Why Chicks Don’t Hatch (Egg-Topsy Explained)

If the eggs in your incubator or under a broody hen don't hatch, you can open them and find out at what stage development stopped, and that knowledge, together with what else you know has happened to that egg up to now, can give you clues about what went wrong. Was it old when set to incubate? Was it shipped or likely kicked around by other hens in the broody nest? Did you have a power cut or an unreliable broody hen? What do you know about the genetics and nutrition of the parent flock, or previous experience of hatchability from those parents? You probably won’t be able to pinpoint the cause for every egg that fails to hatch, but you can look for patterns. Remember that 100 percent hatch rate is not usual in nature – even if you do and your broody do everything right, about 80% is a good hatch rate. But it’s still worth going to the trouble to open and investigate every unhatched egg, because that can give you some clues about how to improve the hatchability rate of future batches of eggs, so that every potential chick gets its best chance of making its way from fertilised egg to a real live healthy baby chick. For more fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for your chickens, and the sheer pleasure of chickens, subscribe to my channel: Chickens in my garden - New Zealand    / chickensinmygarden   Catch up with me on Facebook   / chickensinmygarden   Or if you are more interested in gardens than chickens, you can follow my garden page   / myplentifulgarden