what went wrong (graphic picture)

[kahlua]

This was my first hatch - my incubator was a styrofoam cooler with a light bulb and dimmer switch. Not great, I know, I have a new incubator built with a thermostat and have new eggs in there now.
There were some temperature fluctuations with these guys - and two spikes of high temps where I lost most of the eggs about halfway through. But I had 6 that were still developing and alive so I was hopeful they would hatch.
Yesterday was day 21, and I haven't heard or seen any signs of life. I locked down on day 18, and throughout my incubation the humidity was always about 45-50% and about 65% at lockdown.
I decided to candle a couple of the eggs today (day 22) and I didn't see any movement. So I got my husband to crack one of the eggs open (I'm a wuss!!). I still have the other 5 eggs in there but I don't see any signs of life in them either

My husband said the membrane was rubbery - but maybe that's because it's been in there too long? Either that or my hydrometer is off because the humidity was good the whole time.
Anyway I think a picture might describe it better...any idea what day it might have died and/or why it died?
I'd guess the temperature fluctuations might have been the culprit - even if it didn't kill them right away?
At least my new incubator is holding steady at 99.5 so hopefully I will have better luck with my second batch...

 

[1shotcleaner]

not all chicks hatch exactly when you think they will this chick wasn't ready yet a few moor days and he would have ben fine. temperature has a big deal in hatching. cold incubator and a slow hatch. hot incubator maby no hatch. warmer incubator early hatch. i always let my eggs brew for 5 days after they are supposed to hatch to see if any moor come out, and usually i get a straggler or two. i have had power outages that set my hatch back 5 days, most would have chucked the eggs but i Waite them out. try it again and let them take there time. there no c sections with chicks they come when they come. I'm currently hatching duck eggs that were layed on the ground in freezing temperatures, I'm getting ducklings still today and they were due the 13. mind you I'm at a 60% hatch rate but that's fine at least I'm getting some.

 

[kahlua]

Well it was already dead when we broke the egg open :/ And the others aren't showing signs of life. I'll leave them in the incubator for a few more days...just in case... but am not hopeful

 

[chkinut]

i'm sorry for your chick loss.

if you pick one up and tap it you should hear a peep if it's alive. if you don't hear one, it doesn't mean it's dead. but usually if i tap, it peeps. i don't know why they died in their shells. were the eggs shipped? the temps and humidity sound great. i have no idea what happened. when will you be hatching again? i'm going to be setting eggs in a few days, maybe by the weekend....we could hatch together maybe?

 

[kahlua]

No life or movement if I tap them The eggs weren't shipped, I got them from someone locally. I didn't want to go to the expense of shipping just to lose them! And I'm really glad I did it this way - I'd be even more upset if I'd paid a lot for the eggs. The temp spike was pretty bad halfway thru but then it was fairly steady and I always turned 3x a day. I guess I'll just chalk it up to my junky incubator...I'll give them til tomorrow then I guess I'll give up on them.

I set my new eggs in my new bator last Wednesday, the temps in my new incubator are holding nice and steady, a few very minor spikes but nothing serious, I am still watching it like a hawk though! Humidity is also perfect, around 45%. So far so good!! These are shipped eggs and most are developing nicely so far. I really hope I have better luck this time around!

 

[nurse_turtle]

The chick in the picture looks too wet to me. Also, his beak should be positioned under the wing to allow for proper zipping. I HIGHLY recommend the dry incubation method where NO water is added until lockdown, My humidity with dry incubation is 20-30% for the first 18 days and for lockdown I add enough water to bump humidity to 55-60%. Several 90-100% hatches have resulted for me. Consider it.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Humidity was ran too high during incubation. You need to keep it lower based on this photo to allow proper air cell growth and to not have the chicks downing as they near time to hatch. You also need to calibrate your hydrometer and thermometer to be sure they are working properly. Lots of threads on here about do this. Just use the search at the top to find them, or google it to test them.

 

[chkinut]

The chick in the picture looks too wet to me. Also, his beak should be positioned under the wing to allow for proper zipping. I HIGHLY recommend the dry incubation method where NO water is added until lockdown, My humidity with dry incubation is 20-30% for the first 18 days and for lockdown I add enough water to bump humidity to 55-60%. Several 90-100% hatches have resulted for me. Consider it.

i'm glad i read what you said cuz i've got some on day 20 today. if they don't do well, i will try your method. although i've done well with 40% days 1-18 and then 60ish % at lockdown. but still, i don't hatch a lot (once or twice a year).

 

[Ole rooster]

Thanks for this post. I needed this one too.

 

[aveca]

i agree , chick grows too big due to air cell not developing properly, they cannot pip and the ones that can are met with a gush of water and drown....if you get shipped eggs . after rest warm up period place them lg end up absolutly still in incubator for 5 - 7 days to alow embryo to get a healthy start and air cell to heal and begin to grow properly.. depending on damage then you can turn on your turner...unless you are one of the fortunate few that get shipped eggs without detached air cells, that is more due to pressure during flight being shipped like pressure in your ears ... then a good shake up by rough handeling at PO...better too little humidity than too much until lockdown... the moisture needs to be able to evaporate grow air cell..syrofoam incubators are notorious for holding a lot of humidity, even in redwood incubators they usually only add a tablespoon of water then let that dry down even fter evaporation for 48 hours...i also run mine between 20 and 30%.

The chick in the picture looks too wet to me. Also, his beak should be positioned under the wing to allow for proper zipping. I HIGHLY recommend the dry incubation method where NO water is added until lockdown, My humidity with dry incubation is 20-30% for the first 18 days and for lockdown I add enough water to bump humidity to 55-60%. Several 90-100% hatches have resulted for me. Consider it.