[kegs]

I've got 11 chicks from 21 eggs and although that seems like a good ratio I think I might have done something wrong. 

Out of the eggs that didn't make it, 5 eggs weren't fertile, 3 early deaths, one red ring and 2 with unabsorbed yolk sacks.  The 21 eggs were from two different suppliers.  12 table birds from one supplier and 9 pure breeds (3 each of Buff Sussex, Speckled Sussex and Salmon Faverolle) from another.  I am pretty certain that the hatched chicks consist of 10 table birds and 1 poor lonely Faverolle (which I think is a cockerel so my son is really upset).  So whilst 10 out of 12 is a brilliant ratio 1 from 9 is awful. 

I'd like to know please, are table eggs hardier?  Would there be a difference between the shells of the two types?  Are pure breeds harder to hatch?  The eggs of the pure breeds to my eye weren't as good a quality as the table eggs (excess calcium on one that I can remember, which I wondered at the time should I put in) and certainly muckier, so could I have contaminated the pure breed eggs by not washing them?  I probably over candled so did this affect the pure breed eggs?  Wrong temp/humidity?

I would like to have another go at incubating but I really want to know what I did wrong before I do.  All advice welcome - so please be blunt!! 

Thanks.
 

[CluckyChicken]

It may not be your fault at all - the breeder you got the pure breed eggs from may not have good husbandry, their birds may be older which would affect fertility and hatch rate, or they could be ill.  If the eggs came by post, that would also affect the outcome.  Candling too much can affect the hatch rate apparently - I candle twice, but it is very hard to resist the temptation!  Are you sure that your temperature was correct?  And what incubator did you use?

[hillfooter]

It's almost certainly down to the eggs and/or the post.  Don't like the sound of the egg shell quality either.   Eggs can carry disease and I certainly wouldn't use an egg with poor shell quality or a dirty egg. 

You can wash dirty eggs in a sanitizer solution but there's still a risk and it's far better to get clean eggs.  So I think the eggs were poor quality in this case.  I wouldn't use this supplier again. 

Actually I don't know if this was off ebay but I wouldn't use ebay at all, it's far too risky.  These days there's too many poor (I hesitate to call them breeders) suppliers of hatching eggs just out to make a few pounds.   Of course I'm sure there are good enthusiast breeders too who do produce quality hatching eggs but how can you tell which is which on mail order?  The risk of introducing some nasty diseases is ever present too and you won't know with some infections untill they reach maturity.

HF

[Casey76]

Were the eggs posted or collected?  Posting eggs really b*ggers up the air sacs and can drastically decrease viability.

Over candling, especially in the early days when the embryo can also be harmful, and i only candle on day 10 and day 18.

The shell can really effect the viability too.  You really need to set the best eggs possible - not too small or too large, not too round, or too pointed, no porus shells, no uneven shell thickness, and no excess deposits of calcium on the shells.  When you receive the eggs, candle them before you set them, this will show up any potential shell issues, especialy when it comes to porosity.

Sorry you have had such a bad experience with your first hatch, but it can happen for no apparant reason

[kegs]

The shell can really effect the viability too.  You really need to set the best eggs possible - not too small or too large, not too round, or too pointed, no porus shells, no uneven shell thickness, and no excess deposits of calcium on the shells.  When you receive the eggs, candle them before you set them, this will show up any potential shell issues, especialy when it comes to porosity.

Thanks all.  Both sets of eggs were posted as I struggled to find a local breeder, neither from ebay though!  The table eggs were beautiful - the sort you'd expect to see at a show.  The pure breed eggs had uneven shells, excess calcium and to me seemed large and pointed but as it was my first time incubating I wasn't sure.  They were also grubby and I didn't know how best to clean them.   

At least I have a better idea of what I did wrong - so thank you.

[AL Hathaway]

you can also get eggs at a local Poultry auction if you have any close enough to you.