Hatching Pheasant eggs

[BelgianHunter]

Hi all

 

This is my second time I try to hatch pheasant eggs, but it is also the second time they hatch a day and a half late.

 

I've put them in the incubator 2/06 at 9 am, at a temp of 37.7°C and a humidity of about 50-55%. I stopped turning them the 22(20days after start) and dropped the temp to 36.7°C and raised the humidity to 75%.

 

I thought the pheasant eggs would hatch 26/06(24days after start), But they didn't not even 1.

But when i came home today(27/06) at 8.30pm. I found some were still trying to hatch.

 

Was i wrong thinking they would hatch after 24 days?

 

Would love some advice!

 

Regards

[shoot and be safe]

It all depends on what breed of pheasant.

They can range from 22 days to over 28 days.

 

When we did ours last year we didn't lower the temperature as we had other eggs in the same incubator hatching in 10 day intervals. Our hatches took up 3 days, any after that were not as strong and despatched.

 

How many eggs are you hatching?

[BelgianHunter]

It all depends on what breed of pheasant.

They can range from 22 days to over 28 days.

 

When we did ours last year we didn't lower the temperature as we had other eggs in the same incubator hatching in 10 day intervals. Our hatches took up 3 days, any after that were not as strong and despatched.

 

How many eggs are you hatching?

They're just normal pheasants, nothing special.

 

Only 40 or so. I've put them in a semi-autom incubator (turned them 5 times a day until the 20the day).

 

It's the second time I tried this year hatching some, from the last batch only 8 hatched but they were all to weak so despatched.

I just don't know what i did wrong, maybe the lowering of the temp?

[shoot and be safe]

Temperature (within reason) is not as important as humidity.

Humidity is the main thing to maintain, especially towards the end of the hatch.

The eggs will dry out as the chicks start to hatch. The main thing to do is NOT open the incubator during the hatch, this will maintain the humidity (as long as you have followed the guidelines for your incubator).

The chicks will suffer dehydration very quickly, they won't go hungry for over 48 hours after they hatch.

I'm presuming you are using a "table top" set up, if so place a tray of hot water below the vents on the incubator, this will help lift the humidity for the hatch.

Pm me if you want any more advice for your next hatch

Edited June 27, 2015 by shoot and be safe

[r1steele]

Stop messing about with the temperature and concentrate on your humidity (as said above). How were your eggs stored prior to them being placed in the incubator? Did you candle your eggs at any stage to see what sort of fertility you had? Have your eggs got enough oxygen around them? Is it possible to put your location down, you never know someone near to you may be able to help.

[BelgianHunter]

Update, 2 came out but their leggs aren't straight.

 

Stop messing about with the temperature and concentrate on your humidity (as said above). How were your eggs stored prior to them being placed in the incubator? Did you candle your eggs at any stage to see what sort of fertility you had? Have your eggs got enough oxygen around them? Is it possible to put your location down, you never know someone near to you may be able to help.

I stored the eggs in a eggbox wrapped in paper towel, in a hallway at about 16-17°C. They were also turned 5 times a day.

No, I didn't candle the eggs. And what do you mean with enough oxygen? There are a couple of smale holes in my incubator.

And i'm from Belgium, so probably lives near my from this forum.

[r1steele]

I presumed you were maybe from Belgium by your name but thought I'd ask anyway. How long were the eggs stored in the eggbox before going into the incubator as it's best to leave them for a few days to settle, point down? Once in the incubator turning 3 times a day is enough although 5 shouldn't do any harm. Do you know how old the eggs were when you received them because once they get past a certain age they will fail? By oxygen I didn't mean a supply of pure oxygen but just the air we breath. The eggs need to breath so that the growing chick gets the oxygen required to live, which is regulated by the air sac at the top of the egg, not enough available oxygen and they can get deformed or/and die. Lack of humidity during hatching can make the shells too dry and hard for the chicks to chip open resulting in a failed hatch. I would want more than 75% humidity for the last 3 days, 85% would be more like it.

[BelgianHunter]

I presumed you were maybe from Belgium by your name but thought I'd ask anyway. How long were the eggs stored in the eggbox before going into the incubator as it's best to leave them for a few days to settle, point down? Once in the incubator turning 3 times a day is enough although 5 shouldn't do any harm. Do you know how old the eggs were when you received them because once they get past a certain age they will fail? By oxygen I didn't mean a supply of pure oxygen but just the air we breath. The eggs need to breath so that the growing chick gets the oxygen required to live, which is regulated by the air sac at the top of the egg, not enough available oxygen and they can get deformed or/and die. Lack of humidity during hatching can make the shells too dry and hard for the chicks to chip open resulting in a failed hatch. I would want more than 75% humidity for the last 3 days, 85% would be more like it.

I have a couple of hens in a pen, so i picked them myself. It's possible that some were a bit old(2weeks).

But it's not really the hatchrate i'm suprised from, it's the fact that they hatch this late and they aren't very healty.

I will try and get 85% next time.

[shoot and be safe]

A few other things to think about.

 

Where did you get the eggs from?

 

How many cocks were tuning with the hens, was the ratio high enough to ensure they were fertile?

 

How were they transported to you?

 

How old were they when you put them into the incubator?

 

Have you cracked open the unhatched egg to see if they were fertile and if so, at what stage of development they were at?

 

The biggest causes of a failed hatch is:

Hygiene - keeping everything sterile.

Humidity - making sure the eggs don't dry out, especially towards the end of the hatch.

Temperature - maintain a constant temperature, don't let it rise over 39°c, a steady 37°c is ideal. If it drops a little, it is not a problem as long as it isn't for a long period.

 

Hope this helps.

 

With the legs not being straight, are they splayed out to the sides?

this could be down to a few different things:

Taking to long to hatch.

Poor genetics.

Slipping on the incubator / brooder floor

 

You can try placing pipe cleaners around the legs to pull them back together but there is only a small chance it will work

[r1steele]

I have a couple of hens in a pen, so i picked them myself. It's possible that some were a bit old(2weeks).

But it's not really the hatchrate i'm suprised from, it's the fact that they hatch this late and they aren't very healty.

I will try and get 85% next time.

They are probably not hatching on time due to the fact that they aren't able to chip their way out due to the eggs being too dry/hard because of the lack of humidity so by the time they have managed to get through they are worn out and have probably used their reserves (yolk sac) and are generally going downhill fast.

[BelgianHunter]

Thanks guys for the help! I hope it will work out better next year.

I'll have to buy some this year.

[r1steele]

Any chance you could tell us what incubator your using as you may be setting it wrong/not quite right. Most of us use big commercial incubators but some have smaller bench top ones as I got a small one for my daughter to 'play' with. She set 35 partridge eggs, turned three times a day and managed 29 hatched, 2 stuck in eggs and didn't make it and4 not fertile. Not bad for a 7 year old using a cheap bench top job.

[shoot and be safe]

Any chance you could tell us what incubator your using as you may be setting it wrong/not quite right. Most of us use big commercial incubators but some have smaller bench top ones as I got a small one for my daughter to 'play' with. She set 35 partridge eggs, turned three times a day and managed 29 hatched, 2 stuck in eggs and didn't make it and4 not fertile. Not bad for a 7 year old using a cheap bench top job.

Cracking return, well done her

 

The table top incubators are very good for the amount they cost and hatch. I have 4 of them for the small hatches and a old 1000 egg haymer for the larger hatches.

 

It's all good fun having ago and well done to the OP for having a bash. As I said in the PM's, it is a learning curve and the more experience you get the greater the hatches.

 

Good on you for having ago

[r1steele]

When my father started out it was all done under bantams and then I think (may be wrong but it seems to ring a bell) he went onto a paraffin type incubator. He was absolutely amazed when he saw the set up I was using when I first started, huge converted Turkeybators that were set with around 10 000 eggs each setting and then into huge hatcher units probably about 4 feet wide and six feet tall with huge mesh drawers. The humidity in these rooms was unbelievable, especially stuck for hours on end candeling.

[BelgianHunter]

Any chance you could tell us what incubator your using as you may be setting it wrong/not quite right. Most of us use big commercial incubators but some have smaller bench top ones as I got a small one for my daughter to 'play' with. She set 35 partridge eggs, turned three times a day and managed 29 hatched, 2 stuck in eggs and didn't make it and4 not fertile. Not bad for a 7 year old using a cheap bench top job.

Wow that's superb!

I couldn't find the site where i found them, but i can give you a picture: http://images.lulusoso.com/upload/20120329/electric_heating_egg_incubator_for_chicken.jpg

I know it's not top of the line, but last year i had some Reeve pheasant eggs in them. And had a 24 hatches from 32 eggs.

[shoot and be safe]

Wow that's superb!

I couldn't find the site where i found them, but i can give you a picture: http://images.lulusoso.com/upload/20120329/electric_heating_egg_incubator_for_chicken.jpg

I know it's not top of the line, but last year i had some Reeve pheasant eggs in them. And had a 24 hatches from 32 eggs.

Good little incubator. I have one very similar.

[r1steele]

Wow that's superb!

I couldn't find the site where i found them, but i can give you a picture: http://images.lulusoso.com/upload/20120329/electric_heating_egg_incubator_for_chicken.jpg

I know it's not top of the line, but last year i had some Reeve pheasant eggs in them. And had a 24 hatches from 32 eggs.

The fact you managed 24 from 32 leads me to believe the eggs you tried this year were not very good so maybe you don't have an incubator problem.

[BelgianHunter]

Thanks guys, I definitely will try to improve the quality of my eggs next year.

This year I gave them laying pellets for chickens, which isn't very good for the quality. I asked someone and he said I shouldn't have given them laying pellets for chickens as it is just for pure quantity.

And I also have a slight feeling one of my hens is a bit sick.

 

Thanks for the input, Hopefully more luck next time

[shoot and be safe]

Laying pellets could very well be your main problem. The extra minerals they contain are designed to make a hard shell, this often means thicker causing the chick inside to get exhausted trying to peck out.

 

With our laying stock last year, all we gave them for feed was wheat. This helped keep the shell thin making it easier for the chick to get out.

 

What was your ratio of cocks to hens and did you open the remaining eggs to see what stage they were at?

[r1steele]

Try to use eggs that are less than 10 days old and just a thought, are you washing the eggs before setting them as 'shoot and be safe' has already mentioned, hygiene is important.

[BelgianHunter]

Laying pellets could very well be your main problem. The extra minerals they contain are designed to make a hard shell, this often means thicker causing the chick inside to get exhausted trying to peck out.

 

With our laying stock last year, all we gave them for feed was wheat. This helped keep the shell thin making it easier for the chick to get out.

 

What was your ratio of cocks to hens and did you open the remaining eggs to see what stage they were at?

 

I just had 1 cock for 4 hens, so I don't think that should have been the problem.

 

Try to use eggs that are less than 10 days old and just a thought, are you washing the eggs before setting them as 'shoot and be safe' has already mentioned, hygiene is important.

 

And indeed, I washed them before storing them.

 

I just oped the eggs, at the end i had 12 fertile eggs(which had chicks) and 28 unfertile.

Is this due to unfertile hens or bad handling of the eggs, maybe the eggs i used were to old?(i stored and collected them for 21 days)

Edited June 29, 2015 by BelgianHunter

[Paul223]

Better to set them much sooner than 21 days

 

I don't understand why you want to vary the humidity? Dry bulb temp of 100f, wet bulb temp of 86f and keep it like that the whole time

Edited July 2, 2015 by Paul223

[lonnford]

Hi guys . we had our ex layers arrive around 1 month ago 250 of them, we have lost a few to the old buzzards any ideas on keeping them at bay.

only had hen birds this time though .and did manage to collect around 40-50 eggs when they first arrived.

yesterday we had 15 hatch in our incubator 😀 and still have several left to hatch

we have noticed 1 cockbird in the pen and he looks absolutely knackered. ..lucky ******.

what is considered to be average hatch rate on eggs in the incubator

[Paul223]

There's no way of applying logic to this, the birds are at the end of their laying cycle and fertility will have dropped off plus there's a good chance bird condition will be less than ideal added to just the one cock to cover them

 

I think your numbers sound quite well considering

[PheasantinItaly]

hello my dog found three blue pheasant eggs in the yard in florence italy. I do not know where the nest is and would like to try to hatch the eggs. Two are a bit damaged so I assume the chick won’t live but one is perfect still. It is wrapped in a napkin in our house which is fairly warm. Shall I start turning her 3 times a day and place her near the heat? Is it too late? I know nothing about pheasants but would love to hatch one if possible! Thanks in advance!