Diary & Notes ~ Air Cell Detatched SHIPPED Chicken Eggs for incubation and hatching

[Sally Sunshine]

Incubation Notes, Images, Videos & Links
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Expected Hatch Rate
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched, or even after for that matter!
Shipped eggs have a MUCH lower hatch rate.
The percent hatchability in the commercial poultry industry ranges from 78-88%.


Shipped Eggs = Change Of Plans!
Protocol for shipped eggs CLICK HERE
REQUEST HOW YOU WANT YOUR eggs SHIPPED !!!!
HOW TO REQUEST AND SHIP EGGS Sally Sunshine Way...
HOWTOREQUESTANDSHIPEGGSSallySunshineWay.pdf
Unpacking & USPS Reimbursements SHIPPED EGGS.pdf
Don't forget to request cold or heat packs according to weather to and from! ​

Percent Fertility is the percentage of fertile eggs of all eggs set.
% Fertility = # of fertile eggs
# of total eggs set

Percent Hatchability is the percentage of fertile eggs which actually hatched out as live young.
% Hatchability = # of eggs which hatch out
# of fertile eggs
More info for above see this pdf

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Choosing an incubator
Many different styles of incubators are available, most common are Styrofoam types found at most feed stores. These incubators hold more eggs and are usually less expensive, but they require more involvement in the hatching process. Egg turners are usually optional that can be added for convenience. There are also some great “hands free” incubators, commercial incubators as well as Simple Inexpensive Homemade Incubators. We make “Coolerbators” they work 100% better than our store bought incubator because it has less than .5 degree variance and we have very successful hatches in it!​

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HELP How do I decide on an incubator?
Still air or forced air incubator? There are 2 main types of incubator. Still air and forced air. The difference is simply a fan. In forced air incubators, a fan circulates the air around the incubator which keeps the temperature constant in all parts of the incubator. The temperature can be measured anywhere within the airflow. In a still air incubator, there is no fan, the heat stratifies (forms layers) inside the incubator so the temperature is different between the top and bottom of the incubator. Poultry Keeper Choosing the Right Incubator CLICK HERE
Incubator warehouse.com Egg Incubator Buyers Guide CLICK HERE
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LOCATION OF INCUBATOR
Locate your incubator in a room in which temperature is 70 degrees, free from drafts, away from windows and direct sunlight.
Did you know that the Incubating practice originated more than 2,500 years ago in Egypt and China. Methods of incubation were kept secret for a long time. In Europe attempts to use incubation are known from the 14th century. Owing to the imperfection of incubation apparatus (casks submerged in rotted manure, bakers’ ovens, and so on) and inadequate study of the conditions of incubation, it did not become common. Only since the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, with the invention of better incubators, has incubation become widely used in Europe and the USA; since the middle of the 20th century it has been the principal method of propagating poultry.



Collection, Washing & Storage of Eggs

Choose eggs that are of good size, not abnormally big or small. Do NOT set dirty, cracked, or porous eggs. Clinical studies at the University of Arkansas have shown that if your going to set a dirty egg, set the dirty egg, DO NOT SAND, WASH OR WIPE dirty eggs as hatchability decreases with these practices!
Cuticula is the thin membrane that covers the whole eggshell that is made from the sticky fluid when laid which covers it and quickly dissolves due to carbondioxyde activity.This membrane can be penetrated by gasses but functions as a kind defensive mechanism to prevent the entry of bacteria.

The washing and rubbing action also serves to force disease organisms through the pores of the shell. Place the eggs upright in an egg carton with the FAT, air cell end of the egg UP! Allow eggs to sit in a moderately cool, somewhat humid place for storage. Basements are great. Moderately cool means 55-65 degrees. Rotate your eggs a 3 times a day to keep the embryo from sticking. An easy way to turn all of the eggs at once is to place a thick book under one end of the carton, and later remove the book and put it under the other end of the carton, 3 times a day. Before adding eggs to the incubator always WARM eggs UP slowly to room temperature. IF THE EGGS ARE COLD Condensation can cause bacterial growth on the eggs! You can collect eggs up until 10 days or so, but after the 7th day lower hatch rates may result. Stored eggs take longer to hatch (about one hour per day of storage).

It is important to ALWAYS wash your hands before handling your hatching eggs!
Omphalitis, yolk sack infection is caused by a bacterium that enters through the porous egg shell and easily kills embryo's and newly hatched chicks. Unfortunately, incubation conditions are ideal for breeding bacteria as well as incubating eggs. For more information on storing eggs refer to Recommendations for hatching egg handling and storage


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If you MUST store longer than 10 days...
"When eggs were stored in the small-end-up position for 2 to 4 weeks, it was, NOT beneficial to turn them daily as had been previously demonstrated to be advantageous for eggs stored small-end-down."​

CONCLUSIONS: ABSTRACT CLICK HERE
"When eggs were held in storage, the small-end-up pack position without turning, their hatchability was equal to or better than that of eggs packed small-end-down. When eggs were stored in the small-end-up position for 2 to 4 weeks, it was, not beneficial to turn them daily as had been previously demonstrated to be advantageous for eggs stored small-end-down. Thus, the inconvenience and expense of daily turning can be avoided without loss. Evidence is also provided that hatchability was equally good whether eggs were stored on their sides and turned through 180° daily or stored small-end-up without positional change."

TIP: Use your turners during storage!
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SANITIZING/WASHING EGGS
Most commercial hatcheries sanitize their eggs. There are differences of opinions about how to sanitize eggs, if you feel they need to be. Some experts advocate washing and even lightly scrubbing eggs with soft brushes. Others feel that the most that should be done is dipping for a few seconds. Because of the varying opinions on sanitizing eggs, the following is an opinion of Brower and not necessarily a hard and fast recommendation. Accomplish sanitizing by dipping eggs in solution containing disinfectant that is just strong enough to kill bacteria and viruses. However, the disinfectant should not be so strong as to damage the embryos.

Mix the sanitizing solution according to the manufacturers' instruction. A recommended cleaning solution is Tex-Trol. TexTrol may be available at a local retail outlet. For the name of a retailer search for it online. If using Tex-Trol, mix one half ounce of concentrated disinfectant to one gallon of warm water. You can also use 1 ounce of Clorox to 2 gallons of water. The water should be 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (37° to 44°C). If the egg is warmer than the solution, contamination can be pulled through the pores of the egg before the agent has a chance to neutralize any pathogens.. Submerge the eggs for one to three minutes with dirtier eggs left in solution longer than ones that essentially look clean. Allow the eggs to air dry at room temperature and store as described above--or set in your incubator. A soft paper tissue can be used to dry the eggs but don’t rub the egg with a tissue or any material. Eggs have a natural protective cuticle that helps retard contamination. Rubbing removes the cuticle and can actually drive pathogens through the shell.

(1 Tablespoon = 3 Teaspoons per gal )

Sanitizing solution of chlorine (bleach) 6% hypochlorite and water at a concentration of 100 ppm (parts per million) = To make a100 ppm chlorine solution, combine 2 ml. (1/2 tsp.) of bleach with one quart of water.

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The Cuticle removal
in hatching eggs as a means to reduce weight loss: Has actually been found to increase embryo weight during incubation and has direct relationship between rate of egg water loss, embryonic metabolism, and growth during incubation. But that warning of contamination is there if you don't follow cleaning procedures correctly. Chlorine treated eggs were not altered either. So with all that it is found that cuticle removal can be an effective method for increasing growth and egg weight loss.
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Preventing ‘sweating’ eggs is IMPORTANT! Prior to EGG placement in the incubator, place the eggs at a room temperature for several hours.​

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'Sweating' of eggs refers to the phenomenon of condensed water sitting on the egg shell surface. This occurs when cold eggs are suddenly exposed to a higher environmental temperature. The warm air with a certain moisture content cools down rapidly directly around the colder eggs. Since cold air contains less water than warm air, relative humidity will increase until the air is saturated. And at that moment, condensation will take place on the cool egg surface.​

Is it Fertile or Infertile?
To check the fertility, simply break an egg in a bowl, Find the white spot on the yolk. If you do not, use a spoon to gently flip the yolk over until you find it. If it has a Bulls eye look it is fertile. A true fertile egg contains a well developed germinal disc (blastoderm), which indicates that the oöcyte, or zygote, was fertilized and an embryo developed during egg formation.
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Fertility:

• IS IT FERTILE? Many images see post #43324
• Managing Fertility click HERE
• Reproductive Physiology of the Hen post #40628
• HOW long does a ROO SPERM REMAIN IN HEN post #40628
• Polyspermy is typical in birds. Several sperm enter the germinal disc region post #40644

Clears at CANDLE are not always infertile! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
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Record Keeping
Accurate and detailed records are very important in incubation. In addition to records of individual eggs it is important to keep records of the temperature and the humidity, so that trends in temperature and humidity may be detected early and can be corrected for next hatch.
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Sorry the new BYC wont allow me to add an excel file as seen above

Incubation PERIODS/TIME Chart
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Areas of MOST IMPORTANCE in Hatching EGGS​

Ventilation (Oxygen), Temperature, Humidity, Egg Turning/Positioning

VENTILATION (OXYGEN)
Ventilation is VERY important during the incubation process.
While the embryo is developing, oxygen enters the egg through the shell and carbon dioxide escapes. Oxygen requirements will increases during development and during hatching. Unobstructed ventilation holes, both above and below the eggs, are essential for proper air exchange. REMOVE RED VENT PLUGS, TOO MANY PEOPLE FORGET TO REMOVE THEM AT DAY 10! NOTE: When Lockdown occurs, vent openings are frequently restricted in an attempt to boost incubator humidity. Instead of helping the chick hatch, the chick is suffocated from lack of oxygen. Never decrease ventilation openings at hatching in an attempt to increase humidity. Increase humidity by other methods. If any vent adjustments are made, they should be opened more. Try adding a dampened sponge or towel to help boost humidity during lockdown.
Hatching at High Altitudes post #37908
THINGS TO READ: O2 deprivation to day 10 of incubation followed by regular oxygen concentrations leads to stronger chicks post #33815​

TEMPERATURE
CALIBRATE CALIBRATE!!
Never trust the thermometer that comes with the incubator, always check it.
This could mean life or death for your babies.
ALWAYS run your bator a few days first for watching its temp swings
TIP: There are ALWAYS Uneven temps in bators
so rotate egg placement at each candle!
Did you know "The yolk is orange and on its surface is a visible germinal disc; radiating from this area is the more watery white yolk, which is less dense. During turning, the yolk’s structure makes the part containing the germinal disc stay most dorsal (closest to the incubating bird) for heating"

With a Forced Air Incubator (fan model) you can get the best hatch rate by keeping the temperature at 100º F - 100.5. throughout days 1-18 and NEVER LET IT GO BELOW 99.8!!! Watch for evening temp flux! Lockdown day lower to 99.5 and when first external pip shows lower to 98.5 degrees!

HOWEVER, when using a Still Air incubator (no fan) at 102º F. The reason for different temperatures is that with a fan model the circulating air warms all around the egg while still air temperatures are warmer at the top of the egg than at the bottom.​

Tips:
ADD a LEGO to your dial of cheap styro bator to make minor adjustments!
GENIUS @BantyChooks
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ZONES OF COLD INJURY fro EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT CLICK HERE
What to do when you find a HIGH TEMPS in Bator CLICK HERE
10/13 day old embryos begin to produce excess heat in the incubator CLICK HERE

WHERE TO SET YOUR THERMOMETER
The temperature is measured at the level where the embryos develop (at the top of the HORIZONTAL egg). NOTE:If the eggs are in vertical position, elevate the thermometer just below the top of the egg. The temperature is measured at the level where the embryos develop (at the top of the egg). Never allow the thermometer to touch the eggs or incubator because incorrect readings can result. A high temperature tends to produce early hatches. A consistently cooler temperature tends to increase incubation times and produce weakened chicks. In both cases the total chicks hatched will be reduced. Prepare your incubator and run it for several days before adding eggs, to be positive you are maintaining correct incubation temperature.

NOTE: It is common that when adding eggs the temperature will drop but should come back up to correct temperature within an hour or two. Don’t rest the thermometer's bulb touching the eggs or the incubator. Incorrect readings will result.

TIPS: ​

Probe thermometer & water weasel (Water Wiggler, Water Snake) found on Amazon or Ebay make for EXCELLENT internal temp guides! The perfect internal temperature of an embryo is 99.5 degrees. If you can't find a water wiggler you can make your own with ziplock filled with water folded in half and insert the probe in the center middle.

Thermo/hygro suggestions CLICK HERE
HEAT SINKS/ Stones/Pebbles ADD THEM TO STYRO!post #43903
Calibration is a MUST: HOW TO CALIBRATE post #9068

MAJOR TIP...
HAVE A PLAN IN CASE YOU LOOSE ELECTRIC post #522
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HUMIDITY​

The Air Bubble in the Egg,
Weight Loss in the egg is where most fail with incubation,
next being temp issues and not having calibrated thermos and hygros!
"HUMIDITY IS NOT A SET NUMBER EVER!"
Humidity it a "tool" to get the correct weight loss!

DO NOT GO WITH WHAT YOUR INCUBATOR INSTRUCTIONS SUGGEST!! ​

DRY HATCH incubation DOES NOT MEAN RUN DRY! It is not only the final size of the air cell that matters, but also the time it takes to form. In the first ten days of incubation, the embryo is small and floats in the amniotic fluid. Weight loss during this phase is mainly the effect of water evaporating from albumen and internal liquids. After this stage, changes occur quickly: the growing embryo gradually fills the egg, excepting the air cell. Low RH set points at days 14-18 of incubation increase evaporation from the allantois – and once the allantois is emptied of fluid, moisture will be drawn from the embryo, causing its dehydration.

The average chicken egg has thousands of pores running through the shell allowing the embryo to exchange oxygen, carbon dioxide. and water. Soon after an egg is laid, a small air bubble or “air cell” forms in the large end of the egg from this water loss. Humidity levels in the incubator determine moisture evaporation during the 21 days of incubation and hatching. The air cell is crucial for the chick to break out of the egg shell at the end of the incubation period. The chick can drown if the air cell is too small or the chick may be retarded in growth if the air cell is too large. This is why maintaining the proper humidity is crucial. Slightly lower humidity levels are more likely to be less disastrous than slightly higher humidity levels. There are quite a few opinions on Humidity, but it is no set number.

AGAIN....
Humidity is NOT A SET NUMBER, you need it YES!,
However, you use it as a tool to "adjust" egg weight loss during incubation.
We candle on days 7,10,14,18 To WATCH WEIGHT LOSS IN EVERY EGG!
After day 7 its good to keep a closer eye on weight loss via weighing OR watching air cells!
An EGG MUST lose approximately 14%-15 of its weight during the incubation process. THIS IS YOUR GOAL!! You can monitor this by marking Air cells and also by weighing. Please refer to CANDLING section of this Article for more Air Cell info.
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pic above Size of air cell on day 7, 14, and 18 of incubation


MEASURE WEIGHT LOSS IN EGGS,
I choose the easier method, keeping a close eye on air cell growth during incubation. You begin by ONLY adding a small amount of water and keep Humidity between 20%-30% and adjusting as you weigh or candle depending on moisture loss. IN SOME AREAS OF THE COUNTRY YOU MAY NOT NEED TO ADD ANY WATER! USE IT AS A TOOL FOR THE CORRECT WEIGHT LOSS IN THE EGG! So if your air cells look too large at each candle period you must add some humidity, too small air cell lower it, and if your weighing you adjust as needed. UNTIL DAY 18 LOCKDOWNthen stop turning and raise humidity to 65-70%. I will post more about weighing eggs later in the candle and set section! ​

Views of Day 18 Candle..... click to enlarge
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How Does a Hygrometer Work?
http://weather.about.com/od/weatherinstruments/a/hygrometers.htm

Shown here is a WET Bulb Hygrometer and wick
Wet bulb is exactly what it states. It is the temperature relative of the humidity in degrees.
A Hygrometer Wick is placed over the stem of the thermometer and the other end of the sleeve is placed in a jar or pan in the incubator.

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HOW TO CALIBRATE HYGRO with SALT TEST
GOOGLE HOW TO CALIBRATE WITH SALT !
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A few TIPS & TRICKS!
It’s a good idea to keep the incubator plugged into a surge protector.
Use distilled water in your incubator to help prevent bacteria growth. Omphalitis, Mushy Chick Disease and Yolk Sack Infection may be caused by a bacterium that enters through the porous egg shell. Unfortunately, incubation conditions are ideal for breeding bacteria as well as incubating eggs. Brinsea sells a disinfectant, formulated to be used for cleaning eggs, incubators, safe and effective against yeasts, fungi, viruses and bacteria which can cause fatal damage to the growing embryo.
Pennies can be added to water wells. Copper helps to destroy the cell walls of bacteria, thus keeping bacteria out of the incubator. Pennies before 1982 have more copper content and pure copper kills 99.9% of bacteria.
Below image is a Simple waterer/suctioner out of aquarium tubing placed through side of incubator and into water wells. Use a Kids medicine syringe to add/suck water without opening or disturbing eggs.​

In the image below are the different sized cups I use the first 18 days of incubation INSTEAD of using the wells in the bottom of the incubator. I had a hard time getting humidity correct, so I started using different size containers and caps for water holding, I could easily remove & replace as necessary. It WORKS WELL and I can keep them clean and sanitized better and not disturb my eggs! I will remove these cups on day 18 so the chicks don’t drown in them
and use the lower wells at lockdown at day 18.
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2" funnel & we shoved it into a small piece of 1/4" tubing, a cleat on the inside of the unit (a wide-crown staple or cable staple would work also) to hold the tubing in place.
This way you can add water to the middle of the bator without missing the water troughs and without opening the unit. see below
(Thanks tlpounds)​

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REMEMBER~
Surface area of water will increase
humidity more so than depth! ​

If you need a safe boost at lockdown
ust add a dampened sponge or rag.
A "ShamWoW" is great as a wick and can hang from the sides or across top of incubator.





Setting Eggs & Turning
It is important to ALWAYS wash your hands before handling your hatching eggs! ​

It is likewise important to SANITIZE your incubator AND equipment before AND after use!
Omphalitis, yolk sack infection is caused by a bacterium that enters through the porous egg shell and easily kills embryo's and newly hatched chicks. Unfortunately, incubation conditions are ideal for breeding bacteria as well as incubating eggs.
Failure to turn eggs during incubation CLEARLY reduces hatchability in every scholarly study & clinical trial.

Mark eggs, using a pencil, with an X on one side and an O on the other. Make sure to turn the eggs at least 3 times a day, or odd number of times. Turning by hand they should always be turned an odd amount of times and move them to a different part of the tray to protect them from temperature variation. You basically roll the eggs with your fingers/palm from X to O. It is important to NOT ROLL the eggs in the same direction every time. Improper rolling can cause the chalazae that holds the yolk in place to tear. Turning the egg prevents the embryo from touching and attaching to the membrane inside the egg. The most convenient way to turn eggs is to purchase an egg turner. Take extra precautions when turning eggs during the first week of incubation. The developing embryos have delicate blood vessels that rupture easily when severely jarred or shaken, thus killing the embryo.


When adding Eggs the temperature will immediately drop. DO NOT ADJUST THE THERMOSTAT, or risk accidentally cooking them. Wait 2/4 hours and if the temperature is still low, make a small adjustment, as small as you can. (Note: Small adjustments on the manual Styrofoam incubators make BIG changes!)


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Do not incubate eggs on paper trays or in boxes.
This guarantees heterogeneous egg/embryo temperatures,
resulting in high levels of early mortality.​

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CANDLING & WEIGHING EGGS
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Sites to refer to for Candling Images and Videos​

Progression Though Incubation:
BYC article CLICK HERE
Metzer Candling Duck Eggs: CLICK HERE
Development of a Chick: CLICK HERE

AGAIN! Understand the Air Cell
The average chicken egg has thousands of pores running through the shell allowing the embryo to exchange oxygen, carbon dioxide and water. Soon after an egg is laid, a small air bubble or “air cell” forms in the large end of the egg from water loss. Humidity levels in the incubator determine moisture evaporation during the 21 days of incubation and hatching. The air cell is crucial for the chick to break out of the egg shell at the end of the incubation period. The chick can drown if the air cell is too small or the chick may be retarded in growth if the air cell is too large. This is why maintaining the proper humidity is crucial. Slightly lower humidity levels are more likely to be less disastrous than slightly higher humidity levels.

MARKING and OBSERVING the size of the air cell is a way of checking for correct weight loss of the egg and is commonly used. However, this can be inaccurate due to the different, types, shapes, and ages of eggs. The protrusion of the embryo into the air cell also may effect observations. Again, it is the most common method for non-commercial hatchers. With experience you can adjust your humidity as needed by visual inspection of air cells. However, Weighing is the MOST accurate. If the incubation humidity is too low (very dry conditions), the air sac will be larger than normal and the humidity in the incubator should be increased to reduce the rate of water loss. If the air space is smaller than normal then the opposite applies.​

Track the air sac with pencil tracings when you candle,
On the 7, 14 & 18th days its ok after day 7 to candle more often to keep better track!

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WEIGHING EGGS
Chicken eggs need to lose 14% moisture over 21 days, NOT day 18 lockdown. I have always done well at 16% though. Weigh all the eggs on the first day, before you put them in the incubator and weigh again days 10, 14 & 18. Several formulas can be used to determine the rate of weight loss or overall per cent weight loss and to correct the humidity if the values are off. For accuracy, a digital scale should be used which can weigh in grams. Don't forget to subtract the weight of the container holding the eggs from the total weight when calculating the average egg weight. If you use a rack to incubate your eggs it is best to weigh the entire rack instead of each egg to get an average. If you are incubating upright in a carton you will also weigh the entire carton so that the eggs are not disturbed. SHIPPED eggs.


Some Explanations & TIPS from
cochins1088 on weighing Eggs!​

Eggs should lose approximately 11% - 12% of their mass at 18th day of incubation. To monitor mass loss, a person must keep track of an egg’s weight. Optimally eggs should be weighed right after they’re laid, but this isn’t always possible. When eggs are shipped, weigh them as you remove them from the package. Keep in mind that the eggs will lose some of their mass during storage. According to Aviagen, eggs lose about 0.5% of their masses per week in storage.

How to Calculate Mass Loss

First subtract the current weight of an egg from the original weight of the egg. This number will give you the weight loss. Then take the weight loss and divide it by the original weight of the egg. This will give you the fraction of weight that was loss. Lastly, multiply the fraction of weigh loss by 100. This will give you the percent of mass loss.

For example:
Original weight (50 g) - Current weight (45 g) = Weight lost (5 g)
Weight lost (5 g) divided by Original weight (50 g) = Fraction of weight lost (0.1)
Fraction of weight lost (0.1) multiplied by 100 = Percent of weight lost (10%)

For those of you who incubate large numbers of eggs, you can weigh the trays to find the average mass of each egg.

For example:
If a tray weigh of eggs initially weighs 700 grams and the empty tray weighs 200 grams, than the eggs must initially weigh 500 grams. If there are 10 eggs in the tray, then each egg weighs approximately 50 grams.
Let’s say that 2 eggs are removed because they were infertile.
After 18 days, your tray weighs 560 grams. If you subtract the weight of the tray (200 grams), than the eggs must weigh 360 grams. There are 8 eggs in the tray, so each egg weighs approximately 45 grams.
With this example, the eggs lost 10% of their mass by day 18.

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Note: Kitchen scales work great. The WeighMax Pocket Mini CD Digital Scale below works great if you weigh individual eggs. I pasted an egg carton cup firmly to hold the eggs. Be extremely careful not to tip your scale and crack your eggs!

CANDLE EGGS
DAY 1
Always wash hands before handling eggs.
The shell of an egg is thin and opaque when held near a bright light. The easiest type of egg to candle is the white shelled egg and some of the hardest eggs to candle are dark brown eggs, like the Maran eggs pictured below.

You could try two or more flashlights to see into them!





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Candle days are 1, 7, 14 & 18th day​

You will need a Candler, bright light, LED flashlight, Some say their cell is best! ​

Turn on your Candler and shut off the lights in the room so it is dark, evenings are best. Hold the flashlight/Candler like the image below and set the egg air cell/fat end down on your hand. This will prevent any light leakage from the flashlight. Your hand protects the egg from the hard surface of the light and helps more of the light to go through the egg.
View attachment 1878018
CAUTION: Be very careful when you handle the egg
so you don't accidentally crack it or DROP it!

Slowly & gently rotate the egg until you can see inside the egg. On Day 1 candling you will mark air cells and check for cracked or porous eggs. Lightly mark the air cell with a pencil. Candle quickly if the light gets hot, you will kill the embryo. On Day 1 candle you will NOT see much inside the egg but you may have a glimpse of yolk moving as you gently rotate lightly colored eggs.

Chicken Embryo Development, views from the Inside AND Out. *Graphic Photos**
CLICK HERE

CANDLES AND EGGTOPSY
Porous Egg



TINY Sappy spots possibly due to Rough Shipment of EGGS







Day 11 candle funky air cells from shipped eggs.
BLOOD RINGS clearly visible on light polish eggs




Saddle Shaped Air cell, where it dips on two sides
BLOOD RINGS clearly visible on light polish eggs



Note the pictures below on day 10
The two on the right have “scrambled” contents from shipping







CANDLE EGGS​

DAY 7
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When you Candle on day 7 there should be some light blood vessels surrounding it and you may see the embryo move. See above and below video. My favorite time to candle! Eggs that are clear should be re-candled at 10 days before tossing. If your not sure and it doesn’t smell leave it! If your egg is colored or a brown egg, it is harder to see through the shell, you may want to wait a few days and try again. Or find a better candler. You can see the large round yolk move inside the egg, this is NOT the embryo at day 7! Its just the yolk!
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CANDLE EGGS
DAY 14

View attachment 1878057

Candle day 14 is to determine growth, weigh, pencil mark air cell size and dispose bad eggs.It will begin to look pretty dark in there! Look for movement.
You should again see some good veining. ​

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CANDLE EGGS
DAY 18 & LOCKDOWN!

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Candle day 18 is to determine growth, weigh, pencil mark air cell size and dispose bad eggs. It will look pretty dark and FULL in there! You may or may not see movement on this candle. Its ok if not, don’t panic! The chick may easily be resting! See how that air cell is beginning to dip more to one side and if you lay the egg down it will roll into the hatching position. I set my eggs with lowest dip in the aircell up. This position for hatching is good so the chick is able to turn into position and I can easily see my pips too! Day 18 laying horizontal for actual hatching helps a chick hatch 1-2 hours earlier. I lay my eggs down LOWEST DIP of the AIRCELL UP! This is the normal and most likely hatching position and the chick will break through or Internally pip and externally pip in that probable area. See the image below with the x, x being lowest dip in air cell and probably pip area/s.

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LOCKDOWN!
Stop turning, Remove Turner and Raise Humidity to 65% - 70%
depending on what your air cells may still need

NOTE: It is now known that the different embryos communicate with each other by a series of clicking sounds,the rate of clicking being the important feature. Ensuring the eggs on the hatching trays are in contact with each other facilitatesthe synchronization of hatching where the eggs are incubated in a modern machine. This assists in reducing the time between when the first and last chicks hatch.

After Day 18 candle you will “LOCK DOWN” your eggs. Lower the temperature see suggest temps below and increase the humidity the last three days. STOP turning and the incubator stays closed, for the next three days while the chicks hatch! If you’re having a hard time with humidity it is OK to open quickly to boost, add warm water or increase the size of the pan or add a wet sponge. NEVER ADJUST HUMIDITY BY cutting back airflow. VENTILATION is EXTREMELY important at this stage!
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TIPS: COVER THE HATCHING AREA Before LOCKDOWN!
A foam grip drawer mat, or window screening on the wire bottom of incubator on day on day 18 lockdown. A cloth, crinoline, or paper towels could work as well. This ALSO protects the navel, the place where the abdomen closes after surrounding the remains of the yolk, from injury. It also makes cleaning the incubator easier. NO the wire on the incubator bottom should not injure or effect your chicks after they hatch. Dollar store baskets are great to keep hatching chicks separated by breed.






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While you WAIT Please PREPARE BROODER:
Prepare everything you need for them once they have hatched.
Now is the time to do final checks on brooder, heat lamp and feed.
See bottom of article for links on chick care.
View attachment 1878061
Click on the link below for Brooder Ideas!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-chicken-brooder-designs-pictures

Rocking Egg Video!
Eggs can rock for several days before hatching, but how exciting it is!

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Understanding The Hatching Process
Between the 15th and 16th days, the chick orients itself so that its head is near the air cell at the large end of the egg. Not long before the chick is ready to attempt to make its way out of the shell its neck acquires a double bend so that its beak is under its right wing and pointed toward the air cell. 21 DAYS is just a baseline for hatching eggs. Many chicks can take 23 - 25 days!
Some pip internally and fully hatch in hours while others will be 24 hours or more.

Egg movement! Eggs can “Rock n Roll” days before they are due to hatch!

The initiation of hatch occurs partially from the increased carbon dioxide level in the egg. This process causes the embryo to begin twitching it's muscles allowing the inner shell membrane to be punctured by the egg tooth. The chick then begins breathing the air in the air cell. Using its egg tooth, it pecks at the shell thousands of times and after a few hours the chick pips a small hole through the shell and begins to breathe air directly from the outside. After the chick has made a hole in the shell, it stops pipping for 8+ hours sometimes up to 24 hours and rests. During this time, it is acclimating its lungs.





In regards to opening and closing the bator to remove already hatch chicks; It is important to remember that chicks can go 3 days without food/water. It is better to wait for the remaining chicks to hatch to insure reducing the impact to unhatched pipping eggs.
But my new chick is running around in the bator knocking eggs around!
LET THEM GO! DO NOT OPEN THE INCUBATOR! They are fine!
​

Oh NO!
It PIPPED the WRONG END!
MALPOSITIONS
It is common to lose about 1-2% of the chicks due to deformities and malpositions. Deformities occur during embryo development, while malpositions occur the last week of incubation. Malpositioned embryos are unable to pip the eggshell and escape due to improper positioning within the egg. The chicks can have difficulty positioning for pipping, absorbing the yolk sac, or changing from embryo to chick breathing air. The majority of malpositioned embryos that have died in the shell probably resulted from exhaustion and/or lack of oxygen. One GOOD thing to remember is that SOME malpositions are Lethal and some are not! Occasionally, malpositioned chicks will hatch unassisted but the hatch does need to be monitored closely to ensure that the chick is not becoming stressed, or stuck. Often as a result of the position in the shell they have been unable to absorb all of the yolk. Please refer to Navel SECTION BELOW.

Common reasons of Malpositions are:
Eggs are set with small end up. Advancing breeder hen age and shell quality problems. Egg turning frequency and angle are not adequate. Inadequate % humidity loss of eggs in the setter. Inadequate air cell development, improper temperature and humidity regulation, and insufficient ventilation in the incubator or hatcher. Imbalanced feeds, elevated levels of mycotoxins, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Lower than recommended temperatures in the last stage of incubation.

Normal hatching position and the six
recognized malposition Images: CLICK HERE
ASSISTING MALPOSITIONED CHICKS.....
HOW AND WHEN TO ASSIST! CLICK HERE




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What Went Wrong During Incubation
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BELOW High Humidity causes red hocks

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Hatchability Problem Analysis CLICK HERE
Troubleshootting Incubation CLICK HERE​

Eggtopsy: What happened to my egg? CLICK HERE

"Shrink wrap" vs. "Sticky chick"? CLICK HERE​

Signs of Deficiency in the Embryo CLICK HERE

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New Chick Care Links and Info
How to Spot Problems of Newly Hatched Chicks CLICK HERE
Dont forget to have Sav-A-Chick™ Electrolyte and Vitamin Supplement on hand!

TIP: GROW GEL / FEED Newly hatched chick! ​

View attachment 1878100 View attachment 1878102

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DIP THE BEAK OF THE CHICK IN THE WATER BEFORE YOU TURN IT LOOSE in the brooder. For the first two days put sterilized marbles or stones in the waterer so they dont drown. A taste of water right away helps them to find more water soon. If your chicks are at all stressed, add about 3 tablespoons of brown or table sugar to each quart of water for extra energy. Most baby bird loss is caused because the bird doesn't start to eat or drink. Never let your bird run out of water. ​

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Homemade Electrolyte Recipe for weak/ill chicks
2 C. Water
2 TBL. Brown Sugar, honey or molasses
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
Mix until all dry ingredients dissolve & Keep refrigerated
You could also use electrolyte drinks Gatorade or Pedialyte, or
3 drops of POLYVISOL (liquid childrens A-B-D vitamins)
Slowly drip along inner edge of lower beak.​

Culling ~
Don't incubate unless you can Euthanize or have someone that can do it for you! It will happen!
GOOGLE "How to Cull or Euthanize chicks"​

FINISHED ~
SANITIZE EQUIPMENT & PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK!





A few Cool Videos!


THIS is a video of a CANDLE at DAY 10!

Let the kids and Grandkids help you incubate and care for chicks!​

Our Daughter helped make our very first coolerincubator and followed us along on our first attempt! She learned alot! and they sure do love chicks!
Our Son Lucas in below image and video...
View attachment 1878093

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Disclaimer: Please note this information is offered as friendly advice only and, whilst I have made every effort to ensure it is accurate, I can not be held responsible if it proves not to be useful in your case!


Sally Sunshine





Educational Incubation & Hatching, w/ Sally Sunshine Click HERE & NOTES section click HERE
Hatching 101 Article click HERE & Assisted Hatching Guide Click HERE
Cabinet Coolerbator ~ Pallet Coops ~ Saloon Coop ~ Pallet Duck House & Duck Care
Processing Support Group~ PINTEREST ALL POULTRY ~Our Serama House of Littles Click HERE ~Mushy Chick Disease ~ Nasty Chicken Butt ~ Easy no Strain Fermented Feed ~ Easy 5gal Waterer



A little fun compliments of my friend Oz!

My new Avy Created by my friend cochins1088 from BYC,
How cool is that!​

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[R2elk]

As requested here are some pics of how I adapted for candling the 3000 lumen flashlight that Sally Sunshine recommended. It is a very easy task if a person can find the 1 1/4" foam pipe insulation but since all I had available to me was the 1" foam pipe insulation, I cut an extra piece to fill the exposed gap and used electrical tape to tape the foam together. By using a little compression it made the foam fit very tightly but can still be pulled off of the flashlight without untaping it. Not very fancy, but total time involved was less than 5 minutes.

 

[Rockashelle]

Hello Everyone!

I thought I would give you an update on my hatch. All six eggs hatched and they are all healthy and active. I do have to tell you, initially… one little egg didn’t start off so well.

I want you to meet….. YOLK!

Initially, all the eggs looked to be in good hatching condition. My first hatched and then two others started pipping at the same time. I was excited. It was a hatch off… Little did I know, that one of the eggs was going to lag WAY behind.

24 hours later… I was VERY concerned. Still no progress and this little chick appeared to be not only dry but crusting up. After talking with my secret Sally… I decided that with my DH’s assistance, I needed to intervene. Everything was done in stages. We wrapped the egg in a moist paper towel prior to attempting “The assist”. The humidity at this point was 75% due to the last of the other eggs hatching. I waited VERY impatiently for them to hatch so they wouldn’t be put into the same scenario. The inner membranes blood vessels were all absorbed and it was becoming transparent. It was time to start.

"The Assist"
We slowly in stages moistened the dry crusty matter away from the exposed chick and continuously put her back into the bator off and on to make sure she was warm. She chipped and peeped and hollered the whole time. Using an eye dropper, I inserted small drops of 97 degree water between the open membrane and feathers to help loosen the outer membrane that was stuck like glue to her feathers. I was extremely careful not to get water drops anywhere near her face, nose, and ears. It was AWFUL and took a very long time. I slowly chipped and peeled down to where it still looked moist under her shell, wrapped her back in a warm moist paper towel and waited to see if she could do it herself.

That’s when we noticed, her facial feathers were all glued to her belly and every attempt she made to pull away pulled on her delicate skin. My heart was broken. We let her rest for a while and tried to evaluate what our next step would be. 28 hours had past. We brought her back out and with a warm sponge; I brushed where I could see and applied moisture to the area without leaving excess water for her to inhale. The last thing we wanted was for her to drown after getting her this far. She went back into the bator and we waited some more.

With a huge holler, push and shove… she was out!

One more shove out of the shell and we discovered what the problem was. At some point during her hatch, she had punctured the yolk sack. Her legs were bound with yolk. They were literally cuffed together. It was tough, dried, and very sticky.

“The Sauna Swaddle”

Up goes the humidity, swaddled like a baby into another warm clean paper towel, into a corner where she couldn’t move or be harassed by the other chicks witnessing the whole event. All the while, little Yolk was ******! She’s a real pistol and didn’t give up through the whole process.

Back to the sink we go. I used a butadiene dilute (antiseptic) solution and slowly sponged the dried on sticky goo away from her little legs. This left her umbilical cord and what remained of the once dried but now thanks to the sauna swaddle, mushy empty yolk sack.

With sterilized bandage scissors, I chose to clip the umbilical cord where I saw no remaining blood. Closer to her body where it connected, I could see the last remaining blood in the vessel. I then used vetericyn to cover the umbilical stump. No sooner did I finish, Yolk pooped all over my hand and the stump I had just took so much caution cleaning. I have never in my life been so happy to be pooped on! She couldn’t poop meconium without having anything in her system which meant… she had absorbed enough of the yolk. Yippie… clean, rinse, treat and back in the bator to dry. Whew!

Well, I’d like to say we are done here… but we’re not:

It was obvious when we placed her back in the bator that there was going to be more to this story. Her feet were rolled up and over, she was dragging herself by her hocks, and her head was flipped over her back. It was awful! Any attempt on her part to use her feet immediately sent her flying backward to her back. This poor little thing. I will let you know, the thought did go through my mind…. “This is why most people do not attempt to help and let nature take its course”! I told myself that this is what I planned on doing when I started the incubation process.

I remembered Sally’s article had “orthopedic procedures” listed. Next thing I know, I get a message from Sally to make sure her feet are ok. Man Sally… were you reading my mind??? LOL!

I made some sandals for her to splint her little feet. My husband was already in bed at this point. ***Note to self*** applying chick sandals by oneself is VERY DIFFICULT

This did not resolve her neck bent over her back. It was the positioning in her egg for so long. What to do, what to do….? Ah ha! Ok guys, no laughing… I had to find a box that I could cut a hole in so her legs would be suspended (she needed to stretch her hocks out, they were held tight to her body) and wouldn’t touch so she couldln’t kick out of the box. Also, the box had to be small enough so that if she were to fall through the hole, she wouldn’t have long to fall. I also needed to device something to keep her poor little head off of her back, but would it work? This is about the only time I was not mad at my husband for not throwing away the empty toilet paper roll. Ok… now look at the picture!

I woke up so that every two hours I could dip her little beak into a sugar water solution. The first several attempts, she didn’t even attempt to swallow. Finally, she swallowed.. I was very concerned that my little Yolk may have brain damage. She acted NOTHING like any other chick I have ever seen. She just laid their peeping… peeping… She laid on her box for the rest of the night.

This morning to my surprise, she was still alive just chirping away. It was a different chirp. No distress sounds. I opened the bator, picked her up, gave her a drink and took her to the brooder where her siblings were. I set her down and her little head immediately flipped so I placed my finger over it, still leaving her standing… yes, I said standing on her own. Her head stayed there and has ever since! Woo hoo!

Just so you all know, she is now more like a normal chick. Pecking at things on the ground, at chicks and attempting to walk with her sandals an all. She is still weaker than the rest and not as sturdy, but she’s a real fighter! I am rotating her from the box, to the floor of the hatcher, and to the brooder today until she is strong enough to pick on the other chicks.

Here she is!

Wish us luck!

 

[ozexpat]

i am having a rant after wandering into a thread of people throwing opinions like talk radio hosts - here goes:


I have decided, in my humble opinion, bad hatch rates come from 2 things. less than ideal eggs or less than ideal understanding of the process.

Doing a meta-analysis of hundreds of people on this site's hatches - including my own - I have made the following observations:

Get good eggs. Practice hatching on eggs from your hens or someone nearby. Know that they are fresh, unshaken and from robust chickens you have seen with your own eyes.

Unless you absolutely positively cannot live a day longer without a breed of chicken that is not available locally - dont buy shipped eggs, If you do, dont get all analytic about what you did right or wrong by hatching them without a baseline. Instead, hatch some control group eggs. Once you have established a good hatch rate with a local source, hatch the local eggs along side those precious ones. If you get a good hatch from the control group and a poor one from the ebay eggs then guess what? Its the eggs. Now if both batches are poor, its your technique.

Make a plan and stick to it. If you are going dry incubation then do it. If you are following the instructions of the incubator, do it. Make notes. Learn about your eggs development. I numbered all my first eggs and weighed them on day 0, 7, 1i0 and 18. I knew those eggs when they hatched. 18 went into lock down, 17 came out alive.

Get a strong LED flashlight - forget the incandescent plug in candler you bought from amazon. Look at them on day 7-10, 14 and 18. Learn what they should look like.


Wash your dirty little hands with soap an water for 2 minutes before you handle an egg. We set incubators at 99.5F - the same temp hospital labs use to see if you have bacteria in your wound blood or pee. They leave the specimen in for 3 days to see if it grows bugs. Our poor eggs are in 21 days - enough to create a biological weapon.

I also believe the term lockdown is like old days when the husband was in the way during birthing and told to go boil lots of water. Its invented to stop interfering - including the rolling of eggs. If you need to get a chick out of the bator to intervene or its been a staggered hatch, then get it out. There is not a magical force that suddenly shrink wraps an egg. We are making chickens - not soufles. Shrink wrapping is something that happens over time with low humidity in a pipped egg.

Finally, get advice from people with more than opinions. Use the resources on this site that are brilliant. Sally Sunshine and Sumi on https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704328/diary-notes-air-cell-detatched-shipped-eggs are amazing. Sally has stayed up all night helping people assist their one surviving chick out of the egg. On that thread and many others, there are heroes of BYC. Get to know them. Get to know who you can ask for advice, get to know your incubator, get to know your eggs and finally get to know when to mess with them and when to leave them alone.

Good luck

BTW Sally - you really are an amazing woman. May God bless you for all your generosity here.

 

[hillfloweranch]

Here ya go Sally!! Total backyard style sign but hope ya like it!

 

[chicksooner]

Her crop is fine her poop is watery, i think it might be round worm just doing serious research now, thanks

Treat for Cocci. If they are new to you they probably were introduced to new strains of coccidiosis that they had not previously been exposed to. I don't think a round worm would be that fast but cocci can be. The main symptom is they look cold all fluffed up. Neck pulled in close to the body. They can have watery loose and even yellow foamy looking poo.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

SPARKEY~~~~ I found a friend on BYC with a USED Bator for you! She is going to GIFT us with one of her xtra bators, and I will pay her for the packaging and shipping to get it to you!

We may be able to ship it out friday!!

HOWEVER~ I need you to check with your Daddo first and make sure its ok with him. He can call me too! and so can you LOL!!


So EXCITED for you!!!

 

[ozexpat]

Creams Ointments Tinctures and stuff.

Topical medications and over-the-counter products can be formulated in different ways. You have probably seen the words cream, lotion and ointment, and never gave a thought as to what might be the difference among them. These terms are actually defined differently and can make a difference when you apply the medication. I encourage you all to do your own research and make your own informed decisions when treating not only your chickens, but yourself.

Creams are a semi-solid emulsion, half oil and half water. This formulation is typically the easiest to use. They spread easily, absorb quickly and wash off with water.

Ointments are 80% oil and 20% water. These products feel greasy, do not absorb well and are generally not easy to use on large areas. They are ‘occlusive,’ which means they trap moisture and heat in very well. Ointments promote medication absorption over all other formulations. If an ingredient is in an ointment, it is always more potent than the exact same ingredient packaged in a cream or lotion.

Gels are emulsions that contain oil-in-water. They usually have an alcohol base. They dry into a thin, greaseless, nonstaining film. Like lotions and foams, they are ideal for spreading on hairy areas and large areas.

A tincture is a skin preparation that has a high percentage of alcohol. It would normally be used as a drug vehicle if drying of the area is desired.

Neosporin (or triple antibiotic ointments) are indicated for topical use. Topical means external. The membranes on inside of an egg are not external while they are still receiving blood supply from the chick. These membranes, as we know, have veins that you can see but also millions of tiny vessels that you cans see – they were the organ that was used by the chick for 21 days to get oxygen to their body. Now as the vessels spasm down and shut off, the dangers of Neomycin toxicity diminish. When it comes to slathering Neosporin onto vascular membranes of an egg, use caution. The smallest amount necessary should be used. Absorbing a large amount of this medication into the body can increase the risk of damage to the ears or kidneys due to neomycin.

Betadine antiseptic solution contains 10% povidone-iodine and is the foremost documented, broad spectrum topical iodophor microbide. It is used in hospitals to clean wounds but not really as a dressing or sustaining anti microbial treatment. If the intent is to keep the skin wound moist, we use an ointment like Neosporin. If the intent is to aid in drying a wound, we more often use a tincture.

Drying creates a scab faster. The scab is a cap under which the wound heals. This dried surface is way less prone to an infection than a moist ointment filled environment – even if the ointment is antimicrobial. For belly buttons or umbilicus, tincture of iodine is normally used.

 

[ozexpat]

About a month ago I think? Brand new, first time around for it. Don't get me wrong, my thermometers always read what I want them to read, but that's quite a temp swing. Granted, it does it fairly rapidly but it seems like such a waste of energy. Difference between proportional, which gives the heat source just enough energy to keep the set temp, and non which kicks on and off.

And that's fine, but please remember that we're all entitled to our opinions and mine is that I think Hovabators are junk. Ask any reptile breeder who has more than a few breeding animals what they think of Hovabators. I figured I'd give it a try, and now I see why none of the reptile folks use these. *shrug* This might be my first time hatching poultry, but it ain't my first rodeo when it comes to eggs, at all. I've probably hatched close to $50k worth of reptiles in that cooler you see there. Do I think the Hovabator is trustworthy enough for even one of those eggs? No way. I understand how incubation works. I understand how incubators work. Or, how they should work. I've built many of them over the years, from all sorts of things. I understand the limitations of flimsy styrofoam. I just didn't think it would perform this pitifully. It's like I stepped out of a rolls royce at the dealership, and they handed me the keys to the beater pinto. Road safety orange, of course.

My room temps are stable. The incubators are in my reptile room, as I talked about several pages back, which has a steady temp (oil filled radiators on wired in thermostats and a fan to circulate air) of 80 degrees, and ambient humidity of 60%. There are no drafts. Windows are caulked and I have transparent film over them to keep out any cool air - also have heavy shades on them to keep sunlight off electronics, and the vent system to that room is completely closed off. My 24 hour temp swing for that room is less than one degree. There is no reason at all that shouldn't be a perfectly acceptable environment for this styrofoam incubator to work in. Don't even get me started on that ratchety turner.

My thermometers are precise. And when I say precise, I mean to less than a tenth of a degree accuracy. They also measure humidity accurately.

My cooler required absolutely no playing with electrical wire. Everything plugs in. Heat tape into the thermostat, thermostat into the wall. Fan also plugs right in. I purchased all of those items that way.

All I'm saying is, I'm not impressed. Why you old timers are taking such offense to it is beyond me. I'm just chatting about the normal daily goings on as is everyone else here, and that includes the fact that once I've got myself a hatcher built this thing is going out the window. Sorry if you are offended by my opinion on what I feel is a shoddy product for $200.

Last post on it. You guys have at it, but you'll never convince me my cooler isn't a million times better than styrofoam or that Hovabator isn't laughing all the way to the bank. If I'm not wanted here with the good ol boys just say so and I'll pack up my ball and go play elsewhere. There's a difference between a friendly debate, and calling someone an idiot without bothering to read the rest of their posts for the info that proves they're not (temps, thermometers, etc).

cool your jets

i am not arguing with you. i was creating an argument for the use of the bator. and i never implied you are an idiot. your bator is grreat

there are thousands of people out there without the knowledge and experience you have - and all the money they can afford tied up in their styro bators. Insight into maximizing the use of them is all I was offering.

peace

and here is my home made bator





and by the way -comparative knowledge is best transferred in debate. I could post a whole diatribe on the down side of a styro bator but where would the fun be in doing what everyone else does.

(and thats the first time I have been called an old timer

). **** these fiery young whipper snappers

 

[ozexpat]

An open letter to egg shippers

Dear Sir/Madam

I am excited about our business arrangement and look forward to your eggs arriving here in the best possible condition. While I am sure you have had plenty of experience shipping eggs, I have had vast experience receiving eggs. Many of those I have received have failed miserably. I would like to share what I feel is the ideal way to receive eggs.

1. Eggs must be fresh. By that I mean that they should be less than 3 days. It takes 3 days for USPS to get the eggs from you to me and then they need to rest for 24 hours. Any eggs over 3 days old when shipped will be over 7 days old when I get them into my incubator. (when I negotiate for shipped eggs that I am going to take overseas I only buy from sellers that can collect the day before and the day of posting). Also remember that the older the egg the larger the air cell so the more damage. Please never ship me an egg laid on a Wednesday.

2. Please label the eggs before you wrap them. You may only have one breed of birds but I may be buying several orders at one and sometimes I have to look up the shipping label to reference in order to find out who they came from and what breed they are. I am always impressed when the date laid is also on there. A lead pencil or non-toxic marker such as a sharpie are great. One shipper also included a letter code for the different pens. This was great as I could then provide feedback to the shipper about the hatch rates from different pens.

3. Packing. I prefer the skyline method. http://www.skylinepoultry.com/Packing___shipping_eggs.html using bubble wrapped individual eggs and have them sit large end up. Use lots of shredded paper or styro peanuts to fill the voids between, above and below the eggs. Then place them in a second box with the same material padding. This will minimized impact damage. Lots of heavy and odd shaped items will be in the same trucks as these precious lives. Alternatively, ship with foam inserts available from www.texaspoultry.com. I personally use these to ship eggs overseas. They are more costly but the best solution I have found.

4. Shipping. Never ship on Thursday. That will guarantee you will give me old eggs. The best shipping days are Saturdays, Monday and Tuesday. This gives the post office wiggle room to mess up the shipment and still get here with time to salvage. A Wednesday and Thursday shipments are risky. Fridays are OK but occasionally the USPS can get eggs here in 2 days and Friday shipments remove that possibility.


5. Ask me if it is my preference to pick them up at the post office (reducing handling) or not. Some of who work cannot get to the post office. Others would prefer less handled eggs.

6. Ship me what I buy. Yesterday I got a shipment of advertised as 16+ Ameraucana Buff and Ameraucana eggs. 10 were brown. When I contacted the seller he said that they were not buff colored Ameraucanas but Ameraucana rooster over Buff Orpington hens. This is deceptive and I demanded a refund for the whole sale. 6 blue eggs will not help for me at all.


edited by staff