Trouble Shooting Failures with Egg Incubation - By Mississippi State University - When incubation of eggs fails, indications are often available that a well trained professional uses for diagnosing the causes for failure. The report includes the more common symptoms for incubation failures, the causes for each symptom, and the recommended corrective measures.

Symptoms	Probable Cause	Corrective Measures
Clear eggs with no visible embryonic development	Males undernourished	Follow a recommended feeding program to provide adequate nutrition. Replace underweight males with vigorous ones
	Too few males	Increase the number of males in the flock
	Seasonal decline in fertility	Use young cockerels more resistant to environmental stress
	Competition among breeding males	Do not use too many males. Rear all males together. Place temporary partitions within large pens
	Diseased flock	Conduct an approved disease control program
	Frozen combs and wattles	Provide comfortable housing. Properly select and maintain drinking fountains
	Old males	Replace with younger males
	Selected mating in pens	Artificially inseminate infertile hens. Replace males in the pen/house
	Male sterility	Replace males in the pen/house
	Crowded breeders	Provide recommended floor space, at least 3 ft²/bird
	Improper artificial insemination techniques or use of old/over-diluted semen.	Follow recommendations of primary breeder company.
	Eggs damaged by environment	Gather eggs frequently (at least once daily)
	Eggs stored too long or incorrectly	Store eggs at 50-60 degrees F. and 60% relative humidity. Incubate eggs within 7 days of lay
Blood rings in incubated eggs	Improper storage	Follow recommended egg storage and gathering recommendations
	Improper incubation temperatures	Check thermometer accuracy and incubator functions. Follow recommended temperature settings
	Improper breeder nutrition	Feed breeders a diet with balanced nutrient levels
	Improper fumigation	Follow fumigation recommendations
Many dead embryos at an early stage	Improper incubation temperatures (usually too high)	Follow recommended incubation temperatures
	Improper egg turning	Turn at least 3 times daily
	Inherited low hatchability	Avoid cross breeding. May need to secure different breeding stock
	Improper ventilation	Increase ventilation rate in incubator and/or room, but avoid drafts. Add oxygen at high altitudes
	Pullorum disease or other salmonelloses	Use eggs from disease-free sources. Have NPIP representatives blood-test the breeder flock
	Improper nutrition of breeders	Provide a well-balanced nutritional diet to breeders
Pipped eggs, but died without hatching	Insufficient moisture	Increase humidity (wet-bulb temperature) during the hatching period
	Improper ventilation	Increase ventilation rate in incubator and/or room, but avoid drafts
	Improper setting of eggs causing malpositioned embryos	Set eggs with small end down. Turn eggs properly but avoid turning within 3 days of hatching
Early hatching (may have bloody navels)	High incubation temperatures	Follow recommended incubation temperatures. Check equipment for proper function. Guard against electrical surges or high incubator room temperatures
	Improper egg storage	Store eggs at 50-60 degrees F. and 60% R.H. Turn at least 3 times daily
Late hatching or not hatching uniformly	Low incubation temperatures	Follow recommended incubation temperatures
	Warm and cool spots in incubator due to faulty design	Contact incubator company or obtain a different incubator design
	Old or improperly stored eggs	Gather eggs frequently, cool immediately and store eggs properly. Do not store longer than 7 days
Sticky embryos (embryos may be smeared with egg contents)	High average incubation humidity	Follow recommended incubation humidity. Check size of air cell as an indicator for adjusting humidity condition
	Low incubation temperature	Follow recommended temperature settings
	Lethal genes	Avoid cross breeding. May need to secure different breeding stock
	Inadequate ventilation	Increase ventilation rate in incubator and/or room, but avoid drafts
	Improper fumigation of eggs	Fumigate eggs by following the procedure carefully
Embryos sticking or adhering to shell	Low incubation humidity (especially during hatching)	Increase incubation humidity by increasing water evaporation. Embryos dried too much
	Excessive ventilation rate	Reduce ventilation rate but maintain minimum air exchange to prevent suffocation of embryos
Crippled and malformed chicks	Improper incubation temperatures (usually too high)	Follow recommended incubation temperatures
	Low incubation humidity	Increase incubation humidity by increasing water evaporation. Embryos dried too much
	Improper egg setting position or turning during incubation	Set eggs with small ends down. Turn eggs at least 3 times daily. Do not turn eggs within 3 days of hatching
	Heredity	Proper culling and breeding practices will reduce problems
	Slick hatching trays	Use trays with wire floors or place crinoline on hatching surface
	Improper nutrition of breeders	Provide a well-balanced nutritional diet to breeders
Abnormal, weak, or small chicks	High incubation or hatching temperatures	Follow recommended incubation temperatures
	Small eggs hatch small chicks	Set only standard or large sized eggs
	Insufficient incubation humidity	Maintain recommended humidity for species of bird incubated
	Improper ventilation in hatcher unit	Increase ventilation rate, but avoid drafts
	Diseased or poorly conditioned breeder flock	Use eggs from disease-free sources only. Have NPIP representatives blood-test the breeder flock
	Improper nutrition of breeders	Provide a well-balanced nutritional diet to breeders (especially vitamin levels)
	Excessive fumigation in hatcher	Fumigate using proper procedures
Chicks with labored breathing	Excessive use of fumigant	Follow recommended fumigation procedures
	Respiratory diseases	Check disease status of breeder flock. Conduct a thorough cleanup and disinfection of incubator and hatching facilities
Large, soft-bodied mushy chicks; dead on trays; bad odor	Low average incubation temperaturePoor ventilation	Follow recommended incubation temperatures.Increase ventilation rate in incubator and/or room, but avoid drafts
	Navel infection (Omphalitis)	Clean and disinfect incubator and hatching units between settings of eggs. Maintain dry hatching trays. Properly store and fumigate eggs
Rough or unhealed navels	Improper incubation temperatures	Follow recommended incubation temperatures
	High hatching humidity	Maintain proper humidity
	Navel infection (Omphalitis)	Clean and disinfect incubator and hatching units between settings of eggs. Maintain dry hatching trays. Properly store and fumigate eggs
Short down on chicks	High incubation temperatures	Follow recommended incubation temperatures
	Low incubation humidity	Follow suggestions to correct insufficient humidity
	Excessive ventilation	Reduce vent openings to restrict but maintain adequate air exchange
	Holding chicks in hatcher too long after hatching	Remove all chicks as soon as fluffy but within 24 hours after hatching
Excessive yellow coloring of down	Improper and excessive fumigation in hatcher unit	Follow recommended fumigation procedures.

Source: Mississippi State University Extension Service - April 2006