OK, so I've had 3 hatches so far in my Hovabator 1588s. First hatch was 12/13 from my own silkie hen's eggs. 2nd hatch was 4/10 also from my silkie hen's eggs, but this time they incubated in one incubator with a bunch of other shipped, larger brown eggs of various breeds. The larger eggs were behind them by a week and 2 weeks. Those 6 eggs that didn't hatch were alive at lockdown and then never externally pipped. The third hatch started today on 6 shipped eggs. 3 I could tell were doing well and full term, the others were too dark (marans) to see too well. This morning (day 20) 3 were wiggling and I could hear peeping. By this afternoon one little blue birchen marans had hatched out, but every other egg was quiet again. I know that the live ones died at one point, but how? I opened one I was sure was dead, it was, and it was fully formed and I couldn't see that it had pipped internally. Is that something one can see? And why did this happen on the last 2 hatches when my first hatch was perfect?
I have been trying to keep my humidity around 40 throughout incubation, it was hard to keep it steady once all the shipped eggs were in incubator with my silkie eggs, but it never went too high and often went pretty low. I just can't understand why they developed so well and then I lost them at hatch day. Even the shipped eggs developed well and I lost them on hatch day
I figure it is something I was doing wrong with my humidity? something having to do with the various sizes of the eggs and the staggered hatches? But that is why I got the 2nd hovabator, so I could have one for hatching and one for incubating.
Does anyone have any advice? I feel so horrible that the chicks all made it to hatch day then died
I have been trying to keep my humidity around 40 throughout incubation, it was hard to keep it steady once all the shipped eggs were in incubator with my silkie eggs, but it never went too high and often went pretty low. I just can't understand why they developed so well and then I lost them at hatch day. Even the shipped eggs developed well and I lost them on hatch day
I figure it is something I was doing wrong with my humidity? something having to do with the various sizes of the eggs and the staggered hatches? But that is why I got the 2nd hovabator, so I could have one for hatching and one for incubating.
Does anyone have any advice? I feel so horrible that the chicks all made it to hatch day then died