Anyone up for a Hatchalong?

[yinepu]

I have 4 new additions.. two were hatched yesterday and two hatched today.. so my little emu family went from 3 to 7 almost overnight...

I have another egg that is due to hatch out on the 15th.. another that I THOUGHT had wiggled .. but now I am second guessing it (could have been vibrations from the dogs bounding through the house).. it was also due on the 15th.. but I haven't seen any movement from it in the past week or so.. and only saw it wiggle that one time.. so I'm not sure if there is a chick in there or not.. only time will tell

the last egg is due on April 4th.. assuming it has a chick in it.. it's my local egg.. so i am keeping my fingers crossed for it.. if SHOULD wiggle later this week..




my poor incubators are looking so empty.. and i am really resisting the urge to find more eggs to put in there

 

[kathyinmo]

ChasSquirrel,
I am so sorry. I know it is heartbreaking.

 

[ChasSquirrel]

aww sorry ChasSquirrel..
I don't remember what kind of incubator you were using.. but there could be a few reasons why they didn't make it out of the shells..

carbon dioxide poisoning would be my first guess.. and even if you did drill into the shells there would be no guarantee that your incubator allows for enough air exchange

drilling into the shells is best for eggs that you have no idea if the parents have had a history of chicks not hatching due to lack of oxygen (like eBay eggs) .. or for eggs where you do know there has been an issue in the past with the shells being too thick/dense

in a normal hatch where the parents have never had any problems with chicks dead in the shells it's best to leave them alone because there really isn't a reason to drill.. however if you are using an air tight incubator or one that doesn't allow for much air exchange then even if there are no past problems the chicks can still die since they end up breathing carbon dioxide.. one way to tell if your bator has a problem with it is to look at the area around the chicks eyes.. if it's very red when a chick does hatch it's usually a sign of carbon dioxide poisoning.. just not severe enough to have killed that individual chick
even in a good incubator you can still have an issue with it if there are a lot of eggs (especially ones close to hatch) since each of those eggs needs oxygen and would be using it from whatever is available in the incubator

the other thing that could have caused chicks dieing so close to hatch would be dietary issues with the parents resulting in weak chicks or bacterial infection

are you planning on trying again?

Thank you everyone for your sentiments! It really means alot to me. I used a LG incubator and increased the height with some board insulation. I don't have a fan in it. If I knew then what I know now, I would have ventilated it better. I did notice the eyes seemed red on both dead chicks. After reading your post, yinepu, I am pretty sure it was an issue with too much carbon dioxide. I would like to try again but I have to find the eggs. I got these eggs by chance.

 

[Hankdog1]

Interesting thread I had never considered hatching my own emus. Might be a project for next year after I get proper fenceing up and stuff to keep them.

ChasSquirrel if your looking for eggs I happened to stumble upon a place up the road from me here in VA. Thought they only had Ostriches until got to looking around the web there and found out they raise emus too. The name of the place is Sandy Head Ostrich Farm if you want to see if they still have eggs and will ship let me know and I'll PM you the contact information I have on them.

 

[Irine]

Video of my eggs chirping back and wiggling on day 50

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:

Video of my eggs chirping back and wiggling on day 50

Very good ! Thanks for sharing!

 

[ChasSquirrel]

Great video, Irine. Thanks! Makes me want to try again

 

[Irine]

Thank you, you should try again, now you are more experienced. Good Luck to you. I still have some eggs that are due to hatch, but I don't know if they will make it. No one knows..we can do our best and hope!

Great video, Irine. Thanks! Makes me want to try again

 

[yinepu]

the 4 newest babies

A-2 (from Elberta, Alabama)
day 1 594 grams
On January 27, (day 7) 584 (10 g lost or 1.68%)
On February 3, (day 14) 571 (13 g lost or 2.23%)
On February 10 (day 21) 560 (11g lost or 1.93%) total lost so far 34g 5.72%
On February 17 (day 28) 548 (12g lost or 2.14%) total lost so far 46g 7.74%
On February 21 (day 32) saw wiggle in the egg!
On February 24 (day 35) 537 (11g lost or 2.01%) total lost so far 57g 9.60%
On February 28 (day 39) start tap testing
On March 2 (day 42) 523 (14g lost or 2.60%) total lost so far 71g 11.95%
On March 9 (day 49) 509 (14g lost or 2.68%) total lostso far 85g 14.31%
Hatched March 11th



A1-J (from Heston, Kansas)
day 1: 639 grams
On January 28, (day 7) 628 (11 g lost or 1.72%)
On February 4, (day 14) 616 (12 g lost or 1.91%)
On February 11 (day 21) 603 (13 g lost or 2.11%) total lost so far 36g 5.63%
On February 18 (day 28) 591 (12 g lost or 1.99%) total lost so far 48g 7.51%
On February 21 (day 31) saw wiggle in the egg!
On February 25 (day 35) 580 (11 g lost or 1.86%) total lost so far 59g 9.23%
On February 29 (day 39) start tap testing
On March 3 (day 42) 566 (14g lost or 2.41%) total lost so far 73g 11.42%
On March 10 (day 49) 552 (14g lost or 2.47%) total lost so far 87g 13.62%
Hatched March 11th!


C4-A
day 1: 660 grams
On January 28, (day 7) 649 (11 g lost or 1.67%)
On February 4, (day 14) 637 (12 g lost or 1.85%)
On February 11 (day 21) 625 (12g lost or 1.88%) total lost so far 35g 5.30%
On February 18 (day 28) 613 (12g lost or 1.92%) total lost so far 47g 7.12%
On February 21 (day 31) saw wiggle in the egg!
On February 25 (day 35) 602 (11g lost or 1.79%) total lost so far 58g 8.79%
On February 29 (day 39) start tap testing
On March 3 (day 42) 590 (12g lost or 1.99%) total lost so far 70g 10.60%
On March 10 (day 49) 576 (14g lost or 2.37%) total lost so far 84g 12.73%
Hatched March 12th!


A2-J
day 1: 542 grams
On January 28, (day 7) 532 (10 g lost or 1.85%)
On February 4, (day 14) 522 (10 g lost or 1.88%)
On February 11 (day 21) 512 (10g lost or 1.91%) total lost so far 30g 5.54%
On February 18 (day 28) 501 (11g lost or 2.15%) total lost so far 41g 7.56%
On February 21 (day 31) saw wiggle in the egg!
On February 25 (day 35) 492 (9 g lost or 1.80%) total lost so far 50g 9.23%
On February 29 (day 39) start tap testing
On March 3 (day 42) 480 (12g lost or 2.44%) total lost so far 62g 11.44%
On March 10 (day 49) 468 (12g lost or 2.5%) total lost so far 74g 13.65%
Hatched March 12th!

 

[Irine]

I am suspecting that one of my eggs has a chick that is mispositioned.I am on day 50 today, any advice would be appreciated. If I where to drill a small hole on the egg ,I would have to do it on the side without the air space.Is it ok to penetrate the membrane?