Worse hatch rate with golden and peach pheasants...need advice

[Sam - poultry enthusiast]

I set 10 golden and 10 peach golden pheasants with 95% candled and developed. No problem with fertility. Humidity at 50-55% through 21 days. Then I increased humidity to 70-75% for the last days.

1 hatched on end of day 23. 3 hatched on day 24. Several pipped but died in the shell the last day. I am still hoping that a few more hatch tomorrow, but this hatch has been my most disappointing.

I have been using this incubator for the last two years. It is a Nurture Right 360. I have never had a hatch rate below 60% until this month. Also, I have sold, shipped eggs to other people who have had 80%+ hatch rates with eggs this year.

So my thoughts are issues with incubator, possible electrical outage when I wasn't at the house, humidity not high enough if they died in the shell.....

If anybody has any thoughts, feel free to post. I want to avoid having future issues like this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@007Sean

 

[Midnightman14]

sounds like the chicks drowned in the shell. That humidity level is pretty high for pheasants.

 

[Gotbirdsohyeah]

Yes humidity is much to hi.Remember when chicks are hatching they are wet which adds humidity.keep humidity at 55 percent and you should be fine.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[muddy75]

X3 sounds like your humidity was a bit high for pheasants. Also, even though you’ve been using this incubator for a while, when was the last time that you checked calibration of your instruments???? I’ve had incubators get out of whack with zero warning.

 

[GaryHurt]

I set 10 golden and 10 peach golden pheasants with 95% candled and developed. No problem with fertility. Humidity at 50-55% through 21 days. Then I increased humidity to 70-75% for the last days.

1 hatched on end of day 23. 3 hatched on day 24. Several pipped but died in the shell the last day. I am still hoping that a few more hatch tomorrow, but this hatch has been my most disappointing.

I have been using this incubator for the last two years. It is a Nurture Right 360. I have never had a hatch rate below 60% until this month. Also, I have sold, shipped eggs to other people who have had 80%+ hatch rates with eggs this year.

So my thoughts are issues with incubator, possible electrical outage when I wasn't at the house, humidity not high enough if they died in the shell.....

If anybody has any thoughts, feel free to post. I want to avoid having future issues like this.

Thanks in advance!

Just checking to see if you'll have any Peach Goldens available?

 

[007Sean]

I set 10 golden and 10 peach golden pheasants with 95% candled and developed. No problem with fertility. Humidity at 50-55% through 21 days. Then I increased humidity to 70-75% for the last days.

1 hatched on end of day 23. 3 hatched on day 24. Several pipped but died in the shell the last day. I am still hoping that a few more hatch tomorrow, but this hatch has been my most disappointing.

I have been using this incubator for the last two years. It is a Nurture Right 360. I have never had a hatch rate below 60% until this month. Also, I have sold, shipped eggs to other people who have had 80%+ hatch rates with eggs this year.

So my thoughts are issues with incubator, possible electrical outage when I wasn't at the house, humidity not high enough if they died in the shell.....

If anybody has any thoughts, feel free to post. I want to avoid having future issues like this.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry but just saw this 'tag'.
Your humidity was a little high during incubation and especially high during the hatching phase.

I incubate at 100°F and 43 to 45% Rh during incubation and increase to 55 -60% for the hatching phase.
Also, the temperature was a little low during your incubation period. Goldens and Lady Amherst, hatch in 21 days. (Yours hatched day 23 and day 24, indicating incubator temp was low).

Mine usually pip on day 20 and hatch day 21. It could also be that the day you set the eggs you considered day 1....the day they are set should be considered day 0, not until 24 hours later is it considered day 1.

For a whole host of reasons, some may 'quit' early, others mid-way through, and others late, and a small percentage pip then die. The gene's turn 'on' or 'off' for reasons unknown....could be plain genetic issues or nutritional issues with the breeding stock or other environmental issues.
HTH