It’s normal to get some variation in hatches, however routine egg breakouts can give you a heads up if there’s an issue, so you can make changes before it becomes more serious.
Vets will create a baseline for your hatchery by doing an egg breakout early on. If there’s no baseline from the start, the source of the issue is more difficult to identify.
| Egg breakout 1 (baseline) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 100 eggs did not hatch | 10% due to bacterial contamination | |
| Egg breakout 2 | ||
| Unhatched eggs | 15% due to bacterial contamination | Re-assess egg hygiene |
What vets do
Vets open a number of unhatched eggs and investigate the contents. From this they can determine:
- If the egg was fertile to begin with
- If fertile, when embryonic development stopped
- Whether there was bacterial contamination, damage to the shell or some other abnormality
Reasons eggs don’t hatch
Causes can include:
- Parent stock
- Egg storage
- Transport
- Incorrect temperature profiles
Most of the time the reasons are fairly evenly split across these categories; however, infertility is the most common cause.
Below are some of the more common issues we see:
Egg storage
Egg storage prolongs incubation time, with each 1 day they are stored add an extra 1 hour to the incubation time. After 7 or 8 days, hatchability can become compromised and after 14 days the chick quality will be negatively affected.
Not storing eggs correctly can lead to:
- Hatchability
- Chick size
- Bacterial load
- Embryo death
- Chick mortality
- Uneven/abnormal chicks
Eggs should be:
- Cooled gradually – around 6 hours
- Stored at 18-19°C/ 64.4-66.2°F at 75% humidity
- Pre-warmed gradually to 5°C/41°F below the temperature setting of the incubator, before incubation
- If eggs are held longer than 7 days, lower temperatures are recommended (14-16°C or 58-60°F)
Problems there might be with egg storage and what you can do:
| Potential problem | Investigation | Solution |
| Cooling down too fast | Track temperature using data logging thermometer | Gradually cool over 6 hours |
| Incorrect climate (not uniform) |
Use temperature gun or thermal camera | Alter climate until uniform |
| Incorrect storage conditions (temperature fluctuations) |
Multiple min & max thermometers in storeroom – read twice daily | Investigate and address causes |
| Sweating eggs (condensation) |
Observe. This occurs when cold eggs are suddenly exposed to higher temperatures | Minimise the difference in temperature. Pre-warm stored eggs 6 hours prior to moving |
| Stored for too long | Record egg storage dates | Avoid storage over 8 days, if kept, turn daily |
| Insufficient hygiene | Take regular TVC swabs | Use DEFRA disinfectant between batches and maintain biosecurity |
| Egg damage | Record egg damage | Staff training, equipment management, check for hairline cracks before storage |
For more information on our egg breakout service or advice generally on hatchery management call us on 01392 872932
