what is wrong here??

[harleyguy927]

Several years ago I tried to hatch eggs by hand in a cheep incubator, and seedless to say, I failed. This spring I wanted to show my children the miracle of birth and let them help raise and harvest chickens for meat and eggs. I splurged and bought a fully automated R-COM digital incubator. Just add water...lol. it automatically rolled the eggs and everything. It stopped rolling them a fewdys before hatching time and everything. I didn't get a single egg to hatch! I cracked them open and they where just yolk. I had purchased the eggs from a well established and well knownonline distributor. I contacted them and assured them that I followed the incubator instructions as well as their instructions to a t. They where dumbfounded, and assured me their eggs where top quality and that they rotate their laying hens every few years....so what gives? I've spent a fortune with nothing to show for it! is R-COM a crappy unreliable brand of incubator?

 

[JDchicks]

The best way to tell if they were fertile is when you open them. If there is a solid white dot on the yolk it NOT fertile. If it has a doughnut shaped white spot it was.

I do not have a R-Com so can not give info on them, but what was your temp and humidity set at? How did you receive the eggs (pick up or shipped)? Were there any with detached air sac or bubbles from rough handling/shipping? These all effect the development of the egg.

I would pick up a separate thermometer/hygrometer and test your incubator to make sure you have it at the right settings for a few days.

Shipped eggs' hatch rate tend to be lower. If the postal service is rough with the box or if eggs are packed poorly...this can cause detached air sacs. Its a good idea to let the egg sit at room temperature (fat end up in an egg carton) for 12-24 hrs before putting in the incubator. If you find air bubbles in the eggs, the chances are very slim they will develop at all.

A good (bright) flashlight to candle the eggs when you first get them is a good idea to check for these possible problems.

This is a good site to compare the stages of the eggs to when candling. http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=73884.0

I would not give up just yet. Everyone has a bad hatch every once in a while. Specially their first couple of times.

Good Luck!

 

[harleyguy927]

I candles them often but wasn't sure what I was seeing as I had never done it before. The temp and humidity was automatically preprogrammed and controlled by the incubator. I did have the eggs shipped, they where packaged very nicely and tight in a thick heavy media. The box looked to be in great shape and I let them sit at room temp for 12 hours. I am not giving up, went and bought prehatched chicks and we raised them. They are just starting to lay eggs. But I am upset that I blew a few hundred dollars on an incubator. However we decided that next spring we would get more eggs and try it again. I just wish I had a local supplier so I didn't have to have them shipped overnight. And risk damage or wasted time.

 

[yo burrill]

Dont know where you live, but must be someone near by that has Chickens.(Unless you are in the city) Just go drive around first thing in the morning and youll here the Roo. Then ask if you could have some fertile eggs. I personally dont like a bator that I cant change the setting on. Working on hatching pheasant right now and have had to drop the temp to 98 cause they were hatching to early. If not a one started to develop I would say the eggs were mishandled or your bator was so hot that it cooked every one. Search candling eggs, there are lots of good sites that have loads of pics so you can learn what you are looking for .

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are a whole lot of things that affect hatch rate, many you don't have much control over. Health, nutrition, and genetics of the parents make a difference. How the eggs were handled. How and how long they were stored. But usually you get a few to at least start to develop. For none to develop, something is basically wrong and it is probably something basic and simple.

I don't know that specific incubator at all so I can't give you any specific advice. I do believe in calibrating the instruments though and checking it so you know what you are dealing with. That preset could be wrong. I had to adjust mine a little bit but that was just fine tuning. These articles might help, but unless your incubator is way off, I really don't think that is the problem if no egg even started to develop. I'd think it had something to do with the eggs. It's possible something is wrong with that specific incubator. Not that the brand of model is bad, just that specific incubator. Check it out, especially the temperature. But if you are withing a degree or two, you should at least see some development. It would have to be way off for it to be the incubator.

Rebel’s Thermometer Calibration
http://cmfarm.us/ThermometerCalibration.html

Rebel’s Hygrometer Calibration
http://cmfarm.us/HygrometerCalibration.html

I've had 100% hatch rate with mailed eggs before, but you can also get really lousy rates. It not only depends on how thay are packaged and handled during shipping, but what quality the eggs were to start with. Shipped eggs are not always a disaster, but if they were heated really high or handled unusually roughly, that could cause the problem. You just don't know. A lot of this you don't have any control over and neither does the person shipping them.

I don't know where you are, but if you are in the US, I suggest you go to the "Where am I? Where are you?" section of this forum and find your state thread. There are probably BYC members within easy driving distance that can furnish fertile hatching eggs. Another idea is to ask at the feed store. Someone who works there may know where you can find fertile eggs locally. All this is assuming you don't have a rooster and can't hatch your own eggs.

So first check the incubator to see that it is performing the way it should. Then try different eggs.

Good luck!

 

[coldupnorth]

What kind of R-com did you get? New or used? I use both the Rcom mini and the Rcom 20 Pro. My mini was bought new and works very well, my Rcom 20 was bought second hand (still cost alot) and after a couple of failed hatches I discovered that the incubator was not at the temp that it was saying it was. It was way lower. With the Rcom 20 you can adjust temp and humidity - but I found that I need to always use a couple of other thermometers so that I have a good idea of the real temp in that one. Mine obviously has to be fixed but that is going to cost, so it hasn't been fixed yet.

Shipped eggs are always a gamble. Some do really well, some are totally scrambled from a rough ride and some have been x-rayed through the PO

I wouldn't give up - hatching eggs is a great experience for kids. Hatching eggs in my classroom was a highlight for all the kids and students still come back to me remembering how exciting it was to see a chick hatch.

 

[harleyguy927]

It says its: deluxe type 8800XP it only gives the temp in centigrades. It either read 28 or 38 centigrade the whole time. I can't remember which one it was. And it doesn't show the humidity level. There is a way to over ride the factory presets but I'm not sure if it will change the other settings. I guess I just need to mess around with it. I won't be hatching eggs again untill spring time, so I have lots of time. But I am leaning towards the idea that I had bad eggs.