Yay, a ZIP!

[WalnutHill]

Turkey Hatch 2015 at Walnut Hill is officially commencing with a proper ZIP after an earlier pip and bleed leaves one poult bloodied, weak, and not ready to hatch. Hopefully #2 gets it right and joins us tonight! Pictures at 11 (or whenever she's out).

 

[lazy gardener]

Hope for update in the morning news.

 

[WalnutHill]

I am frustrated.

Perfectly formed, properly moist Narragansett turkey poult. Very active peeping, an assertive pip, followed by a 60% zip. Lots of peeping. Then silence...ominous silence. I risk opening the incubator for a moment and find the poult fully prepared for hatch, but with the outer membrane thick and leathery, and not separating from the shell. The poult's face was trapped behind the rubbery liner. Veins were fully receded.

#2 perished before hatch after about 12 hours since pip. #1, a Bourbon Red, looks like it won't make it due to blood loss.

I just hatched chicks a couple of weeks ago and everything went just right, membranes stayed soft and flexible. Humidity is up at the same level as that hatch, 71%, after incubating at 38-44% to keep air cells on track.

#1 was a shipped egg, #2 was a local egg.

It feels to me like low humidity. But the air cells were already on the small side. Last year I had wet poults when the air cells were this small. Opening the incubator door a crack to drape a damp paper towel across #1 didn't even affect the reading on the hygrometer.

There is no direct airflow on the hatching tray, and a cloth on the bottom to further diffuse airflow and catch debris. I have raised humidity to 75% based on what I see, but I see no more pips. Tomorrow is day 28 so I am not sure why these were so far ahead of the others, they were all set at the same time and incubated under exactly the same conditions.

 

[Drewnkat]

Quote:

Are you 100% certain there are no temperature variations in your incubator? Or did you rotate the eggs' positions to account for that possibility?

I am sorry for your losses. I hope you figure out what happened, and that the rest of them will turn out healthy.

 

[WalnutHill]

Thanks, Kat. This is a cabinet incubator, very consistent temps. My entire farming season depends on the success of this hatch, the 150+ eggs I hatch this year is our fall market stock and the bulk of the farm income. These are the first turkeys through. I ran a set of chicks first just to test the incubator.and they came out fine.

No pips overnight, that has me worried.

 

[feedman77]

Any updates on your hatch.

 

[WalnutHill]

Any updates on your hatch.

Right on par with yours, probably worse. I think the prolonged winter and lack of spring humidity that's causing some of the issues.

The first two died, I have three survivors. The membranes were just horribly rubbery. Out of 43 eggs set, 29 made it to lockdown though there were 5 I was already reasonably sure they were gone that went in anyhow and no matter how you count it, those are some awfully expensive poults as they were purchased and shipped eggs.

I haven't broken out the failures, but several happened between day 21 and 28.

I just moved the next 16 into lockdown and am working on getting the humidity back up. I just brought a vaporizer in here to raise room humidity.

 

[feedman77]

Hope rest do well for you.

My next batch after broodies are done and lay again. Gonna try eggs without turner and laid flat with a higher humidity.

Don't know if it will work but can't ve much worse in my end.

Sending you good vibes.

 

[WalnutHill]

Sending them back at ya. If I had broodies I'd be trying them, they couldn't have worse success than me.