Anyway to diminish fluid in air cell?

[olijo123]

I have two rare breed chicken eggs in my incubator. I started with five but only these two have made it so far. They are shipped eggs, and have about 9 days left until hatch. Because of them being shipped, they have pretty significant saddle shaped air cells, and from what I have read there is really no way to fix that issue. My bigger concern is that when I candle them I can see fluid moving around in the air cell. What causes this and how can I diminish this? Reduce humidity? I am worried the chicks would pip internally and drown. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Your concerns are warranted, chicks can easily drown from too high of humidity during incubation. What are you keeping the humidity at currently and what incubator are you using? I would almost think that running your incubator dry until lockdown would be the best bet to reduce some of that fluid build up but I've never seen this personally.

 

[nuthatched]

hmm, I don't know for certain, others know way more than I do about this, but reduce humidity?
maybe as last resort , a very small syringe and seal the hole with a dot of nail Polish?

 

[FortCluck]

What's your humidity at?

 

[olijo123]

Your concerns are warranted, chicks can easily drown from too high of humidity during incubation. What are you keeping the humidity at currently and what incubator are you using? I would almost think that running your incubator dry until lockdown would be the best bet to reduce some of that fluid build up but I've never seen this personally.

I am using the Brinsea Mini Advance incubator. I have used it several other times before with no issues. It has a water pot in the center with a divider in it. The manual says to keep water in one of the two divider halves until lockdown, and that the depth of water doesn't matter. By the manual, the humidity is supposed to be 40-50% humidity by filling the water pot as advised. (I hope all of that made sense) I have already cut back on adding water the last couple of days in hopes that it would reduce the fluid in the egg.

 

[olijo123]

What's your humidity at?

Varies between 40-50%

 

[cottontail farm]

I'm worried about the liquid. But the air cells will decrease on their own closer to hatch. When you candle them next, lightly trace the air sack outing with pencil. Then you can compare it in a couple of days.

 

[cottontail farm]

Maybe mark the fluid levels to see if they decrease. But I wouldn't interfere

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I am using the Brinsea Mini Advance incubator. I have used it several other times before with no issues. It has a water pot in the center with a divider in it. The manual says to keep water in one of the two divider halves until lockdown, and that the depth of water doesn't matter. By the manual, the humidity is supposed to be 40-50% humidity by filling the water pot as advised. (I hope all of that made sense) I have already cut back on adding water the last couple of days in hopes that it would reduce the fluid in the egg.

Brinsea incubators are usually quite reliable and since you've had success with that incubator in the past it's likely some fluke from shipping eggs, which can open up all kinds of opportunities for unusual issues. I'm really wracking my brain on this one but if nobody has a better solution, if the egg doesn't release enough fluid by lockdown, I would make a tiny safety hole through the shell at the air cell and pour out the fluid before placing back into the incubator. Some people put safety holes into their hatching eggs even when they don't have an issue with fluid build up so this shouldn't pose an issue. Just be sure to increase humidity as usual once the fluid is removed so it doesn't cause the membrane to dry out.

 

[jolenesdad]

I would not worry. Nine days out means that you are on about day 12? It usually takes all of 15 days for the worst saddle cells to become solid. I would try and keep it closer to 40 than 50 for the next few days.