Common Incubation Problems:

Causes and Remedies

R. A. ERNST, F. A. BRADLEY, M. E. DELANY, U. K. ABBOTT, and
R. M. CRAIG, Animal Science Department, University of California, Davis
It is advisable to investigate the cause or causes of problems when poultry hatches
are below expectations. This publication can be helpful in determining the cause of
incubations that fail and hatches that are below expected levels or have poor chick
quality. Diagnose the problem by examining all eggs that fail to hatch or poor-quality
chicks, or if not practical, a representative sample of them. The tables below suggest
causes of problems that may commonly be observed. Click on highlighted terms for a
link to the glossary at the end of this publication.
PUBLICATION 8127
UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA
Division of Agriculture
and Natural Resources
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu
OBSERVATI ON: EXCESSI VE I NFERTI LI TY FOR SPECI ES
Problem Causes Remedies
True infertility. Poor insemination
technique.
Inseminate more frequently at prop-
er depth with good semen.
Hens not inseminated;
wrong male to female
ratio.
Inseminate hens; replace males; use
more males.
Preferential mating in pen
matings.
Mate hen with different male.
Male sterility. Change males.
Males not mating. Check for disease, nutrition prob-
lems, foot problems, and social
dominance of females; provide a
healthy environment for the breed-
ing flock; check for heat stress, as it
often reduces mating activity.
Males too old. Use young males; reinforce natural
mating with artificial insemination
if old, valuable males must be used.
OBSERVATI ON: OVER 3% DEAD I N FI RST 3 DAYS OF
I NCUBATI ON
Problem Causes Remedies
Fertile, preovipositional
death.
Inbred strains. Avoid excessive inbreeding; use
young males.
Parthenogenesis in
turkeys.
Do not use genetic stocks showing
a high incidence of parthenogenesis
as breeders.
Fertile, no development
(FND).
Eggs stored at a tempera-
ture that is too low.
Store hatching eggs at 55F to 68F
(12.8 to 20.0C). See Ernst 2004.
Eggs stored too long. Store chicken, pheasant, duck,
goose, and quail eggs no longer
than 1 week; store turkey and par-
tridge eggs no longer than 2 weeks.
2 ANR Publication 8127
OBSERVATI ON: OVER 3% DEAD I N FI RST 3 DAYS OF
I NCUBATI ON, Cont.
Problem Causes Remedies
Fertile, preovipositional
death.
Eggs washed at a temper-
ature that is too high.
Dry-clean eggs; eliminate dirty eggs;
lower temperature of wash water
to 110 to 120F (43.3 to 48.9C);
produce clean eggs.
Positive development (PD). Poor collection sched-
ule during hot or cold
weather.
When temperature in house or nest
box exceeds 80F (26.6C), collect
eggs 4 or more times during the day.
Blastoderm without
embryo (BWE).
Improper storage tem-
perature.
Store eggs at 55 to 68F (12.8 to
20.0C). See Ernst 2004.
Cystic embryos. Eggs stored too long. Store chicken, pheasant, duck,
goose, and quail eggs no longer
than 1 week; store turkey and par-
tridge eggs no longer than 2 weeks.
Rough handling or ship-
ping procedures.
Handle eggs carefully from time
eggs are gathered until chicks or
poults are hatched.
Diseased flock (e.g.,
Mycoplasma spp.,
Newcastle disease).
Inspect flock for general and specif-
ic health conditions; seek veterinary
assistance.
Aged or abnormal sper-
matozoa.
Check insemination technique; use
young males.
Eggs from inbred flock. Some losses are unavoidable with
inbreeding; change males or intro-
duce new genetic stock.
Improper egg storage
temperature or preincuba-
tion temperature.
Do not allow eggs to preincu-
bate: they should not exceed 80F
(26.6C); use setter temperature of
99.5 to 100F (37.5 to 37.8C);
check egg storage temperature.
Eggs from hens housed
above 5,000 feet (1,500 m).
Avoid high altitude or add oxygen
to the incubator.
OBSERVATI ON: OVER 0. 5% DEAD FROM DAY 4 TO TRANSFER
Problem Causes Remedies
Many dead embryos. Improper incubator tem-
perature.
Check thermometer for accuracy;
set temperature at 99.5 to 100F
(37.5 to 37.8C).
Power failure. If power fails, open machine until
power is restored.
Improper turning. Turn eggs three or more times
each day.
Eggs from inbred stocks. Avoid inbreeding.
Poor ventilation of hatch-
ery or incubator.
Provide proper air exchange.
Diseased or infected eggs. Use eggs from healthy flocks; seek
veterinary assistance; do not wash
eggs in cold water.
3 ANR Publication 8127
OBSERVATI ON: OVER 8% DEAD AFTER TRANSFER
Problem Causes Remedies
Embryos die before
pipping.
Low-temperature incubating
conditions; relative humidity too
high.
Maintain 99.5F (37.5C) dry-bulb and
86F (30.0C) wet-bulb temperature in
fan-ventilated setter.
Infected eggs. Do not wash eggs in cold water. Use
wash water temperature of 110 to
120F (43.3 to 48.9 C); set only nest-
clean eggs.
Poor nutrition of breeder flock. Check breeder diet; nearly all known
vitamins and minerals, if absent or in
short supply, can cause late mortality
and poor chick quality.
Presence of lethal genes in
stock.
Use vigorous strains; avoid inbreeding.
Embryos weak and fail
to pip or pip weakly.
Vitamin E deficiency. Use fresh feed or supplement Vitamin
E in water (48 IU Vitamin E/gal water).
Many pips stuck to
shell.
Hatcher relative humidity too
low.
Maintain 90F (32.2C) wet-bulb tem-
perature after pipping begins.
Excessive residual albumen
caused by high relative humidity
and/or low temperature incuba-
tion.
Check thermometers and thermostats;
monitor temperature and relative
humidity.
Chicks pipped and
dead.
Disease. Use healthy stock; seek veterinary
advice.
Overheating in hatcher; low
hatcher relative humidity.
Check hatcher temperature and rela-
tive humidity.
Nutritional deficiency. Feed balanced diet; see Nutrient
Requirements of Poultry 1994.
Malpositions. Eggs set small-end up. Position eggs properly in trays (large
end up or horizontal).
Chicks hatch too early,
are thin and noisy.
Temperature too high during
incubation period.
Check thermometer; 1F (0.6C) in
excess of 99.5F (37.5C) will cause
hatch approximately 24 hours early.
Chicks hatch late, are
soft and lethargic.
Temperature too low and rela-
tive humidity too high during
incubation period.
Check thermometer; 1F (0.6C) below
99.5F (37.5C) will cause late hatch.
Old eggs. Set only fresh eggs; allow extra time
for hatch by setting old eggs early.
Sudden losses at any
time.
Improper fumigation; use only
approved fumigants and follow
label directions.
Do not fumigate from 24 to 96 hours
of incubation.
Mercury spilled in incubator or
hatcher.
Check for broken thermometer or ther-
mostat; clean up all spilled mercury
immediately.
Power or equipment failure or
overheating.
Check incubator temperature at least
twice daily; refer to instruction manual
for proper maintenance procedure.
GLOSSARY
blastoderm without embryo (BWE). When candled, a BWE egg shows a blood ring;
on breakout there are no visible embryo structures.
blastodisc. The small disc-shaped region on the yolk that contains the egg nucleus.
blood ring. Circular blood remnant visible when an egg is candled; signifies that the
embryo has died at a young age.
breakout. The examination of egg contents to determine whether the blastodisc was
fertilized or embryonic structures were present.
candled fertility. The percentage of eggs remaining after clears are removed by can-
dling; compare with true fertility.
candled out. Clearing eggs removed from the incubator following candling.
candling. Transluminating an egg with light to determine the presence or absence of
a viable embryo or to look for shell defects before setting.
clears. Incubated eggs that appear clear when candled, indicating that they do not
contain a live embryo.
cystic embryo. Embryo that dies early in gestation; the broken-out appearance is
similar to a BWE except that embryo tissue is visible.
dry-bulb temperature. Temperature measured with a standard thermometer or elec-
tronic sensor; compare with wet-bulb temperature.
embryo. An organism in the early stages of its development before hatching.
fertile, no development (FND). Rarely diagnosed condition in which the blastodisc
was fertilized but died before the egg was laid or before growth could be initiated in
the incubator.
fertile, preovipositional death. Rarely diagnosed condition characterized by a blasto-
disc that appears to be fertile but dies before the egg is laid by the hen.
germ, germinal disc. Fertilized blastodisc; the embryo has about 50,000 cells when
the egg is laid.
hatch, percent hatch, hatching percent, hatch of total. Percentage of all eggs set
that hatch whether they were fertile or not (a typical hatch might be 80% to 90%).
hatch of fertile eggs, hatchability. Percentage of fertile eggs that hatch (should be
above 85%).
hatcher. Machine used to maintain proper conditions for embryos during the final
few (usually 3) days before hatching.
inbred. Birds or flocks that have some degree of inbreeding.
inbreeding. The result of mating closely related birds, such as father to daughter or
brother to sister. As inbreeding increases, the ability of the stock to reproduce usually
declines.
incubation. Maintaining the temperature and humidity needed to initiate embryo
growth and hatching of avian eggs by a female or using a machine.
incubator. Machine that maintains proper conditions for incubating or setting avian
eggs. Also referred to as a setter.
4 ANR Publication 8127
malposition. Hatching embryo in any position except the head under the right wing
positioned in the large end of the shell; for example, the head under the left wing or
the head between the legs.
parthenogenesis. Development of an egg without fertilization, which occurs at low
levels in chickens and turkeys. Embryos usually die; if the embryo hatches it will be a
male with a diploid (2n) number of chromosomes.
pip. Egg in which the chick has broken the shell in an attempt to hatch; also, the act
of breaking the shell. Chicks may die after pipping or may be unable to get out of
the shell.
positive development (PD). Eggs are candled out as clears because there is no blood
formation; the germ was fertile, but it died soon after cell growth resumed when the
egg was warmed above 80F (26.7C).
relative humidity. Measure of the water vapor or moisture in air; can be determined
from the wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperature using a psychometric chart.
set. To place eggs in an incubator or under a female for incubation.
setter. An incubator.
spread. The difference between percent of fertile eggs and percent hatch (a 10% to
12% spread is typical for chicken eggs).
true fertility. Percentage of hatching eggs that are fertile. This can be determined only
by incubation, candling, and breakout of the clears to determine which eggs were
fertile or by breaking out potentially fertile eggs to examine the germinal disc (e.g., a
sample might be examined to estimate fertility of a flock).
true infertility. Lack of true fertility.
wet-bulb temperature. Temperature measured by a standard thermometer equipped
with a wet sock over the bulb. For accurate measurements, air must be moving over
the wet sock to provide evaporation. Electronic sensors are now available to measure
the relative humidity of air in incubators and egg storage rooms.
REFERENCES
Nutrient requirements of poultry. 1994. Washington, D.C.: National Academy
Press.
Ernst, R. A. 2004. Hatching egg sanitation: The key step in successful storage and
production. Oakland: University of California Division of Agriculture and
Natural Resources Publication 8120. Available for free downloading from the
Communication Services Web site, http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8120/pdf.
FOR MORE I NFORMATI ON
Visit the ANR Communication Services online catalog at http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu. You can
also place orders by mail, phone, or FAX, or request a printed catalog of our products from:
University of California
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Communication Services
6701 San Pablo Avenue, 2nd Floor
Oakland, California 94608-1239
Telephone: (800) 994-8849 or (510) 642-2431; FAX: (510) 643-5470
E-mail inquiries: [email protected]
5 ANR Publication 8127
An electronic version of this publication is available on the ANR Communication Services
Web site at http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu.
Publication 8127
2004 by the Regents of the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
All rights reserved.
The University of California prohibits discrimination or harassment of any person on the basis of race,
color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy (including childbirth, and medical condi-
tions related to pregnancy or childbirth), physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or
genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered
veteran (covered veterans are special disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, Vietnam era veterans,
or any other veterans who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a
campaign badge has been authorized) in any of its programs or activities.
University policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of applicable State and Federal laws.
Inquiries regarding the Universitys nondiscrimination policies may be directed to the Affirmative Action/
Staff Personnel Services Director, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 300 Lakeside
Drive, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612-3550, (510) 987-0096. For a free catalog of other publications, call
(800) 994-8849. For help downloading this publication, call (530) 754-5112.
pr-3/04-SB/CR
This publication has been anonymously peer reviewed for technical accuracy by University of California
scientists and other qualified professionals. This review process was managed by the ANR Associate Editor
for Animal, Avian, Aquaculture, and Veterinary Sciences.
6 ANR Publication 8127
ISBN 978-1-60107-306-8