Chicks not getting out of eggs

[zoroastrid]

Hello ya'all! I have a young breeding pair of IRN's, a green cock and lutino female. They breed well, and hen sits on eggs. All looks perfect, but at last set, eggs didn't hatch. After I was certain they were way past due, I opened them, and there were little chicks, the full size of egg, little feathers, but they just hadn't gotten out. This just happened again for the second time.
Any suggestion as to why they are too weak to get out of shell? Or die at hatching time? I have incubated waterfowl eggs before, and proper moisture/humidity is absolutely critical for them to be able to crack their shells. Is there anything like this in IRN's? It is so disappointing to have everything appear super, and then... disaster.
Also, I have a blue hen that lost her mate. Is it possible to move the cock back and forth between the two hen's cages? Or just long enough to breed the blue hen then put him back with his yellow gal?
Thank you so much for any suggestions.[/i][/b]

[Jay]

Hello ya'all! I have a young breeding pair of IRN's, a green cock and lutino female. They breed well, and hen sits on eggs. All looks perfect, but at last set, eggs didn't hatch. After I was certain they were way past due, I opened them, and there were little chicks, the full size of egg, little feathers, but they just hadn't gotten out. This just happened again for the second time.
Any suggestion as to why they are too weak to get out of shell? Or die at hatching time? I have incubated waterfowl eggs before, and proper moisture/humidity is absolutely critical for them to be able to crack their shells. Is there anything like this in IRN's? It is so disappointing to have everything appear super, and then... disaster.
Also, I have a blue hen that lost her mate. Is it possible to move the cock back and forth between the two hen's cages? Or just long enough to breed the blue hen then put him back with his yellow gal?
Thank you so much for any suggestions.[/i][/b]

Higher humidity is said to be conducive to breeding. But I don't know how much truth there is to that. You said they bred well before? Did you change any breeding factors?

I've swapped males before at mid-season. It all depends on the birds how they adapt to it. It's a case by case basis I would think.

[zoroastrid]

No, nothing changed. The hen was super on her eggs. I give them pine chips in the box, but she gets most of them out. She had 3 eggs last time, two this time. She may be older than I was told? The pair certainly do everything right, just the babes don't get out of shell.
They are breeding again right now. Its frustrating. I went to your site nd saw your birds. WOW! I loved the clear tail blues and violets! How much is shipping? Can more than one bird go in a box? I've had pheasants come together in one.

[Jay]

No, nothing changed. The hen was super on her eggs. I give them pine chips in the box, but she gets most of them out. She had 3 eggs last time, two this time. She may be older than I was told? The pair certainly do everything right, just the babes don't get out of shell.
They are breeding again right now. Its frustrating. I went to your site nd saw your birds. WOW! I loved the clear tail blues and violets! How much is shipping? Can more than one bird go in a box? I've had pheasants come together in one.

Seems like the hen is not incubating full term. Properly incubated chicks should be able to get out of their shells when due regardless of the humidity level. Where are you located?

I've shipped birds in one pet carrier before and haven't had an incident of a bird killing a cellmate. I think they are too busy being stressed during shipping and have no time to concoct their murderous intents

[zoroastrid]

I am in Michigan. The birds are set up in a sunroom, where there are large aqauriums (We have exotic long fin koi) and a fountain, so it isn't that dry, even when heaters are on. Also, there are a lot of plants and my orchidcollection out there, and they like humidity. The birds are very calm, and in a large cage. I think they think they are "in the wild" with the foliage, water sounds, etc. There is another large cage with two females at the other end of room and they chirp back and forth.
The hen seems very devoted. She stays on the eggs, male is devoted to her. It all looks good. Just can't figure it out. I'm so disappointed. I have had birds all my life, and used to do raptor rescue/rehab when I was in Florida. But his is my first attempt at breeding. I "babysat" a pair of cockatiels for a friend once, that turned out to be almost a year, and they successfully hatched out boxfulls of babies everytime I turned around. Gotta say, I got VERY tired of cockatiels,lol. Not my favorite bird...
I just can't figure it out.

[Jay]

I am in Michigan. The birds are set up in a sunroom, where there are large aqauriums (We have exotic long fin koi) and a fountain, so it isn't that dry, even when heaters are on. Also, there are a lot of plants and my orchidcollection out there, and they like humidity. The birds are very calm, and in a large cage. I think they think they are "in the wild" with the foliage, water sounds, etc. There is another large cage with two females at the other end of room and they chirp back and forth.
The hen seems very devoted. She stays on the eggs, male is devoted to her. It all looks good. Just can't figure it out. I'm so disappointed. I have had birds all my life, and used to do raptor rescue/rehab when I was in Florida. But his is my first attempt at breeding. I "babysat" a pair of cockatiels for a friend once, that turned out to be almost a year, and they successfully hatched out boxfulls of babies everytime I turned around. Gotta say, I got VERY tired of cockatiels,lol. Not my favorite bird...
I just can't figure it out.

Incubation period is 24 days from the time the hen starts incubating full time. If she abandons the eggs before that, then the chicks will surely not have enough time to fully develop.

[zoroastrid]

She's doing more than that. When I see her set her eggs, I start counting, and wait at least 10 days+ over when the eggs should have hatched. She'd stay on them forever, I think. I have mused that she'd make a super "incubator" for other eggs since she loves to set. I think she'd try to hatch a golf ball if you gave it to her. Is there perhaps a "super diet" to give the hen before breeding that might help the embryo be stronger? I feed Roundybush pellets as base food, with a lot of frest fruit and veggies ,scrambled and boiled eggs, cornbread, pizza crust... Having just started to write everything I give them, maybe I give too many supplements? Could the shell be too strong/thick from over calcification? I could mail you one so you could check it out... lol.
I will be contacting you via your site about a business matter.
Best regards