Egg incubation · 8 November 2026

Why didn't my eggs hatch? Causes by candling stage and fixes

An incubator timeline from day 0 to hatch showing problems at each stage: clear eggs, blood rings, dead in shell and failed pips

Eggs fail to hatch for a few repeatable reasons, and the stage at which they fail tells you which one to check. Clear eggs at day 7 point to fertility or storage, early deaths point to temperature or handling, and fully formed chicks dead in the shell point to humidity, lockdown or an opened lid. This guide works through each stage so you know what to change for the next batch.

Find the problem by stage

What you see	When	Likely causes	What to try
Clear egg, no veins	Day 7-10 candling	Infertile, old eggs, long or warm storage, too few roosters	Set eggs within 7 days of laying, store at about 13-16 °C (55-60 °F), check flock ratio
Blood ring	Day 7-10	Embryo died early: temperature swings, rough handling, bad turning	Check temperature with a second thermometer, handle eggs gently
Dark blob, no movement	Day 10-14	Quitter: temperature, humidity or shell quality	Check logs for spikes, check shell cleanliness and nutrition of the hens
Fully formed, dead in shell, no pip	Lockdown	Humidity too high or low, temperature off, poor ventilation, late turning	Check air cell size and weight loss, stop turning at lockdown
Pipped but did not hatch	Hatch day	Lid opened, humidity dropped, membrane dried, chick too weak	Keep the lid closed, raise humidity during hatch

1. Clear eggs: fertility and storage

If the egg is clear at the day 7 check, it either was never fertile or stopped almost at once. Look at the eggs before they go in. Eggs older than about 7-10 days lose hatchability quickly, and storing them somewhere hot or cold hurts too. Keep eggs pointed end down, turn them daily and keep them out of direct sun. See our candling guide for pictures of what to look for.

2. Early deaths: temperature and handling

Temperature matters more than any other setting. A forced-air incubator should sit at about 37.5 °C (99.5 °F); a still-air one needs roughly 1 °C (2 °F) more, measured at the top of the eggs. A steady half degree too warm or cool shifts the hatch by about a day and lowers the hatch rate, and a spike when the sun hits the room or the power goes off can kill early embryos. Check with a second, calibrated thermometer at egg height, and let the incubator run for 24 hours before setting eggs. Our incubation chart lists the numbers for 11 species.

3. Dead in shell: humidity and air cell

Eggs need to lose about 13% of their weight by lockdown. Too humid and the air cell is small, the chick is large and soft and may drown. Too dry and the air cell is large, the chick is small and the membranes stick to it. Candle on the usual days and compare the air cell to the expected size: roughly a quarter of the egg by day 14 and about a third at lockdown for chicken eggs. Adjust humidity gradually for the next batch. The incubator humidity guide has a weight-loss calculator.

4. Pipped but stuck: the hatch itself

Do not open the lid from lockdown until the chicks are dry and fluffy. Each opening drops humidity and can glue the chick to the shell.
Stop turning at lockdown and lay eggs flat.
Raise humidity to the hatch range, about 65-70% for chickens.
Be patient. Chicks can rest for 12-24 hours between pipping and zipping.

5. Other causes

Turning: at least 3 times a day, an odd number, until lockdown.
Ventilation: blocked vents mean low oxygen and a poor hatch late on.
Hygiene: dirty eggs let bacteria through the shell. Do not wash cold eggs in warm water.
Breeder nutrition: poor diets in the flock give weak embryos, especially a lack of vitamins.

Keep records so you can fix the right thing

You can only improve what you can compare, so write down for each batch: set date, temperature, humidity, when you turned and candled, and what failed. Hatch Day keeps it in one place: pick the species and the app gives a hatch countdown, daily temperature and humidity targets, and reminders for turning, candling and lockdown. With Pro you also get a candling log, a temperature and humidity log and hatch-rate statistics, so you can see what works. It is available for Android and iPhone and works offline with no account.

Setting a new batch? Work out your dates with the free hatch date calculator, or browse our egg incubation guides.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my eggs not hatch?

The most common reasons are an unsteady incubator temperature, wrong humidity, infertile or poorly stored eggs, and opening the incubator during the hatch. The stage at which the eggs failed shows which one to check first.

What does a clear egg at day 7 mean?

No veins and only a yolk shadow means the egg was infertile or stopped in the first day or two. Poor fertility, old eggs or a flock with too few roosters are the usual causes.

Why do chicks die in the shell after pipping?

Usually humidity or temperature during the last days, or opening the lid during the hatch. Too dry and the membrane shrink-wraps the chick; too humid and the chick can drown or be too large to turn.

What is a normal hatch rate?

Backyard keepers often see 50 to 80 percent of all eggs set and a higher share of fertile eggs. Track every batch so you can see whether changes are working.

Published: 8 November 2026. More in Egg incubation or all articles.