1st Time Hatching - float test results question

[rhondatalk]

Hi ya'll, just have a question regarding the float test. This is my first hatch. I went and picked up 16 eggs from a local farm, turned out 15 were fertile and all have been progressing. I candled at day 7 and 14, and then last night at day 18 before putting them in lockdown. I have one medium brown egg that I didn't see any movement in last night, though it still had the air sac, but the rest of the egg was dark, couldn't really see anything. I tried the float test, and it went right to the bottom, but stood up on the bottom, and had no movement. I was afraid to leave it in too long because I did get one little air bubble come up when it was sitting on the bottom, so I was afraid it had a crack I couldn't/never saw.

I went ahead and left in in the incubator, but wondering if that was the right move...any thoughts? Don't want an exploding egg!

 

[daxigait]

Check the second post on Sally's hatching with friends thread. There are tons of links to information on hatching including floating and candeling, etc.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

The float test is not for hatching eggs; it is for eggs you are going to eat. You use the float test when you find an egg somewhere other than the next box and suspect it might be old.

No. The float test or water candling is used to verify life in an incubated egg after hatch date, normally.

Hi ya'll, just have a question regarding the float test. This is my first hatch. I went and picked up 16 eggs from a local farm, turned out 15 were fertile and all have been progressing. I candled at day 7 and 14, and then last night at day 18 before putting them in lockdown. I have one medium brown egg that I didn't see any movement in last night, though it still had the air sac, but the rest of the egg was dark, couldn't really see anything. I tried the float test, and it went right to the bottom, but stood up on the bottom, and had no movement. I was afraid to leave it in too long because I did get one little air bubble come up when it was sitting on the bottom, so I was afraid it had a crack I couldn't/never saw.

I went ahead and left in in the incubator, but wondering if that was the right move...any thoughts? Don't want an exploding egg!

I don't remove eggs that late in the game unless it smells or leaks and that is a rarity at that stage. I would have left it in the incubator as well. I don't like the float test. It's not reliable. Unless the egg floats and independantly wiggles it doesn't tell you anything. (And usually if it wiggles in water, you can see the movement in the egg around the air cell, unless you have extrememly dark eggs, or feel it when you hold it.) If it doesn't wiggle, there's no certainity it's a goner and if it sinks there's no certainty it's a goner. A higher probability, sure, but not a certainty.

 

[Blooie]

I have also done water candling, but only on eggs that were already a few days past the hatch date. I put 5 in the water, one at a time, and four of them did nothing. One egg did wiggle, and when I took it out and put it on a paper towel it rolled a bit. I opened the ones that had done nothing and the chicks were DIS. The other one I put back in the incubator, and it moved a bit off and on but never pipped. I lost that chick as well late the following evening. But at least I knew that I had given it a chance by putting it back in the incubator. I wouldn't rely on water candling as the definitive answer, but it can be just one more tool we can use when we have some doubts. BTW, I'm new to hatching and still learning here, so defer to those with much more experience than I have - I sure do!!

 

[saltycity]

The float test is not for hatching eggs; it is for eggs you are going to eat. You use the float test when you find an egg somewhere other than the next box and suspect it might be old.

 

[rhondatalk]

Thanks for your response, although the float test is also used in hatching. Have read quite a few threads on it, but none answered my exact type of question. Thanks again!

 

[daxigait]

Incubating with friends... Has over 100,000 posts to identify it.

 

[rhondatalk]

thanks so much..ironically, I had just found that group! Thanks!

 

[daxigait]

We are an eclectic group, but just jump right into the chatter and ask away. The notes are great too.

 

[rhondatalk]

Great, I feel better knowing I left it in. I appreciate the response!