Problems that can occur when hatching eggs

There are lots of things that can go wrong when hatching eggs and the first thing to consider is that not all of your eggs will be fertile from the beginning. Always purchase from a reputable breeder to ensure you receive your eggs in good condition and that they are the freshest they can be. Never be tempted to keep eggs after 10 days as the chance of them hatching is low and remember that there is no way of knowing if an egg is fertile or not and for this reason, you will not have a 100% success rate.

Make sure your incubator is in good working order and has been running for 24 hours and remember that your temperatures and humidity have to be exact and the humidity will need to be increased during the last three days to ensure successful hatching.  When you receive your eggs always let them sit for 24 hours before putting them in the incubator to ensure the best chances of hatching. Eggs that have been delivered through the post will have been moved around quite a lot and they need to settle before you can put them in the incubator.

As well as making sure your incubator is correct and is checked regularly, you must always consider power failures that can happen at any given time.  There really is nothing worse than having an incubator full of eggs and a power failure occurring.  Having a backup generator is hugely beneficial but if you haven’t got access to one you must still act immediately to try and save your eggs. Placing blankets over the incubator can help keep the heat in the incubator for longer but the longer the power is off, the greater chance of you losing your eggs. Once power has resumed you can candle your eggs a couple of days later to check that they have survived.

Chicks under a heat lamp will also suffer when there is a power failure and the younger the chicks, the more at risk they will be.

Having a bigger hen in the coop with the chicks can sometimes help as the chicks will naturally generate towards her and shelter under their feathers but chicks lose heat extremely quickly and will become drowsy and still when they become too cold. If power is resumed you can place very young chicks back in the incubator to warm them up before placing them back under the heat lamp