Hoping for second time lucky!

[ladyrose]

I am new to incubating chicks. On Saturday only ONE out of TEN I put in the inc hatched. SOOOO disappointed. I have a borrowed Brinsea Octagon 10 which I put in 10 eggs from my flock of 1 light sussex cockerel,1 Pekin bantam cockerel and 1 Buff Orpington hen,3 hybrid brown ISA, 1 hybrid speckldy. It's all a bit of mix as I am still new to keeping chickens. After 10 days, I candled them, 2 were infertile and 1 which I thought was no good had a heartbeat when I opened it. I candled them again at 14 days and they seemed fine all with heartbeat. The day before they due to hatch(on Sat), 1 pipped but still couldn't get out by Sunday lunchtime so I helped it with warm wet tissue soften the shell. It finally got out and now is doing well.However all the remaining ones have failed to hatch, I opened them today and most were smelly and had died before taking shape. Only had 1 complete chick inside obviously failed to get out. I noticed the membrane was really thick so I suppose it had difficulty. I would like to have another try with the same incubator. How can I avoid making the same mistakes and get better results? P.S. I washed the eggs with warm water very gently before wiping them dry and setting them, always washed my hand before candling them, filled both water reservoir on day 18 when stopped auto turner. Not sure what I did wrong?

 

[foxy]

Well where to start really...first thing have a good look at the incubator, check temperature is steady, you may need to use another thermometer to check this. Temp should sit on average at 37.5 o C. Count the "setting" day as "zero" and the next day as "day one"

Embryos dying mid-term are due to several factors, firstly bacteria entering the shell, so collecting only fresh eggs, no more than 7 days old ideally. Try not to wash the eggs, ensure the nestboxes have clean bedding instead. The incubator should be sterilised in between hatches, use a proprietary egg sanitiser if not sure to be on the safe side. I note that the incubator was borrowed? Did you sterilise before setting the eggs?

Your stock, there could lie a potential problem with vigour in your flock, if the strains are not good and strong, then the viability of your hatching eggs may not be strong. I notice you have a bit of a mixture of birds, which is fine if you are keeping them all including the cockerels, just bear in mind (I am sure you are! ) that selling or giving away surplus cockerels is very difficult. Finally, a good varied but balanced diet is helpful when thinking about breeding, maybe switching to a breeder pellet which contains extra protein.

It might even be a good idea to consider purchasing hatching eggs of a breed you like, easier to sell a few surplus birds that way if needed.

 

[ladyrose]

I never thought of getting a different thermometer... is it just a simple one from the chemist? I think I set the days right, I even wrote out a calendar plan counting the days inc. which day to top up water etc... I think I will try to get the eggs as clean as possible, otherwise is it worth buying a bottle of egg wash?I did sterilise the incubator by wiping it with diluted Milton which is widely used with baby bottles.

I think the flock is not as healthy and young as desired and that could also be a bit of problem...

I am also thinking of maybe running it "dry" for the first 18 days, seems everyone thinks it's a good idea and had success with it. Is it worth getting a hydrometer for the incubator so I can have better idea about the humidity? Does it work with still aired incubators?

Thank you for everyone's ideas and expertise!

 

[Chuck]

Chicks dead in shell early on can indicate humidity too high. I don't up the humidity until the first one chips. As Foxy says, health, age, feeding are important in the parent stock and you need to take into account that you will hatch 50% males which will be mongrels, especially from the Pekin male. Eggs are better put in slightly dirty rather than washed and if they are very dirty, they should not be used. Shell quality is also important, no good setting eggs with porous shells or badly shaped or with minute cracks so check thoroughly. Also don't use too high a concentration of Milton & make sure any fumes have gone before use. You need a lotion thermometer, not a clinical one as they have to be shaken.

 

[Marigold]

Brinsea make a special incubator disinfectant which you dilute and can use safely for eggs, (if you do wash them) the incubator itself, and also chick feeder and drinkers in the important early days. You can also get special thermometers from them suitable for incubators which are highly accurate and can just be left in place to check the temp. when you look in from the outside. Did you line the base of the inci with soft stuff like rubber nonslip matting or j-cloth, to prevent the chicks slipping around and getting splayed legs when they hatch?

 

[Marigold]

P. S. I agree with others about not using your own eggs - there are so many variables to incubation and so much time, energy and money goes into it, you really want to end up with good strong pedigree stock from a trusted source, which will revitalise your present flock as they get older. Plenty of help available on here, with recommendations to good breeders of reliable eggs- no need to take a chance on eBay duds!

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Ladyrose. Sounds like baceria into the egg has a good chance of infecting some. We always use an egg sanitiser and only hatch clean eggs. Marigold has covered all the issues. The condition of the parents and their diet are I believe underrated factors. A thermometer half a degree out is too much. Humidity in the early stages must not be too high, as the air sac needs to form by evaporation of the water in the egg. If you crack a fresh egg onto a flat surface there are three components visible -yolk, white and water.