April 2020 Hatch-A-Long! All are welcome!

[CluckNDoodle]

I have a gold laced bantam wyandotte sitting on 7 eggs. I have also collected 10 more of my own and put in my incubator. Curious to see if the cockerel has been doing his job!

Good luck! Be sure to mark the eggs under her if she isn't separated. Hens are sneaky and will continue to lay eggs under your broody or your broody may steal eggs from other nest boxes. lol

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Hi everyone! Joining the April hatch along w/ an anticipated hatch date of 4/2. Set 18 shipped eggs (14 silkies + 4 silver laced polish) and as of today had 8 progressing, with 2 or 3 others possibly progressing. Not the numbers I was hoping for but this is my first experience with both shipped eggs and silkies! So I'm grateful and humbled by the experience so far.

Question about fertility- if the eggs are completely clear without ever developing any veining, does that indicate they're infertile? Or could it have been an issue with shipping? All eggs were in great shape with in tact air-cells on arrival.

BEST WISHES FOR ALL WHO ARE HATCHING!

This was asked in a Facebook hatching group I'm part of. Some pretty experienced hatchers felt it was impossible to check fertility after incubating an egg. That the incubation temperature will cause the blastoderm/blastodisc to change regardless of fertility. Looking for a bullseye is no longer possible. There was also a study mentioned on this somewhere but I haven't found it yet.

With my own eggs I still call them "infertile". But shipped eggs I just say "no development" and leave it at that. Too much trauma to the egg to really make the call with certainty one way or the other.

 

[plum14]

Be sure to mark the eggs under her if she isn't separated.

Yep moved her under darkness last night

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Day 2 for my duck eggs. I candled and 6/12 are definitely fertile! The other eggs it's way too early to make the call. They have a different amount of cuticle with makes them slightly more difficult to candle.

Just for fun. Can everyone tell which one of these eggs is developing and which one is still in question?

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Day 2 for my duck eggs. I candled and 6/12 are definitely fertile! The other eggs it's way too early to make the call. They have a different amount of cuticle with makes them slightly more difficult to candle.

Just for fun. Can everyone tell which one of these eggs is developing and which one is still in question?

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My guess...is this cheating? LOL!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

My guess...is this cheating? LOL!

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Not cheating. Yes! You guessed it

 

[gmjarvi]

This was asked in a Facebook hatching group I'm part of. Some pretty experienced hatchers felt it was impossible to check fertility after incubating an egg. That the incubation temperature will cause the blastoderm/blastodisc to change regardless of fertility. Looking for a bullseye is no longer possible. There was also a study mentioned on this somewhere but I haven't found it yet.

With my own eggs I still call them "infertile". But shipped eggs I just say "no development" and leave it at that. Too much trauma to the egg to really make the call with certainty one way or the other.

This makes a lot of sense, thank you!

 

[gmjarvi]

Day 2 for my duck eggs. I candled and 6/12 are definitely fertile! The other eggs it's way too early to make the call. They have a different amount of cuticle with makes them slightly more difficult to candle.

Just for fun. Can everyone tell which one of these eggs is developing and which one is still in question?

View attachment 2054852View attachment 2054853

Now I want to candle my ducks eggs soooooooo badly they are on D5. They were shipped and some of the air cells are pretty wonky so I am trying to wait until D10 because I feel like I should handle them as little as possible.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Now I want to candle my ducks eggs soooooooo badly they are on D5. They were shipped and some of the air cells are pretty wonky so I am trying to wait until D10 because I feel like I should handle them as little as possible.

I love candling. I just can't help myself. I've learned a ton from it but at time I've definitely done more harm than good. This is my first time with duck eggs. Learning all I can about development.

I'd go with your instinct on this one. Shipped eggs need as little handling as possible. I would not have been able to see these subtle changes this early on if candling upright. Which is how I incubate and hatch shipped eggs. Not sure how you have yours but something to consider.

 

[plum14]

Well just went to check out my broody and she uppped and left her eggs and gone to sit in the main nest box the eggs are all cold. She has been sitting on them last night and then part of today. I've put them into my incubator but I guess the chance of them developing is pretty much close to 0?