hatches every time

This is my method also.