What could cause delayed hatching in some eggs and not others?

[dianneS]

I've had three out of seven eggs hatch in the last 36 hours. All of the eggs were set at the same time. They were all refrigerated for a few days prior. I kept them in the incubator for 18 days and then put them under a broody hen three days ago.

The first three hatched within 24 hours, the remaining four aren't showing any signs of hatching. I'm getting worried.

If there is a possibility that they could still hatch, what would cause the delay in more than half of them? I've never had refrigerated eggs hatch so far apart before. I usually have good luck with all of them hatching at the same time this way.

 

[dianneS]

 

[dianneS]

 

[Chicken D's mom]

I was looking around at some older posts about eggs not hatching at day 21. I found one where a hatch occured on day 23 and again on day 26.... !?!
I don't want to give you any false hope, but it made me feel better. I'm at the end of day 22 and only one out of 10 has hatched and that was yesterday.

Even in the "learning center" the instructor says "eggs should hatch on day 21, give or take a couple."

Keep waiting....I'm waiting with you.

 

[dianneS]

I know I shouldn't worry, I've just never had three hatch right away and the rest take so long. Usually all of my chicks hatch within 24 hours. I've never hatched these particular breeds though. These are really large eggs. I wonder if that has something to do with it?

 

[Chicken D's mom]

The egg that mine hatched yesterday was a different breed than the nine remaining. Are your 3 different than the remaining 4?

 

[Revelle]

The eggs could just have their own rate of development. Like my eggs, most are before their time, but there was one that was a couple days behind.

 

[pips&peeps]

Every time you hatch out late chicks, you perpetuate late hatching in the next generation. That is why most old timers threw out the eggs after 24-36 hours.

 

[dianneS]

Chicken D's mom :

The egg that mine hatched yesterday was a different breed than the nine remaining. Are your 3 different than the remaining 4?

No, actually I have one of each breed hatched so far. The strange thing is that the only brown egg to hatch so far was the very last egg that I put in the incubator, several hours after the rest. I figured that one would be the last to hatch, not one of the first!​