# Failed Hatch



## happychick (May 13, 2020)

I got an auto incubator and put eggs in. Only 1 hatched out from 24 eggs. well, the second one did on day 23 died today. wondering what I did wrong. Roo is 2 yrs old. maybe a few eggs were over a week old. humidity was 50-60 the first 18 days and then filled the trays and it went up to close 70. 
going to try again with a few eggs but wondering where I went wrong.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Your humidity was too high. It should be around 35 to 50. I kept mine at 40. 

Did you candle at all during the incubation period? It can give you a picture of what eggs were fertile and which ones were duds. As you get used to incubating you can read the eggs and know which died during development.

Day 23 also suggests your temp was too low. What were you using to measure temp and humidity? Built in digitals are notorious for not being very accurate.


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## happychick (May 13, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Your humidity was too high. It should be around 35 to 50. I kept mine at 40.
> 
> Did you candle at all during the incubation period? It can give you a picture of what eggs were fertile and which ones were duds. As you get used to incubating you can read the eggs and know which died during development.
> 
> Day 23 also suggests your temp was too low. What were you using to measure temp and humidity? Built in digitals are noto;


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## happychick (May 13, 2020)

I tried to candle but the eggs were brown and hard to see thru. So what do you raise humidity to on day 18?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It got raised to about 60 the last three days.

What are you using to candle? The little maglights are one of the best I found for candling dark eggs. I could even candle the eggs of Guineas with it. But I had to be in a totally dark room to do it.

I also used this https://flukerfarms.com/digital-thermometer-hygrometer/ after having explored a boatload of instruments. The GQF digital was pretty accurate but only did temps.


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## happychick (May 13, 2020)

today I opened the 22 eggs that did not hatch. only 5 had partially developed chicks. the rest were no good. guess the rooster at 2 yrs is not good either.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Your rooster is probably fine. You know he's capable of fertilizing eggs. 

There could be a wide range of reasons that most weren't fertile. Girls coming out of molt, girls that will never have fertile eggs, heavily feathered behinds.

I had two girls that stopped laying eggs that were fertile after a few years.


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## happychick (May 13, 2020)

I have buff orpingtons. yes, heavy feathered behinds.........or at least in my observation. I am going to try again with a few eggs. Question: we have had lots of rain so there is high humidity. I had a small humidity guage I got with my humidifier and it checks the same as the incubator. also put in a temp guage and it is the same as the incubator so I think the digitals are ok. Now when humidity is high and high in incubator with no water added..............do you just not add any water till the humidity goes down? in other words............a dry hatching?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Dry hatch for sure. I experimented with that once. Set my incubator up in my coop building but didn't add water because the humidity was staying extremely high. The hatch was successful. 

But if you're in a climate controlled building your humidity shouldn't be that high in the house.


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