Air cell at wrong end?

[Nighthawk78]

So I set a batch of eggs into the incubator and we’re four days in, and I noticed a few things this evening that I somehow missed during the initial check. One of the eggs has the air cell at the pointy end and I don’t know if that makes it bad for incubation or not. There’s also one egg that looks like it’s shell might be thin and another that might have a crack, I can’t tell if it’s a crack or just a mar on the surface. I need to know if I should pull these eggs now or just wait and see how they go.

 

[Tonyroo]

If you see the egg with a crack oozing a clear yellowy substance, trash that egg immediately.
It's been compromised by bacteria and spreading fast inside the egg. If you leave it in the incubator too long it will damage your other eggs also. This comment was from a learned experience I went through.

And with the egg with the air sac on the bottom, that egg still has time to correct itself, you should position that egg in a 45 degree angle with the pointy end down.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

OK, my recommend (granted, i have had terrible fortune incubating) is keep it, keep it, and because you are only four days in, keep it. I've actually hatched (with partial success) an egg with the air sack in the wrong place.

Monitor all closely - it sounds like the crack didn't rupture the inner membrane, so things should develop fine. Just make sure it doesn't get colonized by bacteria and put the rest of the hatch at risk, but while things are progressing, let it.

I have read here of numerous people who received eggs via mail with air sack problems, they often place them in egg cartons, oriented to help things get where they belong, early on - with some success. Manual turning, of course. Thin shell should be just fine.

 

[Nighthawk78]

Oh you have them pointy side down? (My incubator lays em flat so I forget about the incubators that stand em up )

hmm that is a good question. So there is no air cell whatsoever on the flat end?

Hmm I guess for experimenting purposes I would flip it. Is the pointy end and flat end kinda the same? I know some eggs tend to be hard to tell which is the top and bottom side

OK, my recommend (granted, i have had terrible fortune incubating) is keep it, keep it, and because you are only four days in, keep it. I've actually hatched (with partial success) an egg with the air sack in the wrong place.

Monitor all closely - it sounds like the crack didn't rupture the inner membrane, so things should develop fine. Just make sure it doesn't get colonized by bacteria and put the rest of the hatch at risk, but while things are progressing, let it.

I have read here of numerous people who received eggs via mail with air sack problems, they often place them in egg cartons, oriented to help things get where they belong, early on - with some success. Manual turning, of course. Thin shell should be just fine.

They’re all point-down in the auto turning rack which means the yolk is quite close to the air cell. It’s a very definitely pointy egg and the cell is quite small because of that but they all are to start with so that’s not too concerning.

I’ve marked the three in question so I can keep a closer eye on them, I just wasn’t sure if any of the issues would cause the ducklings to die later in development and if it would be better to remove them now, but I’ll see how they go. Might try turning that one around to see if I can shift the yolk down so it has more room, but not be safe without it getting unbalanced when they turn.

If anything happens I’ll update again, if not will probably be back in about a week with updates

 

[Nighthawk78]

Forgot to update sooner, but here it is: the three mentioned eggs didn’t develop and were discarded with the other bad eggs, which might have been due to the dodgy incubator rather than the eggs themselves.

 

[Nighthawk78]

I would just wait and see. Mark them so you can keep an extra eye on them.

Thin shell eggs can still hatch, they are just more prone to bacteria since the shell is so thin, but I’ve never had a problem hatching out my thin shell eggs

How does it look when you candle the cracked one?

I can see the crack when I candle it, development-ways it seems to be no different from the others but we’re only a few days in. I can feel it if I run my nail over it, it catches slightly at one point but I don’t think it’s broken through completely.

It’s the one with the air cell at the bottom I’m most worried about, should I try turning it the other way so the air cell is at the top while it develops, like the others, or is there no point?

 

[hysop]

I can see the crack when I candle it, development-ways it seems to be no different from the others but we’re only a few days in. I can feel it if I run my nail over it, it catches slightly at one point but I don’t think it’s broken through completely.

It’s the one with the air cell at the bottom I’m most worried about, should I try turning it the other way so the air cell is at the top while it develops, like the others, or is there no point?

Oh you have them pointy side down? (My incubator lays em flat so I forget about the incubators that stand em up )

hmm that is a good question. So there is no air cell whatsoever on the flat end?

Hmm I guess for experimenting purposes I would flip it. Is the pointy end and flat end kinda the same? I know some eggs tend to be hard to tell which is the top and bottom side

 

[U_Stormcrow]

addendum - no experience myself, but numerous places mention using clear, unscented candle wax to seal minor cracks in shells. In theory, it sounds good - assuming you have a birthday candle or similar handy. A votive would be better - because its both uncolored and unscented.

 

[hysop]

If you do decide to do the candle wax fix, don’t overdo it because clogging up the egg pores will kill the embryo. I’ve heard clear mail polish also works well.

I’ve never done either

 

[hysop]

I would just wait and see. Mark them so you can keep an extra eye on them.

Thin shell eggs can still hatch, they are just more prone to bacteria since the shell is so thin, but I’ve never had a problem hatching out my thin shell eggs

How does it look when you candle the cracked one?