day 25 and no pip

[Nvazquez]

It's day 25 on my eggs and I had 1 hatch on day 19. But none have even pipped since then! I did the float test day 22 and eggs showed movement! My temp did drop a few nights to 97 but back up to 99 in the day time! What should I do???

 

[beetandsteet]

Throw them away. Any chicks that do hatch at day 25 are likely to be deformed and/or have health problems. 99 is too low for chickens in my experience, keeping it warmer (around 100) has worked better for me, but that 1 degree probably wouldn't have caused this much trouble. Looks like your incubator temp was not correct, or your thermometer was off, or both. Also, it sounds like you may have had hot/cold spots in the incubator, as one of the babies hatched early. Was it a still air incubator?
So sorry about your bad hatch. It's always discouraging

 

[Nvazquez]

Maybe your right! I have 3 that hatched 1 out of each clutch! I got 2 early and 1 on time!! It's got a fan in it! I do have a still air on it's way for my next round of eggs! Any tips? I will up the temp this time! The end of today is 25 so if I have no babies I will get rid of eggs in the am. Thanks Nita! So, Temp 100 and 60% humidity in still air also? Anything you can tell me that I may need to do better? I'm worried about the change to still air difference!

 

[beetandsteet]

Still air incubators should be around 102, forced fan around 100. 60% humidity is WAY too high for the first 18 days of incubation. It should be around 30%, until day 18, then you can up the humidity to around 65%. Fan forced incubators are usually better than still airs; although many people have had success with both.
Also, with that many failed hatches, have you checked your thermometers? It's essential to have a proper reading of temperature, and also, always have an analog thermometer (the cheap aquarium thermometers sold at walmart are easy to calibrate and actually pretty accurate) along with a digital. I like to have at least 3 good thermometers in my incubator. Are you using a styrofoam incubator? There's a thread full of great advice about those, the link is in my signature.
Where are you getting your eggs from?

 

[Nvazquez]

OK, to start out.. My bator is the 48 egg, no brand, Chinese made, forced air off eBay! It's plastic! The one coming in the mail is also no name, plastic 56 egg, but still air! I used 2 thermometers one on machine and got one from hardware dept. at Walmart! It's the black one like $10 w/humidity that I put inside. I know now that my humidity was WAY high from the start, like 75% most of the time in the last week people told me to drop it to 25% cause of it being too high for so long. So I did that! Put humidity at 75% for lockdown (someone had told me 95%)! Did I kill them? I candled eggs before lockdown and they looked great! Still seen movement! Day 22 did float test still seen movement! So, Did I mess up completely with humidity and that's why they cannot hatch? This is my 1st time and I did all the research I could online but it's frustrating cause I see too many different #'s!! I have got all my eggs on eBay but I did look to see if I was buying from a farm or just a person trying to make $! I Looked at the breeding stock info and all that I thought would matter! Also, I just put more eggs in the bator they are on day 8, I had to put them in with the hatching eggs cause one of my bators quit heating! So if I get them out and get them in the right temp/humidity now is it too late to save them and hatch them out right? Do I really toss these eggs tomorrow that show life but haven't hatched (sad face)!! I'm new at this, sorry for all the ?'s I just don't wanna mess up 50 more eggs! I have my whole heart in this!

 

[Nvazquez]

I just got me 3 glass thermometers! So, I will have 2 readings on humidity and 3 on temp in the bator! Now, With my still air bator I should have 30%/102 and with the forced air 30%/100 right? Where should I locate my thermometers inside the bator? Also, On day 18 I will be putting the eggs in a forced air bator for lockdown what temp/humidity will I need at that point? I also thought that when I was reading that it said not to candle them day 11-14 and after day 18 is that true?

 

[Mak24456]

I just got me 3 glass thermometers! So, I will have 2 readings on humidity and 3 on temp in the bator! Now, With my still air bator I should have 30%/102 and with the forced air 30%/100 right? Where should I locate my thermometers inside the bator? Also, On day 18 I will be putting the eggs in a forced air bator for lockdown what temp/humidity will I need at that point? I also thought that when I was reading that it said not to candle them day 11-14 and after day 18 is that true?

Thermometers should have their ends at egg level to get the most accurate reading. For lockdown temp is the same (though some recommend 1 degree lower) and humidity is around 65%. I've read the day 11-14 no candling thing before, usually people don't candle between those days anyway. Candling days usually are 7, 14 and 18. On day 18, it is lockdown, where you raise the humidity and don't turn the eggs.

I suggest reading Sally Sunshine's hatching 101, a ton of useful info there that'll answer many of your questions. Good luck!