Chicks can't break through the egg shell!!!

[Boondockfarming]

Okay I'm getting just a tad bit frustrated that every time it's hatch day or days later from hatch day I have no chicks breaking through the egg. When it's past there due date I'm talking 4 days past I break apart the egg and I see their beak pointed towards the shell. So I know there attempting to get out there just not making it through the shell. And yes I know a lot of people are going to tell me about my humidity and temp but I have that all correct. Is it possible I'm giving to much calcium to my girls making the egg impossible to break. Or am I just having bad luck!? Today I decided to break apart a egg... today marks day 23 the chick was alive and started to chirp when I got the shell pulled off but then eventually died. All of the rest where already dead when I broke the shell. I'm in need of some help I have a big hatch day coming up. I have 30 eggs in the incubator right now... any advice I would appreciate it.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! To help you people will want to know the following:

• Forced air or still air incubator?
• What temp?
• What humidity?
• What types of thermometers?
• What type of hygrometers?
• Have you calibrated all of your thermometers and hygrometers?

Let me tag some people that might be able to help. @WVduckchick , @Pyxis, @Ravynscroft , @ronott1 , @ChickenCanoe . There are many others, but I haven't had my coffee yet, so I am drawing a blank.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't blame calcium. A vigorous chick should have no trouble breaking through an egg shell. There may be other contributing factors but it's 99.9% chance your temperatures are low regardless of what you have it set at and what your thermometers say.
If eggs are fresh, stored at the proper temperature, turned during storage, adequate frequency of turning during incubation, breeder nutrition is high, breeders are in their prime, then you can virtually calibrate a thermometer by how many days it takes a chick to hatch. Chickens hatch in 21 days, period. Earlier and temps are likely high. Later, temps are likely low.

In addition to @casportpony 's questions.
How long were the eggs stored? For every day of storage, hatching is delayed approximately one hour.
Do you turn during storage? At what temperature and humidity are they stored?
Do you have a turner or turn by hand? How frequently?
What kind of diet do your breeders have? How old are the hens/roosters?

 

[casportpony]

Chickens hatch in 21 days, period. Earlier and temps are likely high. Later, temps are likely low.

Very good point!

 

[casportpony]

Don't blame calcium. A vigorous chick should have no trouble breaking through an egg shell. There may be other contributing factors but it's 99.9% chance your temperatures are low regardless of what you have it set at and what your thermometers say.
If eggs are fresh, stored at the proper temperature, turned during storage, adequate frequency of turning during incubation, breeder nutrition is high, breeders are in their prime, then you can virtually calibrate a thermometer by how many days it takes a chick to hatch. Chickens hatch in 21 days, period. Earlier and temps are likely high. Later, temps are likely low.

In addition to @casportpony 's questions.
How long were the eggs stored? For every day of storage, hatching is delayed approximately one hour.
Do you turn during storage? At what temperature and humidity are they stored?
Do you have a turner or turn by hand? How frequently?
What kind of diet do your breeders have? How old are the hens/roosters?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I get the OP's frustration. I've been there. I've gone to the extremes of having 6 different thermometers - turns out they were all wrong. I went through several temperature controllers, some failing halfway through incubation. I threw out all the thermometers.
The only incubator company thermometer I found worthwhile was a Brinsea Spot Check.
Then I bit the bullet and bought a guaranteed accurate pocket digital from Thermoworks.
Those two thermometers agree with each other exactly. Chicks started hatching on time all of a sudden.
I also threw out all the hygrometers that wouldn't maintain calibration and switched to a gram scale to weigh eggs so I know the weight loss is proper.
Frequent turning the first two weeks is critical.
Ideally the egg should undergo two temperature changes. One when the egg is laid and another when it is incubated.
Raise egg temperature slowly to prevent condensation.

 

[junebuggena]

Sounds like it's most likely a combination of temp being too low and humidity too high. You have to ensure that your thermometers and hygrometers are calibrated. And you have to keep in mind that there is no magic number for humidity. Each incubating environment is a bit different, and you have to figure out what works best for your conditions. That takes a lot of trial and error. I suggest setting your incubator temp a tad bit higher and aim for keeping the incubation humidity at about 40 for the first week. Candle and mark the air cells. Candle again at day 10 and mark the air cells. They should have grown a bit. If they haven't, lower the humidity to about 35. If they've grown a lot, raise the humidity to 45. Keep candling and marking air cells every 5 days, and make the needed adjustments.

 

[Boondockfarming]

Don't blame calcium. A vigorous chick should have no trouble breaking through an egg shell. There may be other contributing factors but it's 99.9% chance your temperatures are low regardless of what you have it set at and what your thermometers say.
If eggs are fresh, stored at the proper temperature, turned during storage, adequate frequency of turning during incubation, breeder nutrition is high, breeders are in their prime, then you can virtually calibrate a thermometer by how many days it takes a chick to hatch. Chickens hatch in 21 days, period. Earlier and temps are likely high. Later, temps are likely low.

In addition to @casportpony 's questions.
How long were the eggs stored? For every day of storage, hatching is delayed approximately one hour.
Do you turn during storage? At what temperature and humidity are they stored?
Do you have a turner or turn by hand? How frequently?
What kind of diet do your breeders have? How old are the hens/roosters?

My hens are a year old and my rooster is a year and half. I do have a automatic egg turner that turns 4 times a day . There diet consist of cracked corn, scratch, layer crumble, and sometimes leftovers from our supper. There temperature stays around 98.9 and I keep humidity around 50 until there last 4 days and I jump it up to 60-70. I rarely store them.. as soon as I take them from my hens they go into the incubator. I collect eggs everyday twice a day.

 

[junebuggena]

My hens are a year old and my rooster is a year and half. I do have a automatic egg turner that turns 4 times a day . There diet consist of cracked corn, scratch, layer crumble, and sometimes leftovers from our supper. There temperature stays around 98.9 and I keep humidity around 50 until there last 4 days and I jump it up to 60-70. I rarely store them.. as soon as I take them from my hens they go into the incubator. I collect eggs everyday twice a day.

I see a few issues. First is nutrition. Too many extras will upset the nutritional balance, leaving the yolks of the eggs void of key nutrients needed for healthy development. Stop giving the cracked corn and scratch completely. Those should be used sparingly, as a treat or cold weather calorie boost. Layer feed is for actively laying birds only, and is a bit low in nutrients for a breeding flock. Switch to an all flock or flock raiser feed, with a calcium supplement offered separately.
The next issue is temperature. A forced air incubator should be kept at around 99.5. Even half a degree lower can cause delayed hatching.
Thirdly, your incubating humidity may be too high for your specific conditions. Start with a lower humidity level and adjust from there. Monitor the air cell development and adjust your humidity, higher or lower, based on the growth.
Last of all is your collection and setting method. If you are continually adding eggs to the incubator, you will have a harder time getting anything to hatch. Hatching humidity will kill eggs that still have weeks left to develop. Collect your eggs daily, but wait till you have enough to fill your incubator. Then set the eggs all at the same time.

 

[oregonkat]

I also threw out all the hygrometers that wouldn't maintain calibration and switched to a gram scale to weigh eggs so I know the weight loss is proper.

I have a question for you. I have started weighing my eggs in grams. For the last two incubation cycles, humidity 30-40% temp. 99.5 forced air, I noticed that by day 18 my eggs had lost between 17-20% of their weight. I know the 'ideal' is 14-15%. Air cells are generally where they need to be, except in the case of saddles. My hatches have been reasonable, not great, 70%, (shipped eggs being a factor). Have you noticed a greater drop in weight with lower humidity and do you think it matters?