World Egg Day Hatchalong!(October 12, 2012 is World Egg Day!)

[aussie pete]

well day 23 for me - not good -out of 10 Australorp eggs ,1 ext pip, no zip (died) 5 no pip ,4 hatched .-out of 10 light sussex eggs .one pipped ,no zip(died) - 9 no pip -used fan incubator 37.5 degrees C(checked 3 x day, 3 thermometers ) humidity 1-18 40% 19-23 60%(two different hygrometers) auto turner .eggs appear to be fully formed good air cell size --- last hatch was 95% only difference was hand turned. not sure now what happened

 

[cluck-cluck]

Oh wow, aussie pete, I'm sorry! Were they shipped eggs? That's just strange! I hope they weren't expensive

 

[GVChickenMan]

well day 23 for me - not good -out of 10 Australorp eggs ,1 ext pip, no zip (died) 5 no pip ,4 hatched .-out of 10 light sussex eggs .one pipped ,no zip(died) - 9 no pip -used fan incubator 37.5 degrees C(checked 3 x day, 3 thermometers ) humidity 1-18 40% 19-23 60%(two different hygrometers) auto turner .eggs appear to be fully formed good air cell size --- last hatch was 95% only difference was hand turned. not sure now what happened

Sorry to hear that the hatch didn't go well Pete.

I think it's even harder to take when you just can't see what went wrong (well, for me, anyway).

How are the babies that got out doing?

 

[aussie pete]

the four that hatched all very strong ,healthy as u can see in pic i posted of first 2 .
.yes the australorps were expensive, show bird eggs from 2 different strains.light sussex eggs were from my flock, the last hatch i had 11out of 12 hatch from same flock including 4 from fridge that i used only to give a good thermal mass .

best reason i can come up with is either the turner was jamming (not enough angle being achieved )or low air exchange rate during incubation.
i'm leaning towards turner as the last hatch was so good and the only difference was hand turning

any other idea's i haven't considered ?

 

[GVChickenMan]

Certainly sounds like some kind of mechanical fault if there were no other variables Pete.

My four hooligans are now playing football with the last two eggs. I might have to pull the chicks out soon.

 

[aussie pete]

Certainly sounds like some kind of mechanical fault if there were no other variables Pete.

My four hooligans are now playing football with the last two eggs. I might have to pull the chicks out soon.

have decided to do another 12 light sussex eggs from my flock ,but hand turn to eliminate or confirm turner as the problem ,i did run it prior to setting eggs & appeared ok, checked several times during incubation .it was working but my gut feeling is it just didn't achieve enough angle .

 

[GVChickenMan]

have decided to do another 12 light sussex eggs from my flock ,but hand turn to eliminate or confirm turner as the problem ,i did run it prior to setting eggs & appeared ok, checked several times during incubation .it was working but my gut feeling is it just didn't achieve enough angle .

Well, that should confirm your suspicions anyway. I don't know what I'd do without automatic egg turning though. It's not that I incubate many (my 'bator only takes 7) but my daily routine doesn't always allow for a turning schedule.

 

[GVChickenMan]

Well, one trip to a hot and steamy bathroom later means that the four (best guess at this stage 2 girls, one boy, one undecided - so I'm guessing boy!) are out of the 'bator and into the brooder. Those were, coincidentally Eggs #1-4, numbered on order of laying, oldest being #1. Egg #6 is now rocking very gently so there might still be a chance. Haven't seen anything from #5 yet.

 

[cochins1088]

the four that hatched all very strong ,healthy as u can see in pic i posted of first 2 .
.yes the australorps were expensive, show bird eggs from 2 different strains.light sussex eggs were from my flock, the last hatch i had 11out of 12 hatch from same flock including 4 from fridge that i used only to give a good thermal mass .

best reason i can come up with is either the turner was jamming (not enough angle being achieved )or low air exchange rate during incubation.
i'm leaning towards turner as the last hatch was so good and the only difference was hand turning

any other idea's i haven't considered ?

I really don't think the turning is what killed chicks, especially at that age. I know some poeple that only turn for the first 7 day and some that don't turn at all and still get excellent hatch rates. And gas exchange isn't a very common problem. The main problem that causes the death of chciks that late would be improperly developed air sacs. I know you say they look fine, but what did you compare them too? Eggs should lose 12% of their original mass.

Here's a good link to posible problems, some of them I really don't believe would cause death (such as the turning) though they list just about any posibility out there. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatchability-problem-analysis

 

[cochins1088]

This morning I have 2 hatched! I really hope the other 2 hatch as well, but I don't have very much hope for one of the eggs...