Setting 41 on 6-15, 7-8, 7-31, and 8-23 feel free to join in at any time

[NTBugtraq]

If they did not actively move in the water, I'd suspect they are dead. I had a video posted on here somewhere of one of my eggs dipping and bobbing in the water.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_6Hsv6OB2gtYjRRTXNzd0lyQlU

I have no eggs moving like that...

 

[WVduckchick]

I can't view the video on my phone, but I've done it. You need to wait to see if they bobble in the water. Sometimes it can take up to a minute. If it bobbles, its alive. If it doesn't, it could still be alive, but less likely.

 

[RubyNala97]

I can't view the video on my phone, but I've done it. You need to wait to see if they bobble in the water. Sometimes it can take up to a minute. If it bobbles, its alive. If it doesn't, it could still be alive, but less likely.

Remember Wv, I had that one egg that did not move in the water but when I took it out of the water, I went into my closet to candle (so it'd be very dark) and I saw movement in the egg 100%. It's unlikely but not impossible.

 

[RubyNala97]

So I just went through the data again to see if a pattern emerges, floats straight up and down versus on an angle...and again, nothing. I thought the up and downers should be heavier, meaning they should not have lost as much water as the ones on their side (by virtue of the fact that the air sac is smaller). No proof of this in the data. The ones floating up and down actually represent both extremes in the weight loss category...one has lost 17.13% and another has lost 11.30%. Meanwhile, the slanters have one egg that's lost only 10.34%, and another that has lost 16.04%...and of course both categories have eggs near ideal ~14.06%. Its really frustrating. However, I consider the possibility that the eggs died on different days, then I assume its possible they stopped loosing weight on the day they died...or lost less weight than ideal after they died.

I have read so many posts now by people that say using egg weight loss is the best way of determining egg viability and proper progress in incubation...but as long as the results are like I am getting (in terms of the numbers), weight loss is no better than 50/50...which is as good as flipping a coin...

I have to admit, when I began hatching I wanted to be the best!! I had read so much research. My first hatch I went by air cell size. My second I went by weight and air cell size. The numbers of the weight loss, conflicted with what I was seeing with the air cells. So I went against my gut (I thought the air cells looked good) and added humidity because according to the numbers I needed to. Well I hatched out all sticky chicks. So I decided to stop the weighing and go with the air cells. No more sticky chicks. Lol. That's just my experience. Someone said it better then I could. But hatching is more then just the science and math that goes with it. It really is an art!

 

[WalnutHill]

If in doubt, sacrifice one more. Call it done if necessary. You have a few viable chicks, work with those, and set more. That's why I built a 200 egg cabinet. Between culls and duds, it can take a lot of eggs to get a good breeding flock established.

 

[NTBugtraq]

If in doubt, sacrifice one more. Call it done if necessary. You have a few viable chicks, work with those, and set more. That's why I built a 200 egg cabinet. Between culls and duds, it can take a lot of eggs to get a good breeding flock established.

TY WalnutHill, my thoughts exactly. I have just been looking for some factual guidance from my hatches, like; don try to hatch eggs older than X days from laying, don't try to hatch eggs over X grams, don't try to hatch eggs that haven't been turned X days after hatch....

I've got no data that has helped with any of those questions...but ok, as you say, set again.

 

[WalnutHill]

As every rule is made to be broken, I'll run down my rules and what I find when I break them:

Don't set eggs more than 10 days old...set eggs as old as you want, but be aware that fertility decreases, incident of sticky chick increases, and chicks will hatch late.
Turn eggs while awaiting setting...if you are not diligent, they will probably still incubate without issue.
Keep eggs cool and temperature controlled awaiting setting...keeping at room temperature accelerates aging and air cell growth. 55-60F in a ziplock is ideal for longer storage.
Turn eggs at least 3 times a day...turn eggs.
Don't set double yolk...if you do expect either a fail when one embryo dies, or to do a totally assisted hatch.
Don't set pullet eggs...only drawback is small chicks, but they should catch up in a couple of weeks. This is the best way to test genetics early.
Store and set eggs fat end up...storage is not essential, but always set eggs fat end up if not on their side.

When setting genetics with line breeding. mate daughters to fathers and sons to mothers. This is true...but be sure to select parent stock and offspring stock with ONLY ideal characteristics,, whether color or conformation or production. Flaws will be magnified and set as well as positive qualities.

In the first generation of offspring, hatch a lot and select only the best for breeders. Whatever the goal you are breeding for, don't compromise. If selecting for multiple characteristics, develop lines that most closely approach the ideal for that characteristic, then cross those to get a better bird.

Culling is your friend. Don't breed inferior birds or sick birds, even for egg production.

 

[WVduckchick]

Remember Wv, I had that one egg that did not move in the water but when I took it out of the water, I went into my closet to candle (so it'd be very dark) and I saw movement in the egg 100%. It's unlikely but not impossible.

I do remember that, Not likely to forget it!

 

[NTBugtraq]

Here we are on the morning of Day 23. I redid the float test and found one egg that had distinct movement. I took the shell off over the air cell for the others and put my finger on the chick's body, none moved. So, culled 12 that probably died on or near lockdown.

Turned my attention to the other one, and re-read Sally Sunshine's Guide to Assisting hatches...so I removed the shell slowly, leaving the external membrane intact...and found I could not see a beak...so I removed the external membrane and could quickly see the body of the chick moving with its heartbeat...

I wet the inner membrane but cannot see a beak, eye, wing, yolk sac, or anything distinguishable...

So for now I am sticking with Sally's advice, leave it be for 2 hours and check again.

So, assuming this last one survives, that gives me a 77% fertility rate and 54% hatch rate...

I know I didn't lockdown on Day 18, so the humidity was only at 45% on Day 19 (when I got 3 hatches and 4 other pips). I don't see how that could have killed so many eggs (arguably, 15 eggs were killed around that time). I did raise the humidity part way through Day 19, to 65%, and I also candled all the eggs that day...I have nearly 80 eggs ready to go into the two Brinseas...better luck next time.

 

[WalnutHill]

Here we are on the morning of Day 23. I redid the float test and found one egg that had distinct movement. I took the shell off over the air cell for the others and put my finger on the chick's body, none moved. So, culled 12 that probably died on or near lockdown.

Turned my attention to the other one, and re-read Sally Sunshine's Guide to Assisting hatches...so I removed the shell slowly, leaving the external membrane intact...and found I could not see a beak...so I removed the external membrane and could quickly see the body of the chick moving with its heartbeat...

I wet the inner membrane but cannot see a beak, eye, wing, yolk sac, or anything distinguishable...

So for now I am sticking with Sally's advice, leave it be for 2 hours and check again.

So, assuming this last one survives, that gives me a 77% fertility rate and 54% hatch rate...

I know I didn't lockdown on Day 18, so the humidity was only at 45% on Day 19 (when I got 3 hatches and 4 other pips). I don't see how that could have killed so many eggs (arguably, 15 eggs were killed around that time). I did raise the humidity part way through Day 19, to 65%, and I also candled all the eggs that day...I have nearly 80 eggs ready to go into the two Brinseas...better luck next time.

Good luck with the late hatcher. If it's malpositioned, and blood vessels and yolk can't be seen from where you've opened, then you will probably be assisting this afternoon.

I too have some losses when I move to lockdown, but in my case I move the eggs from an upright turner to horizontal, from an incubator to a hatcher, and from dry air to moist air. Chances are I am stressing some of them to the breaking point. I hope hatching in the GQF solves that.

Just keep good notes, once you find the factors that are more successful, refine them.