# I need a professional hatcher



## TerryQui (Sep 10, 2012)

I do not know what is going wrong with my hatches. 
I need to talk to someone who really knows this game.
I hatched bearded dragons for like ten years and even some green cheek conure eggs, but never had any issues.
I am so scared to ever buy another egg again.
After all I have gone through with silkie losses, I purchased 25 eggs from a really good seller of show quality silkies and it seems I killed them all. My heart is still aching from this. 
They are still in my bator but it is day 25.
I have two still air incubators and one has a turner in it.
I dry incubated these and humidity was at 47 percent through the whole thing.
At lockdown, I had 11 that made it. I put them in my second bator for lockdown as it is just easier then taking out the turner in the other one.
I did notice that after two days, the temp was at 98. So I boosted it back up, but nothing else had changed. I can't find anywhere that small temp fluctuations could kill the eggs, but maybe it did.
Last night I checked one. I opened at the large end and the second membrane was still stuck on the egg and the first membrane down on the baby and I assume that is the way it is supposed to be. It wasn't dried out looking. I pulled that membrane back and baby was nice and wet in there but very much dead.
Fully and completely developed but the yoke was coming out of the tummy and there was a hole there. 
The rest are in the bator. A friend suggested to raise the humidity and put the last plug in. so I did. It is at 60 percent humidity now. I feel they are all dead, but I have spent so much on them, that I keep hoping a miracle will happen.
I have incubated serama's dry hatch and hatched some, but there seems to be a few in each batch that doesn't make it, so something has got to be wrong in what I am doing. 
PLEASE let me know if anyone here is a pro at this who can help me out?

The only other thing that was different this time is I had one plug in. Should both plugs have stayed out?
Also it was near a window, but they developed perfectly and died in lockdown and both bators were in the same spot. The temp inside was even and I know mom's who brood babies out in the cold so those eggs are near cold too.
Maybe my normal humidity in the room is too high? Someone said that 35 percent is good.
I have hatched some serama's so it can't be all wrong, but I don't know what the big deal was here. 
I have wanted nice silkies with beards for two years and last night I was just heart sunk because I didn't dream that I would loose all these babies.
Thanks for your help. Terry
http://www.feathersnsong.com
http://www.parentingfasdkids.com


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## grgfishkeeper (Oct 15, 2012)

I dont do the whole humidity thing. I was told by a few great local hatchers that its pointless and can drowned the chick. But 3 days before the hatch i dump in water in the bottom tray. And let it go. Have never had a problem.... i have had 100% hatch rating out of a dozen at different times in the same bator. And only one did i have to help out but it was dried membrane that cossed that.still healthy today...

Im not sure but i would say you probly drowned the chicks from what i have heard... and also the temp drop was probly because the eggs put off heat from the chicks and when they die they no longer put off heat


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## TerryQui (Sep 10, 2012)

I didn't add any humidity in the beginning either. It was the natural humidity of the air. Do you think my humidity in my house is just too high? The chicks were not drowned before they went into lockdown. They were fully grown chicks and I didn't add any water to lock down either. I just let them go at that. I was told that it is best by some and then others say add water. But if I drowned them, it was at 47 percent humidity. If that is too high, then my house is just not good for incubating. Thanks.


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## Kokoschicks (Sep 13, 2012)

I have 5 more days until the scheduled hatch date and I hope all 7 of the eggs hatch! If none hatch then I will also be heart broken


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## grgfishkeeper (Oct 15, 2012)

Im not sure because i never have checked my humidity at all just add water during lock down. I have had a few try to come out the bottom of egg in were i have to turn the egg very carefully with out opening my bator


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## Kokoschicks (Sep 13, 2012)

Ohh nice! And do you have a pretty good hatch rate?


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## qcupoultry (Nov 21, 2012)

Silkies are not the easiest chicks to hatch, especially if they are shipped eggs. I would try an easier to hatch breed to work out the best hatching practices in your climate. For me, what works best is a humidity of no more than 35% for the first 18 days and then 55% at lockdown. If you take a pencil and mark the size/shape of the air cell throughout the whole incubation process, you can calculate the best scenario for your area. The baby needs enough room to get in position to pip but not so much room that it doesn't have the shell to push against to do its work.


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## grgfishkeeper (Oct 15, 2012)

Yea almost 100% with the exception of none fertile eggs. And granit im hatching from birds off my own farm.. never have shipped


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## BuckeyeChickens (Jul 11, 2012)

Terry,

I have been hatching chicks for many years and have experience with many different breeds....I sell thousands of day old chicks each spring and ship a lot of hatching eggs as well. That is my resume and here are some questions and comments for you;

1.) were these eggs shipped to you??? If so how were they handles and cared for before they went into the bator (storage temp, settling time, etc.)

2.) accurate temperature is more critical than humidity....forced air bators tend to maintain temp better than still air bators and it sounds like your temp was possiblly too low! Having a very accurate thermometer is critical....what kind are you using and what is it's accuracy???

3.) what and how do you disinfect the bators you currently own??? household bleach is NOT enough to kill bacteria that can develop!

4.) adding water or increasing humidity....was your water distilled??? bacteria can be found in city or well water and distilled water is your safest bet!!!

5.) oxygen and airflow are critical....NEVER close vents to increase humidity during the hatch period, increase water surface are or add sponges.

6.) monitor and maintain the room air temp and humidity not just the bator temp & humidity. put the bator in a room where the room can stay 72-75F and add a room humidifier if you don't have 45-50% humidity during the first 18 days! a room humidifier will help you boost the humidity during the hatch period (3 days) as well....especially in the dryer winter months.

Finally, read this handbook and you might want to consider investing in a better quality bator with better (more accurate) temperature control. I have used Brinsea bators exclusively after "playing" with sytrofoam junk at first and even though they are more expensive they are worth every penny!

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Brinsea_IncubationHandbook/Brinsea_IncubationHandbook.pdf

Good luck with your next hatch....hope this info helps you!


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## TerryQui (Sep 10, 2012)

Terry,

I have been hatching chicks for many years and have experience with many different breeds....I sell thousands of day old chicks each spring and ship a lot of hatching eggs as well. That is my resume and here are some questions and comments for you;

1.) were these eggs shipped to you??? If so how were they handles and cared for before they went into the bator (storage temp, settling time, etc.)

These eggs were shipped. Yes. I let them settle two days and put them in the bator without turning for two days.

2.) accurate temperature is more critical than humidity....forced air bators tend to maintain temp better than still air bators and it sounds like your temp was possiblly too low! Having a very accurate thermometer is critical....what kind are you using and what is it's accuracy???

I was using a still air and the temp in the lockdown was lower then it should have been. About 98 and I think maybe it was because it was near a window. I had it correct before I put the eggs in, but noticed two days later where it was at. I freaked out and raised it up to where it was supposed to be.

3.) what and how do you disinfect the bators you currently own??? household bleach is NOT enough to kill bacteria that can develop!

I was using white vinegar. What is good?

4.) adding water or increasing humidity....was your water distilled??? bacteria can be found in city or well water and distilled water is your safest bet!!!

OOPS not distilled. Wow I have distilled here and will use it next time for sure.

5.) oxygen and airflow are critical....NEVER close vents to increase humidity during the hatch period, increase water surface are or add sponges.

OOPS I did close the vents. I was told to. Thank you.

6.) monitor and maintain the room air temp and humidity not just the bator temp & humidity. put the bator in a room where the room can stay 72-75F and add a room humidifier if you don't have 45-50% humidity during the first 18 days! a room humidifier will help you boost the humidity during the hatch period (3 days) as well....especially in the dryer winter months.

My room humidity was 48 percent the entire 1-18 days.

Finally, read this handbook and you might want to consider investing in a better quality bator with better (more accurate) temperature control. I have used Brinsea bators exclusively after "playing" with sytrofoam junk at first and even though they are more expensive they are worth every penny!

http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Brinsea_IncubationHandbook/Brinsea_IncubationHandbook.pdf

Good luck with your next hatch....hope this info helps you!









GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!! I GOT A BRINSEA YESTERDAY!!! I MEAN IT ARRIVED THEN AND I AM SETTING IT UP TODAY!! I AM LOOKING FOR A BETTER HYDROMETER RIGHT NOW.

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH.

I am getting some local silkie eggs on Saturday and they are going in my new Brinsea! I cannot wait to do it right this time.
__________________


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## BuckeyeChickens (Jul 11, 2012)

Terry,

Congrats on the Brinsea....you will love it!

I highly recommend the Brinsea disinfectant or Tek-trol for disinfection the bators....household bleach, vinegar or other chemicals just dont get the job done!

http://www.jefferspet.com/tek-trol-disinfectant/camid/liv/cp/16265/ carries the Tek-Trol brand.....the distilled water is an added insurance policy and I even wear latex gloves when I handle my hatching eggs to prevent bacteria from being an issue. Sounds a bit extreme I know and yes, I've heard people claim a real hen isn't all that clean but after many years of hatching I'm certain we humans can expose our hatching eggs to germs and bacteria not always found in the hen house!

The Spot Check thermometer's sold by Brinsea are excellent for checking temp.....never rely on the digitial read out on the Brinsea bator (if your model has a digital readout) alone because it is not that accurate! My older Octagon 20's and 40's have the digital read out but I use this as a guide to set my temp.....then with a Spot Check thermometer probe just above the top of the eggs I tweak the temp to about 100.5F to 101F for my hatches. NOPE, I don't set it to 99.5F, I prefer a little higher temp and over the years my hatches have been BETTER, too!

Good luck and happy hatching!!!


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