Anyone Interested in a 2017/18 Emu Hatch Along?

[Destornis]

I heard that too, but I heard it very late in the game. I'm at the Eastern base of the Sierra Mountains, my house is at 5,500 feet. This is the high desert, so it is dry here. The thing I didn't understand is that the humidity in the incubator should not care what the humidity is outside of the incubator (yes, they ARE correlated and incubator humidity is affected by room humidity), what I mean is 30% RH at 97˚F here should be exactly the same environmentally as 30% RH at 97˚F at sea level. At least I think that's true. I understand that we are discussing altitude not just the RH but I'm not sure I understand how they relate to each other.

As far as the eggs go, well I have some bad/sad news. At the end of day 50 at about midnight I still heard a heartbeat in the one egg. Not much wiggling but a heartbeat for sure. I had already removed some of the tape (the air cell end had no tape) but there was still tape on the rest of the egg. There was no sign of an internal pip (I don't really know what I'm checking for other than a chick who whistles back). The next morning at about 6:30am there was no heartbeat. I couldn't hear anything at all and I got zero wiggles.
My heart sank.
I took the rest of the tape off and immediately bored a small "safety hole", I knew it was probably dead but figured I had nothing to lose by trying.

And that's where I am today, I think today is day 53 and I'm pretty certain they are both dead. I was going to open up the egg yesterday but didn't. I will probably open them both tonight.

I had lots of tape on them and was running at 50-60% RH at 97-97.5˚F for the last third of incubation time. Even then my daily losses were more than they should be.

Before I started I had read one seemingly reputable write-up that said to "start them dry" and several other accounts saying the same thing (retrospectively I think the other accounts were merely citing the initial write up). So I did just that - started them dry - they lost nearly four times the desired daily weight loss in the first day! That single day was detrimental and I tried to catch up every day after that with no luck. That article should have said "in my climate at an average humidity of X and an altitude of Y it works best to start them dry and only add water if needed". I am not trying to blame that bit of mis-information on the loss of my chicks but if I take that single data point out then the final weight loss is right around 17% (still too much, but possibly survivable) but with that first day the final weight loss was just over 19%. I clearly had lots of time (49 days or so) to fix the problem but struggled hard to keep loss below 2.5g daily!

I regret not adding tape sooner and I regret not starting them at at least 30% humidity. And I regret being so afraid to cross that mythical 40% RH boundary. If I ever try again (I hope to) I will be sure to aggressively handle weight loss early on and I will be less afraid of high humidity. I might know more after the autopsy.

Sorry for the long post.
I hope yours do better than mine!
-Logan

Oh wow, I'm so so sorry to hear all of this! I'm hoping for wiggles soon, but that sounds really hard to deal with, knowing that there was an alive chick but possibly died. I'm very sorry, but I'm so glad you tried. Will you be trying for more eggs? Maybe chicks? If you didn't crack them open yet, maybe wait a little longer unless you're absolutely sure. If you did, however, did they pass? At least it's a learning experience, maybe see if they were dehydrated, or maybe even bloated. i hope the best for you! Maybe try again! It's just nearly unbearable not knowing if there are alive chicks or not for 4 weeks..

 

[Destornis]

Just started my first two Emu eggs, have the weights recorded and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Egg 1 is 664g, egg 2 is 586g. Using a Sportsman cabinet incubator.

How fun!! Were these shipped eggs? Good luck to you, please keep us updated!

We have 5 eggs in the incubator. We got a breeding pair in Jan. Got first egg on March 10 and last one on March 24th. Temp is at 97.5 and Humidity around 20%. They have all lost 9% seem to be on track. The male bird we have follows us around like a dog and lays his head on your shoulder. Love these birds.

Emus look to be so fun, especially when hand raised. I hope if mine hatch, they become this tame, that's so sweet!

 

[featherz]

Ok so my eggs lost a little too much weight so I upped the humidity. Will check again tomorrow..

 

[CiaBia]

Hello everyone! I am new to hatching emus, as in I'm hatching my first and ONLY emu egg right now! Currently it's on day 42, and is quite the wiggle monster. For all that have hatched before or have done your fair share of research, would you mind answering a few questions for me?

Do emu eggs have a 'lockdown' period before hatch like chicken eggs? Aka, do you stop turning and raise humidity a few days before hatch day? From what I've learned I know the humidity level during incubation depends on weight lose, is it different before hatch? I know hatch times vary greatly with them, and I apologise in advance for my newbie questions

ANY help is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!!

 

[Destornis]

Hello everyone! I am new to hatching emus, as in I'm hatching my first and ONLY emu egg right now! Currently it's on day 42, and is quite the wiggle monster. For all that have hatched before or have done your fair share of research, would you mind answering a few questions for me?

Do emu eggs have a 'lockdown' period before hatch like chicken eggs? Aka, do you stop turning and raise humidity a few days before hatch day? From what I've learned I know the humidity level during incubation depends on weight lose, is it different before hatch? I know hatch times vary greatly with them, and I apologise in advance for my newbie questions

ANY help is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!!

Hello, welcome!!
I'm very new as well, I have my first set of 4 and they're too young to be wiggling.. so I'm very anxious. That's wonderful you have just one and it's wiggling away!
Emus, as far as I know, don't have a lockdown. Emus hatch by pushing their way out, breaking the shell and not by pipping and zipping like a chicken. Because of this, they won't need a humidity boost. I don't believe they can get shrink wrapped, but it's good to have it humid anyways.
And yes, they can have a large range of hatch dates. Average I believe is 56 days, around the temperature of 96.5. Earliest is 49 days, up to 60 days. It varies on the temperature, but the cooler the better. I'd stop turning them two days before your estimated hatch. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them!!

 

[CiaBia]

Hello, welcome!!
I'm very new as well, I have my first set of 4 and they're too young to be wiggling.. so I'm very anxious. That's wonderful you have just one and it's wiggling away!
Emus, as far as I know, don't have a lockdown. Emus hatch by pushing their way out, breaking the shell and not by pipping and zipping like a chicken. Because of this, they won't need a humidity boost. I don't believe they can get shrink wrapped, but it's good to have it humid anyways.
And yes, they can have a large range of hatch dates. Average I believe is 56 days, around the temperature of 96.5. Earliest is 49 days, up to 60 days. It varies on the temperature, but the cooler the better. I'd stop turning them two days before your estimated hatch. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them!!

Thank you so, so much for replying!! You answered all my questions, and could not have explained it better. I've hatched so many chicken eggs that lockdown is engrained in my brain, I just assumed it would be the same. I'm so glad I asked! I've learned so much from BYC so far.

4 eggs, that's so exciting!! I only wish I had that many to incubate. Though I'd have a harder time convincing my family that I need 4 emus running around the yard, lol. They are a work in progress!

Again, thank you so much! You've saved me from lots of unnecessarily stress. Now let's hatch us some emus!!

 

[Destornis]

Thank you so, so much for replying!! You answered all my questions, and could not have explained it better. I've hatched so many chicken eggs that lockdown is engrained in my brain, I just assumed it would be the same. I'm so glad I asked! I've learned so much from BYC so far.

4 eggs, that's so exciting!! I only wish I had that many to incubate. Though I'd have a harder time convincing my family that I need 4 emus running around the yard, lol. They are a work in progress!

Again, thank you so much! You've saved me from lots of unnecessarily stress. Now let's hatch us some emus!!

Of course, you're welcome! I'm very excited to see what happens for you and the single emu! And I agree, I used to think the same since I've always hatched chicken, duck, and quail. I don't think emu are as delicate when it comes to lockdown time.
Yes, 4! I have 4 to ensure I hopefully get at least one chick, I really hope. They were all shipped to me, two from Georgia and two from Kansas. Is your single one shipped to you? Yeah, let's hatch these babies!

 

[CiaBia]

Of course, you're welcome! I'm very excited to see what happens for you and the single emu! And I agree, I used to think the same since I've always hatched chicken, duck, and quail. I don't think emu are as delicate when it comes to lockdown time.
Yes, 4! I have 4 to ensure I hopefully get at least one chick, I really hope. They were all shipped to me, two from Georgia and two from Kansas. Is your single one shipped to you? Yeah, let's hatch these babies!

I'm excited as well! Yes my lonesome little guy was shipped to me from Michigan, it was an auction that I unexpectedly won. I tried getting more eggs locally to hatch alongside it but had no luck. I really didn't think it would even develop, it was delayed several days en route and my mail person THREW! it over a 12 ft fence . It'll have some chicken friends until I can find some emu chicks locally. I can't wait to see how we do!!

 

[EmuMom]

Hello everyone! I am new to hatching emus, as in I'm hatching my first and ONLY emu egg right now! Currently it's on day 42, and is quite the wiggle monster. For all that have hatched before or have done your fair share of research, would you mind answering a few questions for me?

Do emu eggs have a 'lockdown' period before hatch like chicken eggs? Aka, do you stop turning and raise humidity a few days before hatch day? From what I've learned I know the humidity level during incubation depends on weight lose, is it different before hatch? I know hatch times vary greatly with them, and I apologise in advance for my newbie questions

ANY help is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!!

No lockdown, no change in humidity. Keep it between 30-35% ... any higher and they can potentially drown in their shell. They need lots of air circulation. Keep all of your vents open. As far as turning goes, some people stop turning, some wait until they crack. It will vary greatly depending who you ask. I personally don't stop turning. I figure daddy emu keeps turning them so I will too. Because hatch time can vary so much, It could be a week or more of no turning if they hatch later than you expected.
Also, they don't pip and zip like chickens or ducks. They bulldoze their way out lol. It CAN (not always) take a few days for them to fully break their way out so just be patient and only assist if you feel like they are in distress. Talk to them and encourage them out with your voice.
SUCH AND EXCITITNG TIME!!!
Hoping for the very best

 

[CiaBia]

No lockdown, no change in humidity. Keep it between 30-35% ... any higher and they can potentially drown in their shell. They need lots of air circulation. Keep all of your vents open. As far as turning goes, some people stop turning, some wait until they crack. It will vary greatly depending who you ask. I personally don't stop turning. I figure daddy emu keeps turning them so I will too. Because hatch time can vary so much, It could be a week or more of no turning if they hatch later than you expected.
Also, they don't pip and zip like chickens or ducks. They bulldoze their way out lol. It CAN (not always) take a few days for them to fully break their way out so just be patient and only assist if you feel like they are in distress. Talk to them and encourage them out with your voice.
SUCH AND EXCITITNG TIME!!!
Hoping for the very best

Thank you!! I'm glad I ended up asking, and didn't just go with what I knew with chickens. Though I had to assume there would be a difference between the two, chicken and emu! I'm stressing but have to remind myself it's only day 50 I'm learning to be patient with this one, lol.