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21 Days and 7 hours -- only 3 birds hatched -- should I be worried?
Guest:
Ron,
How are things going? Let us know...
Guest:
Laura,
By the end of Day 21/beginning of Day 22, I had 14 hatches.
Today -- is going to be the end of Day 22/beginning of Day 23. I have what appears to be 9 or 10 more that hatched late. I\'ll remove them at 10 PM.
I have what looks like a pipped/dead; two or three eggs which are pipped and still getting ready to hatch and three or four with nothing -- most likely these are some eggs I couldn\'t really verify if they were dead germs or not. I\'m going to candle these tonight -- they\'re most likely gone. I hope whatever hatches does so by tonight, because that incubator is really getting gross inside now.
Most of the late hatches are Ameraucana, but a few are RIR. I forgot the simple principle that heat rises -- I probably should have put the thermometer at the top of the eggs when they were flat on the base as opposed to in the turner. I\'ll test this theory when everything is done.
I\'ll post the final results when done.
--Ron
Guest:
Here are nearly the final numbers:
Day: 24 RIR and 22 Ameraucana eggs.
Day 18: Removed 4 RIR & 3 Ameraucana Dead Germs; 8 Ameraucana infertiles, leaving 20 RIR and 11 Ameraucana
Day 21: 11 RIR hatched. :D
Day 22: 11 birds hatched. Since I saw what I thought where three more pips and one trying to hatch, I left them till this morning. :D
Day 23: 5 RIR dead germs found, including one that appeared to pip (on candling, though it\'s not a pip/die -- it\'s a dead germ that probably exploded); Ameraucana: 1 pipped/die; 1 more dead germ.
There are two birds I\'m concerned about now -- one is still live, but could not break the shell. I did something controversial -- removed the shell gently and sprayed the membrane with water and put back in the incubator. This bird is just rocking in the incubator and peeping, but that\'s it. The second bird of concern has a right leg with the toes all curled. Can\'t walk. I have a bad feeling I may have to put one or these two birds down. :(
RIR: 15/24 = 62.5% (Fail -- the incubator manufacturer says 70% is a successful hatch).
Ameraucana: 9/22 = 40.91% or if I have to put the two birds down (the very late hatch and the bad leg)) it\'s 7/22 or 32%.
Total: 24 birds (22 if I have to put the two down).
Finally....I put the thermometer down at the height equivalent to the top of the eggs as they lay on the wire mesh as opposed to being in the turner. Yep....the temperature is one or two degrees lower down there. That explains the late hatch, the pip/alive and the bad leg, as well as possibly the pip/dead.
Had I adjusted the thermometer\'s height and then raised the temperature accordingly, the outcome might have been a lot different. :(
bantamhill:
What type of incubator do you have? If you are using a styrofoam one I would suggest getting the fan and installing it . . . the fan will even the temperature out in the incubator. Probably costs around $25.00-30.00. I have three little giant styrofoam incubators that I use this time of year when the \"sportsman\" is full and I need something for the \"over flow\". I haven\'t had problems since I installed the fans and stopped using water in the tray until the last three days of incubation.
Michael
Guest:
It\'s forced air with the fan....but heat rises. I have the same problem in my house with the forced air heating system on a single zone. Third floor is like an oven, second is just right and the first is like a refrigerator. Same principle.
The machine was set perfectly for Days 1 - 18 with a turner in place. I should have lowered the thermometer\'s height and then raised the temperature at the deck to 99.5. The temp at the deck was about 96/97. Now I know.
The bird I had to assist out of the shell died on its onw. The cripple has to be put down.
Final result:
RIR: 15/24
Ameraucana: 7/22
--Ron
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