Side Air Cell day 16

[Ugadano]

I have an egg with an air cell further to the side than I've seen before. It's about day 16 and I have been marking the air cell on all in that nest as they are the oldest in development. I just want to know if the placement is close enough to leave under the hen or if I should bring it in to the incubator and set upright in a modified carton for hatching in a few days?

The numbers on the pencil lines correspond to the date in July, not the day of incubation, so sorry for the confusion. Just my way to keep track of when I've marked them out in the coop. Occasionally when I get out there someone has knocked eggs out of a nest, and it helps me know where it goes. I have 4 hens setting right now, and just decided to go ahead and let them raise broilers for us, also have 15 in a DIY incubator, and wrote the suspected start date on the aircell end of the last few clutches. Fortunately, I marked on the calendar when I think the first 2 started setting, because tonight I could not call to mind when they did, and was delighted to see that I had actually written them down!

I love this site. I've been perusing all the links that came up in the search for the title words and have learned a lot, but still want someone to review the pics. Thanks in advance.


Oh, yeah, the last line hasn't been numbered yet, just made it when I brought it in, it is the 26th, which is Day 16 of incubation as far as I can tell. I have it at different angles, hope it shows how far to the side the original air cell seemed to be. Fortunately, it seems to have migrated toward the big end. The chick is happy and moving around in there like a kickboxer!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about that egg, it looks okay to me. I have a shipped egg cooking right now that has an air cell smack dab on the side of the egg. I intend to keep an eye on that one, but its much more severe than your egg. I think your little egglet will do just fine with that air cell

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about that egg, it looks okay to me. I have a shipped egg cooking right now that has an air cell smack dab on the side of the egg. I intend to keep an eye on that one, but its much more severe than your egg. I think your little egglet will do just fine with that air cell

xs 2. I wouldn't worry too much either. It looks decent-maybe a little big for day 16, but I think it has a fair chance.

 

[Ugadano]

Ok. Thanks. I had put it in with the others in my incubator last night, will slip it back under mama today.

 

[Ugadano]

Q1. This side cell one was under my broody hen, it's been really hot and dry here, a week of consecutive 100s. I put it back out under her, today should be around day 19, so should I go out and mist the nest under Mama?
I can do it with a spray bottle without taking her off the nest. She's pretty well stuck now! The nest material is pine shavings and would hold a lot of moisture, I could do this daily if necessary for the next couple till hatch. I've considered putting my temp/hygro meter under her. It is a cheapie from wmt, but I'd have some idea. There is a water pan that they can step into and wet their feathers, but I don't know if any broodies are doing that.
All have pretty large air cells, and I can still see movement in the white shelled eggs as of last night with my little mini LED mean flashlight!
Q2. Also, next time I find a side air cell early on, say 7 days or before, should I try to stand it pointy end down in the incubator for a few days to encourage the cell to move toward the fat end? These are my own yard eggs, not shipped, by the way.

EDIT: I went ahead and wet the shavings down under mama tonight with a few handfuls of water sprinkled around. About 4 of her eggs have huge air cavity, no sounds yet but lots of movement inside from candling, and ONE PIPPED! Friday (tomorrow) the 31st was the target hatch date, so I'm trying not to go terrorize the coop every few minutes to check!

 

[Ugadano]

I posted this on another thread, but thought I'd share it here as well.

You know you are obsessed beyond help or intervention when you look at a bottle of hand lotion and see air cell progress and wonder why they didn't write dates on them???





Sigh. Hopeless. Anyone else?

 

[Ugadano]

Well, my blood pressure went up quite a bit this afternoon. If I had been a cartoon, steam would have been coming out my ears like the end-of-shift whistle.

I went out to check on my pipper from last night under the same hen and the chick was missing, the properly zipped shell empty, and 2 of her other eggs missing as well. All other marked eggs under the 3 other hens were accounted for plus some fresh laid eggs. One egg disappeared from under a hen 2 days prior. Now I have had them knock an egg or 3 out of the ground level nests before, but they are always in view or only partly cradled in the deep litter shavings. I stirred it all with a stick and they are not in there. I have been cussing snakes ever since, as I have killed so many in there already this season.

To top that off, there were a couple of ants in the nest. I will have to get these off the ground, because I cannot abide the possibility of my pipped eggs getting tortured by ants. I took a chance and sprinkled a handful of DE all around under each hen. I brought my 2 new pippers in to the incubator and raised the humidity just for their hatching, then will put it back down after. My incubator clutch is on day 14 and has been on the dry side the last few days anyway, so one day of humidity won't hurt them.

Now I'm paranoid and want to go out every couple of hours to check for more pips before anything else bad happens. At least my side air cell egg is still among the 4 remaining not-yet-pipped eggs. Those plus the 2 pippers in here make 6 out of the original 9. My luck with chicks needs a turn for the better. Possum killed 3 out of 5 and left them laying, last broody hatch, no fault but my own for leaving the people door standing wide open. Possum has been added to Carrion Canyon, along with her 10 or 12 rats, I stopped counting after 8. Ugh.

I'm brainstorming, thinking about how to move the broody that will get the new chicks, how to reapportion the unhatched eggs amongst the remaining broodies if they need an extra day, or whether to bring everyone in to the incubator when they are day 18 or so and finish them off in here. I just don't want to chance a snake getting any more! I am SO going to jerk a knot in his tail if I find one!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I posted this on another thread, but thought I'd share it here as well.

You know you are obsessed beyond help or intervention when you look at a bottle of hand lotion and see air cell progress and wonder why they didn't write dates on them???





Sigh. Hopeless. Anyone else?

Funny....lol But it does look like air cell markings.

Well, my blood pressure went up quite a bit this afternoon. If I had been a cartoon, steam would have been coming out my ears like the end-of-shift whistle.

I went out to check on my pipper from last night under the same hen and the chick was missing, the properly zipped shell empty, and 2 of her other eggs missing as well. All other marked eggs under the 3 other hens were accounted for plus some fresh laid eggs. One egg disappeared from under a hen 2 days prior. Now I have had them knock an egg or 3 out of the ground level nests before, but they are always in view or only partly cradled in the deep litter shavings. I stirred it all with a stick and they are not in there. I have been cussing snakes ever since, as I have killed so many in there already this season.

To top that off, there were a couple of ants in the nest. I will have to get these off the ground, because I cannot abide the possibility of my pipped eggs getting tortured by ants. I took a chance and sprinkled a handful of DE all around under each hen. I brought my 2 new pippers in to the incubator and raised the humidity just for their hatching, then will put it back down after. My incubator clutch is on day 14 and has been on the dry side the last few days anyway, so one day of humidity won't hurt them.

Now I'm paranoid and want to go out every couple of hours to check for more pips before anything else bad happens. At least my side air cell egg is still among the 4 remaining not-yet-pipped eggs. Those plus the 2 pippers in here make 6 out of the original 9. My luck with chicks needs a turn for the better. Possum killed 3 out of 5 and left them laying, last broody hatch, no fault but my own for leaving the people door standing wide open. Possum has been added to Carrion Canyon, along with her 10 or 12 rats, I stopped counting after 8. Ugh.

I'm brainstorming, thinking about how to move the broody that will get the new chicks, how to reapportion the unhatched eggs amongst the remaining broodies if they need an extra day, or whether to bring everyone in to the incubator when they are day 18 or so and finish them off in here. I just don't want to chance a snake getting any more! I am SO going to jerk a knot in his tail if I find one!

Sorry to hear that.

 

[Ugadano]

Well, little side air cell chick did a good job (Cidercel? too weird a name for a chicken?). The cell expanded toward the big end steadily and the chick is drying out under mom tonight at sundown. Another one is already fluffy and running around with the first 2. Last 2 pipping at sundown as well. Rigged a makeshift pen so they can go in and out of her nest to a feeder and water bottle without the older chickens getting to them. Once they are all running around I need to get them into a broody pen, so I have work cut out for me tomorrow. Either that or make a ramp for the babies for inside and outside. My elderly neighbor told me I could make a door 2 ft off the ground if I couldn't be there morning and night to open it for them, and most possum/skunk type varmints won't climb or jump it, but the chickens jump it happily, That's what we did when we built this coop, and the only coop predation I've had was when I left the people door standing wide open like a regular moron. Except for snakes. They will drop out of the tree and go through the wire-covered window.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Well, little side air cell chick did a good job (Cidercel? too weird a name for a chicken?). The cell expanded toward the big end steadily and the chick is drying out under mom tonight at sundown. Another one is already fluffy and running around with the first 2. Last 2 pipping at sundown as well. Rigged a makeshift pen so they can go in and out of her nest to a feeder and water bottle without the older chickens getting to them. Once they are all running around I need to get them into a broody pen, so I have work cut out for me tomorrow. Either that or make a ramp for the babies for inside and outside. My elderly neighbor told me I could make a door 2 ft off the ground if I couldn't be there morning and night to open it for them, and most possum/skunk type varmints won't climb or jump it, but the chickens jump it happily, That's what we did when we built this coop, and the only coop predation I've had was when I left the people door standing wide open like a regular moron. Except for snakes. They will drop out of the tree and go through the wire-covered window.

Congrats!!! Glad to hear it!