Emu egg weight loss ... fresh laid or incubation weight?

[Ebarnes-21]

Do we count the weight we want to lose 15% of from the fresh laid weight, or the weight at beginning of incubation?

I have 6 emu eggs now 10 days in, I'm verging on too much weight loss and not sure how to calculate it exactly?

I got all the fresh weights from the breeder, and in the intervening 3-14 (average 9) days between lay and my receiving the clutch of course some weight loss already occurred. So which do I count it from?

The laid weights of the eggs average 558g.

The weight at beginning of incubation was average 545g.

So ... where do I calculate my 15% from?

If it is from the fresh weight, because of the time already stored and the weight loss during that period I have to lose significantly less weight during the 50 day incubation, as I have essentially a 9 day extra long period to calculate.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Either, most would probably go from time of set weight, but there is only a small amount of difference between the 2.

I am interested in what the Pro's say so I wanted to post so I can follow. I have never hatched Emu eggs but might get a chance one day.

I do not weigh any eggs I hatch, chicken, ducks, guinea, peachick, turkey, etc. I just set my humidity at what I feel is right and incubate----with a high hatch rate of fertile eggs.

 

[Ebarnes-21]

Ok so FYI, the information I have gathered on this subject from all the searching humanly possible is as follows.

With Emu the only way you can tell air cell size is to weigh, as the shells are solid and dark green they can't be candled ... I've never weighed anything like geese chickens etc either, and rarely worry much about air cell size, the humidity range for a chicken egg is easy to get right, and they don't cost $30 a piece either!

But at this point I'm struggling slightly to keep the weight loss low enough ... even though my humidity is stable and perfectly controlled, and higher than any recommendations I've seen for Emu, the weight loss per day is pushing 2g, where either 1.7 or 1.4g is appropriate, depending on which weight figure is used.

Yes, either measure will usually do well enough. Total weight loss should be 15%, or at least between 13-17%, giving a decent range. But I have a problem.

If the figure is taken from the set weight, then my average egg is heading for a slightly high weight loss of 18%, which should concern me but can be corrected easily enough at this stage.

If its taken from the fresh laid weight however, my average egg is in deep pucky, heading for a 20% total weight loss, which is widely considered an emergency situation.

Thus my concern. Yes, normally it wouldn't make that much difference, but now it does.

Of course the take-away is, without any question, I need to lower that weight loss asap. That means I'm now operating at 50%RH, whereas normal recommendation for Emu is 30-35%, or often even lower. I hope to see the weight loss drop to 1.5g by tonight.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Of course the take-away is, without any question, I need to lower that weight loss asap. That means I'm now operating at 50%RH, whereas normal recommendation for Emu is 30-35%, or often even lower. I hope to see the weight loss drop to 1.5g by tonight.

Thanks for that Info!!

Question I am curious about----you said you need to Lower that weight fast----you said you were now at 50% but 30-35% or lower is recommended----wouldn't it loose weight faster at the lower Humidity??

 

[Ebarnes-21]

No, wrong way around, I need to lower the weight Loss ... double negative issue because it is the rate of weight loss per day that we're talking about.

Maybe a better way of saying it would be I need to reduce the rate of weight loss.

That rate is too high right now, ie the weight is already dangerously low ... higher humidity is required to reduce the rate of weight loss, thus the reason I am running at 50% despite the recommended levels. As of the first post I was at 45%, now I've raised it again to 50%.

The good news is that after that adjustment, as of last night's checkup the weight loss is down to 1.33g, which finally puts me within a safe zone if that continues at a stable rate.

At least it was enough to get me a good night's sleep Lol ... I only got up to check them once ... I never knew being unable to candle an egg could cause so much anxiety!

 

[Ebarnes-21]

Ok so despite having the humidity stable at 48-52% they're still losing a bit fast ... for the first little while it seemed great, spot on 1.38g/day, but the last day or two has been 2g/day despite no change in humidity. Not getting that.

Considering masking tape to reduce surface area ... at least for the smaller eggs.

The problem is, the smallest eggs are losing weight too fast, and the biggest too slow! if the rates were just reversed I would heave a big sigh of relief.

I'm thinking perhaps my incubator actually has too much ventilation ... I know they need lots of air (compared to chickens ducks etc) but my incubator is homemade and is really really good at ventilation. The fan draws directly below the main vent, so if that is open it sucks fresh air in quite effectively.

If I just open it a little too far the heating element becomes unable to cope and the temperature drops consistently. The humidity is also radically effected by the opening of the vent/s, so I figure this shows pretty good fresh air circulation. I think I need to reduce the vents, because even though my humidity is being kept right, it takes over a cup of water per day to achieve 50%.

Trying that today. If it fails to reduce the rate of weight loss by tomorrow, I try the tape on the smaller eggs.

 

[Ebarnes-21]

Ok so at 20 days I taped eggs 1 & 2, two crossed circuits of insulation tape around the middle of the egg.

This made a fantastic difference to the weight loss in these eggs, which dropped to 0.8g at the same humidity rating.

So I have been able to lower the humidity to so far 40% and can still afford to drop it further, which is great. I'm considering taping half the amount on egg 3, which is still losing weight faster than the others. I think I will be able to lower the humidity to 35% and have them all happy if I do that.

 

[Ebarnes-21]

As a side note, I think that egg 1 is rotten now by two signs: firstly, the morning of the 21st day I touched it to turn it and it sounded changed.

They tap on emu eggs to detect changes in tone, which early on means rotten, and near hatch means a live chick who has pipped internally.

Well this was a radical change, so that I heard it on my fingers, and overnight. Not due to the tape I'd just added, because egg 2 has tape and hasn't changed tone.

Now, on day 25, I noticed for the first time that egg 1 had a slight smell. Very faint, but different on close inspection (envisage sniffing a giant green egg while thinking "Don't explode, please don't explode right now" ...

I'm thinking tomorrow, if as I suspect the smell is more definite, I will try a small hole at the bubble end to verify it is rotten.

I'm almost certain it is, and I will be very certain before I make any hole, the hole is just to prove it to myself conclusively before letting it cool down!

 

[Ebarnes-21]

Well I haven't taken egg 1 out because the slight smell seemed to disappear ... perhaps it was my imagination. Perhaps I am just going mad from the anxiety of not being able to candle!!

Also, I have now taped (half as much) on egg 3 as well, as the rate of loss was OK for that one but too low for the biggest ones ... so I've taped 3 a bit and now will lower the humidity a bit more. I'm currently at 30-35%RH and overall the rate of loss is OK, but I expect it will be much better after I can lower it a bit more for the bigger eggs.

The taping is so successful in lowering the rate of loss, my advice to those perhaps later reading this thread on their own first emu hatch is don't be shy to use electrical tape if you have an egg losing weight too fast. It works and gives immediate relief to a concerned Ms Daddy Emu!

Egg 3 seems slightly different in tone too, this time straight after taping ... so I think it has something to do with the tape changing the sound texture after all.

Day 27 now. I tried with a stethoscope today, but there was so much humming, echoing and so on I couldn't hear anything.

 

[I_speak_the_truth]

Well I haven't taken egg 1 out because the slight smell seemed to disappear ... perhaps it was my imagination. Perhaps I am just going mad from the anxiety of not being able to candle!!

Also, I have now taped (half as much) on egg 3 as well, as the rate of loss was OK for that one but too low for the biggest ones ... so I've taped 3 a bit and now will lower the humidity a bit more. I'm currently at 30-35%RH and overall the rate of loss is OK, but I expect it will be much better after I can lower it a bit more for the bigger eggs.

The taping is so successful in lowering the rate of loss, my advice to those perhaps later reading this thread on their own first emu hatch is don't be shy to use electrical tape if you have an egg losing weight too fast. It works and gives immediate relief to a concerned Ms Daddy Emu!

Egg 3 seems slightly different in tone too, this time straight after taping ... so I think it has something to do with the tape changing the sound texture after all.

Day 27 now. I tried with a stethoscope today, but there was so much humming, echoing and so on I couldn't hear anything.

Did the eggs end up hatching? I'm interested in the weight loss of emu eggs and would love to know how you "experiment" turned out