2019 Emu Hatch-A-Long

[Noellereagan]

Hi. I’m Noelle. I’m from Wisconsin. When I joined byc I had the good fortune of coming across @Pyxis through posts and articles and a few messages, she had the good influence on me to be compelled to order an emu egg. Yup. One. Single. Egg. I really hope I have good luck with my one little emu. I look forward to learning and sharing my progress. And certainly asking my endless questions on this thread. Thanks for the invite Pyxis! You’re the best.
I’ll start with this. I’m On day 2.5 and I’m at 95.5 degrees because I read to incubate a little lower for a little longer (55 to 58 days) is not only closer to the natural process of a 60 day incubation period but it also contributes to stronger chicks- is this true? Although I also read to kick it up a degree if I find my bottom of the egg temp to vary a degree or so. Which I hear is common. I’m not all that familiar with the bator because I had to buy it special for the egg to fit. With this theory it’s also said to keep humidity around 16%. Thoughts? If you all disagree would it be too late to Change stats?
Btw- fun fact ... my boyfriend of 12 years isn’t all too excited about me having an emu (he knows I want one because I put in necessary nighttime coop and outside fencing last summer- which he assisted with- so he’s not all that opposed it seems) so the egg and the bator is in a closet in the guest room he never enters. But hey- isn’t it said a closet is a good place to incubate? *Evil laugh*
The fact that the emu bator= the 6th of my actively operating bators full to the brim, may be an indication of why he’s not thrilled of the emu addition idea. And why I may need to attend hatcher’s Anonymous. But if one must have an addiction- is it the worst to have ? I’m on the right website to ask that surely. Plus, I have a waiting list for my birds so I’m not keeping ALL of them. Only the cute ones. Shoot..: they’re all cute aren’t they. I really do need my local chapter of hatcher’s Anonymous. It never gets old. The best “high” in my book! *evil laugh again* thanks for having me and my hopefully emu to be. His or her name will be Osborne. Even if it should be closet.

 

[Pyxis]

Hi. I’m Noelle. I’m from Wisconsin. When I joined byc I had the good fortune of coming across @Pyxis through posts and articles and a few messages, she had the good influence on me to be compelled to order an emu egg. Yup. One. Single. Egg. I really hope I have good luck with my one little emu. I look forward to learning and sharing my progress. And certainly asking my endless questions on this thread. Thanks for the invite Pyxis! You’re the best.
I’ll start with this. I’m On day 2.5 and I’m at 95.5 degrees because I read to incubate a little lower for a little longer (55 to 58 days) is not only closer to the natural process of a 60 day incubation period but it also contributes to stronger chicks- is this true? Although I also read to kick it up a degree if I find my bottom of the egg temp to vary a degree or so. Which I hear is common. I’m not all that familiar with the bator because I had to buy it special for the egg to fit. With this theory it’s also said to keep humidity around 16%. Thoughts? If you all disagree would it be too late to Change stats?
Btw- fun fact ... my boyfriend of 12 years isn’t all too excited about me having an emu (he knows I want one because I put in necessary nighttime coop and outside fencing last summer- which he assisted with- so he’s not all that opposed it seems) so the egg and the bator is in a closet in the guest room he never enters. But hey- isn’t it said a closet is a good place to incubate? *Evil laugh*
The fact that the emu bator= the 6th of my actively operating bators full to the brim, may be an indication of why he’s not thrilled of the emu addition idea. And why I may need to attend hatcher’s Anonymous. But if one must have an addiction- is it the worst to have ? I’m on the right website to ask that surely. Plus, I have a waiting list for my birds so I’m not keeping ALL of them. Only the cute ones. Shoot..: they’re all cute aren’t they. I really do need my local chapter of hatcher’s Anonymous. It never gets old. The best “high” in my book! *evil laugh again* thanks for having me and my hopefully emu to be. His or her name will be Osborne. Even if it should be closet.

Welcome to the thread!

As far as temperature goes, emus can hatch at a lot of temperatures, but there's a range of temperatures at which it's been found that you get the best results. I have a really awesome book that shows the range of temps that work and which are in the best range, and I know that 97.5, the temperature I use, is at the top of the best range, and takes 50 days for the chicks to hatch. I'm not positive if 95.5 is in that range, but I'll check my book for you when I get home from work.

As for humidity, that will entirely depend on how much weight your egg is losing. Did you weigh it before you started incubating? You will need its starting weight to make sure it's losing the proper amount of weight. If you didn't weigh it, there's a formula you can use to calculate what the starting weight would have been, but you'll need calipers.

Basically, the egg needs to lose 15% of its total weight over incubation to hatch healthy. There is some room for error - anywhere between 13% to 17% is considered safe - but 15% is considered the best.

 

[Pyxis]

Alrighty, reporting back after consulting my book. Unfortunately, my book doesn't even list 95.5 as in the safe range. Rather, the safe range starts at 96 and ends at 98. The optimum range is between 96.5 and 97.5.

 

[matt swenson]

just joined this forum. I'm Matt and i live on Cape Cod. i have a pair of emus in my back yard. raised them from chicks. A male from Ct and a female from MA. Taylor and Elvis in case your wondering. They are now 19 months old.it's actually been really easy raising them, and they're totally mellow creatures. they do poop...alot, which can get a bit stinky and mucky during a wet spell , but other than they have been lots of fun. For the most part I have done this independent of other owners/breeder. a few phone call and a couple of books. now for my reason for joining this forum and this post. Taylor has began laying eggs. so far six. so now i have a few questions... first off i have never seen them actual mate. i seen fragments of unmistakable mating behavior but never the "full show". but i dont watch them 24/7. any emu owner out there? do you always see them mate? I have seen him behind her on his knees and she has had some cuts on the back if her head neck. the also seem more "paired up than usual". any other signs aside from seeing the actual act i should look for?
secondly, assuming possibility of fertility, i have save the last 4 eggs. How long is the longest you would lets eggs go before beginning incubation? currently storing them in the basement @48 degrees. and turning them 180 degrees daily. (is that right?)
just finished building a incubator. any going to put it on a test incubation water filled jam jar, for the next few day. that said thanks for any advice and i'm sure i'll be asking for more . ---matt

 

[dpenning]

@featherz

pics soon!! Baby 2 is out! 551gm egg hatched on day 49 and 644gm egg hatched on day 51. I'll get pics as soon as they are both out and about - baby #2 literally just fell out of the egg about 30 minutes ago.

 

[SilksterTN]

just joined this forum. I'm Matt and i live on Cape Cod. i have a pair of emus in my back yard. raised them from chicks. A male from Ct and a female from MA. Taylor and Elvis in case your wondering. They are now 19 months old.it's actually been really easy raising them, and they're totally mellow creatures. they do poop...alot, which can get a bit stinky and mucky during a wet spell , but other than they have been lots of fun. For the most part I have done this independent of other owners/breeder. a few phone call and a couple of books. now for my reason for joining this forum and this post. Taylor has began laying eggs. so far six. so now i have a few questions... first off i have never seen them actual mate. i seen fragments of unmistakable mating behavior but never the "full show". but i dont watch them 24/7. any emu owner out there? do you always see them mate? I have seen him behind her on his knees and she has had some cuts on the back if her head neck. the also seem more "paired up than usual". any other signs aside from seeing the actual act i should look for?
secondly, assuming possibility of fertility, i have save the last 4 eggs. How long is the longest you would lets eggs go before beginning incubation? currently storing them in the basement @48 degrees. and turning them 180 degrees daily. (is that right?)
just finished building a incubator. any going to put it on a test incubation water filled jam jar, for the next few day. that said thanks for any advice and i'm sure i'll be asking for more . ---matt

Howdy Matt! I am just here to live vicariously through @Pyxis hatching emu. LOL I know she will be along to help you out

 

[dpenning]

just joined this forum. I'm Matt and i live on Cape Cod. i have a pair of emus in my back yard. raised them from chicks. A male from Ct and a female from MA. Taylor and Elvis in case your wondering. They are now 19 months old.it's actually been really easy raising them, and they're totally mellow creatures. they do poop...alot, which can get a bit stinky and mucky during a wet spell , but other than they have been lots of fun. For the most part I have done this independent of other owners/breeder. a few phone call and a couple of books. now for my reason for joining this forum and this post. Taylor has began laying eggs. so far six. so now i have a few questions... first off i have never seen them actual mate. i seen fragments of unmistakable mating behavior but never the "full show". but i dont watch them 24/7. any emu owner out there? do you always see them mate? I have seen him behind her on his knees and she has had some cuts on the back if her head neck. the also seem more "paired up than usual". any other signs aside from seeing the actual acct i should look for?
secondly, assuming possibility of fertility, i have save the last 4 eggs. How long is the longest you would lets eggs go before beginning incubation? currently storing them in the basement @48 degrees. and turning them 180 degrees daily. (is that right?)
just finished building a incubator. any going to put it on a test incubation water filled jam jar, for the next few day. that said thanks for any advice and i'm sure i'll be asking for more . ---matt

Welcome Matt! We need pictures! Many of us are living vicareously through those of you that actually have Emu.

 

[Pyxis]

just joined this forum. I'm Matt and i live on Cape Cod. i have a pair of emus in my back yard. raised them from chicks. A male from Ct and a female from MA. Taylor and Elvis in case your wondering. They are now 19 months old.it's actually been really easy raising them, and they're totally mellow creatures. they do poop...alot, which can get a bit stinky and mucky during a wet spell , but other than they have been lots of fun. For the most part I have done this independent of other owners/breeder. a few phone call and a couple of books. now for my reason for joining this forum and this post. Taylor has began laying eggs. so far six. so now i have a few questions... first off i have never seen them actual mate. i seen fragments of unmistakable mating behavior but never the "full show". but i dont watch them 24/7. any emu owner out there? do you always see them mate? I have seen him behind her on his knees and she has had some cuts on the back if her head neck. the also seem more "paired up than usual". any other signs aside from seeing the actual act i should look for?
secondly, assuming possibility of fertility, i have save the last 4 eggs. How long is the longest you would lets eggs go before beginning incubation? currently storing them in the basement @48 degrees. and turning them 180 degrees daily. (is that right?)
just finished building a incubator. any going to put it on a test incubation water filled jam jar, for the next few day. that said thanks for any advice and i'm sure i'll be asking for more . ---matt

Hi there! My two are too young to be mating, but it does sound like yours have a been. A lot of seasoned emu keepers say they don't see theirs mate - they might be doing it at night, or just when you're not around. I would try the eggs and see what happens. Worst case is you keep some unfertilized eggs in the incubator for a month.

I would keep eggs no longer than two weeks before setting them, for best chances. Emu eggs aren't like chicken eggs and you don't really need to do a 'lock down', so if you have eggs that are going to hatch at different times in the incubator, it's not really a problem.

 

[aart]

I would try the eggs and see what happens.

Does anyone eat their emu eggs?
Does yolk have a bullseye when fertile?

 

[Pyxis]

In bad news on my end, I think Egg E is bad. It's never lost enough weight even when running totally dry, and as I've been turning it the last several times, I swore I could feel its contents sloshing, which is no good. Yesterday, I actually heard it slosh. It's got no bad odor and it's not leaking or anything, so I'm letting it ride for now, but I'm pretty sure it's a bad egg.