Eggs progress to hatch stage but don't hatch

[mmcburney3]

Hello everyone,

So I have done quite a few hatches now and I feel like everytime I do a hatch I get at least one or two eggs that progress all the way to the hatch stage but then don't pip or anything so I open the egg and I find a fully formed chick (not moving and clearly dead). Now I have a bigger incubator so if I put a batch of 70 in I get around 15 that are doing this maybe one or two that have absolutely nothing in it but the majority are growing all the way until fully grown. What could cause this? Is there anyway to prevent less of this happening?
The last hatch I did I think I put about 80 eggs in and had around 20 that were like that (one or two that weren't developed at all just yokes). I had to open the incubator on the exact day they were due to hatch because almost every egg I had in there hatched on day 19-20 and I didn't want to leave the chicks in there too long. Could this cause this? Would love some inputs or suggestions if there's anything I could try doing different.

Thanks!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi!

Are you raising the humidity at lockdown to around 65 or 70%?

Chicks can stay in the incubator up to 72 hours without food/water as they are still absorbing their yolk internally. It could help to not open the incubator while others are hatching/pipped.

The other possibility is incubator settings could be off. Not many are correct. Many of us verify with a thermometer/hygrometer.

 

[mmcburney3]

Hi!

Are you raising the humidity at lockdown to around 65 or 70%?

Chicks can stay in the incubator up to 72 hours without food/water as they are still absorbing their yolk internally. It could help to not open the incubator while others are hatching/pipped.

The other possibility is incubator settings could be off. Not many are correct. Many of us verify with a thermometer/hygrometer.

I have it to about 65 humidity, they don't seem to be shrink wrapping in the eggs so I'm not sure if humidity could be the problem or not. Okay I always read 24-48 hours so I get nervous on the second day leaving them in there I'll try keeping it closed longer. I don't have another thermometer at this time it's a big industrial size incubator

 

[Mountain Roost]

6 pack Inkbird ITH10 Thermometer/Hygrometer

Having a handful of thermometers is good for taking the average reading.

 

[mmcburney3]

6 pack Inkbird ITH10 Thermometer/Hygrometer

Having a handful of thermometers is good for taking the average reading.

Yah I will have to get a few

 

[Debbie292d]

6 pack Inkbird ITH10 Thermometer/Hygrometer

Having a handful of thermometers is good for taking the average reading.

We own about 6 Govee brand Thermometer/Hygrometers so I can monitor on my phone, but for the brooder, we use Inkbird thermostats, so I know the brand is good.

So I bought these too! Can't ever have enough, and when in doubt with one, toss in another. Calibrate them all when you get the chance.

 

[Mountain Roost]

The little black ones on ebay are such a deal and the batteries are cheap in 10 packs.

 

[Susan Skylark]

5% dead in shell is probably normal, 25% is a problem. Stress pre or early incubation is a big cause of late embryonic death. Shipped eggs, eggs exposed to several hours of heat or cold (this was a problem with my winter hatches as eggs were outside overnight), eggs older than 10 days at start of incubation, also eggs from flocks with nutritional or genetic issues is a possibility.

 

[Yardmom]

You mentioned chicks hatching on day 19 and 20. Unless they are very small eggs, this indicates your temperature is a bit high.