Anyone up for a Hatchalong?

[ApronStrings]

ALRIGHT! A total of 4 eggs on the way. Still room for 2 more.

 

[9Catsz]

Quote:
Congrats.

 

[Yoda]

Got 2 eggs just now from the seller trouble8674. One was wet on the pointy side I am hoping they did not freeze

How long do they sit for before I can put them in the bator?

 

[yinepu]

I'm going to order mine in a few weeks.. right now I have 18 marans eggs and 24 mutt eggs in the two bators... they are due to start hatching on the 19th.. so I don't want the emu eggs to get here too early.

Any recommendations on where to get fresh fertile emu eggs? I'm probably going to end up with 6 (3 in each Brinsea) for some genetic diversity.

I did get the replacement Reptipro yesterday.. so far it's holding temps pretty well.. lol.. at least this one survived Fedex!

 

[flyweed]

Yoda..set them on your counter and leave them be for 48 hours, then put them into your bator. If they didnt crack, they didnt freeze. Emu egg shells are super thick and if they froze it would have cracked the shell. You can check the end of the shell that was wet for any tiny holes, or small cracks..if you dont see any..wipe it off, and let it sit a few hours, to see if the wetness develops again or not...If it does, contact the seller, so you can tell them it was damaged in shipment.

Dan

 

[mitch324]

I picked up a couple more eggs locally today. Here is a pic of all 10. I had to pull the others out to weigh and to modify my rack.

Here is the rack. I'm using fishnet socks to hold the eggs in place.

And the rack loaded

Here is the rack loaded into my incubator. I don't have a motorized turner yet but all I need to do is pull the wire and it turns them. Each rack can hold 12 eggs and I think I should be able to fit three racks.

 

[Sumatra503]

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Turns out I lost with 2 seconds to go.

Now I know who it was and where to find them.

 

[Sumatra503]

I just checked and I won 4 more eggs from Kalaya Emu Estates!!!

Looks like I can forgive you now Sheriff.

 

[flyweed]

Mitch...I would highly advise not doing the turning rack style..but you should actually hand rotate the eggs 180 degrees, 3 times a day, that will ensure a good hatch.

I often refer to red oak farms Emu site...they have been raising emu's for a long time....here is an excerpt from their hatching and raising page:

I am often asked by new farmers why their eggs didn't hatch. If the problem is not sterile eggs, it has to be the way the eggs are handled and/or incubated. The most important things in incubation are temperature, humidity, air flow and egg turning.

Most new farmers get the temperature and humidity right for their area of the country. It's usually a matter of following the incubator manufacturer's instructions. However, there are two other things that are equally important.

Air flow: As the eggs develop the embryos grow and use oxygen. Levels of carbon dioxide can easily build up if there is insufficient air flow. This is problem in the smaller cabinet type incubators. Know your incubator, talk to people who use the same type you use, talk to the manufacturer. The larger commercial style incubators usually have this problem addressed.

Turning: Many people start their incubation operation with a cabinet style incubator that rocks the eggs back and forth. They incorrectly think that this is all that is required to hatch a healthy chick. Wrong. The eggs need to be hand turned at least 3 times per day. When turning the eggs by hand the egg must not be rotated in just one direction every time, but back and forth. If you do not rotate the egg back and forth the embryo will stick to the shell membranes or the yolk sac will stick to the bottom of the egg, either way, you have chicks dead in the shell. We use a large incubator with rollers that turn the egg back and forth hourly.

Check the eggs daily for odor and temperature. When the eggs are within a week of hatching, I start tapping. You use a metal rod for this and tap the egg. If there is a tinny sound, you have a dead egg. To double check, take the egg out. A fertile egg will remain hot, a dead one will cool quickly.

Eggs should hatch between 50 to 54 days, depending on the temperature. Higher temperatures produce chicks quicker, but if the temperature gets too high, you have other problems.

We keep our incubator room at 68F, and incubate at 97.5F, with 30 % humidity. We keep the hatcher at 97F.

Hatching Chicks

When the chick has broken through to the air sac (sounded), the egg will sound hollow when tapped and the chick will cheep. (I whistle to mine) Compare the sound with that of a clean blown egg (one hole in one end).

The chick will have 72 hours worth of air, but once the chick has entered the air sac they usually hatch within 24 hours. When the chick makes a hole in the outer shell, it is called pipping. You can offer encouragement by tapping on the egg and talking to it. If the chick is mal-positioned it may need help to get out – however, these chicks usually do not flourish and die before 3 months. Keep an accurate hatch log and indicate if you have assisted the hatch in order to make comparisons to any chick mortalities.

We move the egg to a hatcher when the chick has sounded the shell. We use old terry cloth towels that have been cut into the right size for the hatcher boxes to keep the chick from slipping. We also tape the legs for the first couple of days to be sure the legs don't become splayed.

 

[Yoda]

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Dan no it is not wet anymore thank goodness LOL. I think it was from being in the cold the warmth so it got moisture on it. My bator is holding 97.5 but I cannot get 30% I can't seem to get past 23% I have 2 containers with water in there too! hmmmm
Frank