What went wrong? :(3

[JenF]

I started with 18 eggs and 3 hatched. Today, I decided to to "autopsy" the unhatched eggs to see what was in there. 3 were unfertilized, 3 were partially developed and 9 were fully developed and ready to hatch!!! I feel so bad that they died so late in the process. What could have gone wrong? What do I need to do next time?

 

[Pyxis]

I started with 18 eggs and 3 hatched.  Today, I decided to to "autopsy" the unhatched eggs to see what was in there.  3 were unfertilized, 3 were partially developed and 9 were fully developed and ready to hatch!!!  I feel so bad that they died so late in the process.  What could have gone wrong?  What do I need to do next time?

How was your humidity during incubation? A lot of times late deaths like that are due to the humidity not being correct. When you did the eggtopsy, was there a lot of liquid in those eggs?

 

[JenF]

I was keeping it between 30% and 50% for the most part. At day 18, my air cells were a little small, so based on recommendations from here, I delayed lock down for 1 day, went dry that night and on day 19, my air cells had increased alot, so I upped the humidity to approx 65-70% and went on lock down.

 

[Pyxis]

I was keeping it between 30% and 50% for the most part.  At day 18, my air cells were a little small, so based on recommendations from here, I delayed lock down for 1 day, went dry that night and on day 19, my air cells had increased alot, so I upped the humidity to approx 65-70% and went on lock down.

With the small air cells it could have been that the humidity was too high throughout incubation and they drowned in the shell. The big increase you saw could have actually just been draw down and not indicative that they had lost a lot of moisture. At any rate, I'm sorry you lost them

 

[JenF]

Thank you. I will be MUCH more careful with the humidity on my next try,

 

[Pyxis]

Thank you. I will be MUCH more careful with the humidity on my next try,

You're welcome! If you want to be really exact and have a kitchen scale, you can use the weight method to track if your humidity is on point. An egg should lose 13-15 percent of its weight throughout incubation due to moisture loss, so by weighing you can check to be sure all is well. You need a starting weight before you begin incubating, and then check on day 7, 14, and 18. If they're not losing enough weight, humidity needs to be lowered. Too much, and it needs to be raised.

 

[JenF]

I do have a scale. What about opening up the incubator for the length of time it takes to weigh all the eggs? Can this be detrimental? That's why I didn't candle on day 7 because I thought I would be to slow and damage them somehow.

 

[Pyxis]

I do have a scale.  What about opening up the incubator for the length of time it takes to way all the eggs?  Can this be detrimental?  That's why I didn't candle on day 7 because I thought I would be to slow and damage them somehow.

Not detrimental at all. Hens get off the nest every day for a half hour to eat and drink, so the eggs can easily withstand the incubator being open for a while

 

[JenF]

Ahh, true! Thanks!