Due to increased use of incubators, i think its necessary for farmers to know this as most of them get frustrated with poor results. Diagnosing Problems with incubators. If you are having low hatch rates then the following are some of the things you may want to check. Is the incubator running at the correct temperature and holding that temperature without varying too much above or below the set point? If any of the eggs have started to develop into chickens, then the incubator is probably running at the correct temperature. You may lose developing eggs if the temperature falters at some point during incubation due to a fault or power failure. If the incubator is working and has not been off for too long during the incubation period then check inside the eggs that did not hatch and determine which of the following may be the problem. a. If the eggs did not start to develop at all then the eggs were probably infertile. If you have a rooster with your hens then he may not be doing his job. b. If none of your eggs started developing then fertility is most likely the problem. c. If the eggs develop for about a week or so and then a large number of embryos die in the shell then the most likely cause is a germ in the incubator. The germ takes advantage of the pores in the egg to get into the developing egg and kill the embryo. In order to fix this problem you will need to sterilize the incubator. One method of sterilization is to put hospital strength disinfectant into a fine spray mist bottle and mist over the inside of the incubator and then let it dry. Do not soak the incubator, as you will damage electronic components in the process. Do not use a disinfectant with bleach or chlorine in as these can also damage the incubator and/or the next batch of eggs. d. If the chicks have almost fully developed but died before hatching the most likely problem is too high or too low humidity. If the humidity is too low the chicks may become smothered in the shell as the membrane surrounding them thickens and hardens like leather. If the humidity is too high the chicks can actually drown in the shell. If the membrane in the shell is hard and tough surrounding the chick then the humidity is probably too low. If the chick is covered in slime, sometimes green, then it is an indication that the humidity was too high. These mostly affect the egg in the last 2-3 days before hatching. Farmers you also need to be sure of your incubators quality.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:16:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015