Best egg size for best hatch rate?

[LTAY1946]

I'm setting another 82 eggs today and am wondering about the success rate for eggs hatching that are Extra Large. My first setting was carefully limited to eggs that were just shy of being large to an 1/8th of an ounce over large. Also is there a survival factor for hatching large + to extra large +. I'm skeptical about setting eggs that are Jumbo as the possibility of having double yolks. One thing that I have proven is that hens don't need to be 12 months old to set eggs from. I can't count chicks before they hatch but this weekend's hatch is looking good with about 60 out of 82 already hatched and most of the remaining have pipped from our first ever setting. My biggest concerns were humidity control and fertility and now we are more at ease on those two factors. I'm just a little unsure of what the outcome may be from setting larger eggs than I did this time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can probably candle the eggs before you set them to see if they are double yolked. It might take a good candler and really dark shells can be a problem.

The recommendation is to set eggs that are a "normal" size, avoid the very small or extra large. It is not that they won't hatch, often they will. But the hatch rate is normally not as good. Often the ones that do hatch do fine, but the likelihood of problems is higher. I can't give you rates or percentages, I have not experimented with it.

If your goal is to modify your flock by selective breeding so they lay larger eggs on average you can set them but don't expect great success. You may do great but the odds are not in your favor. Or you can just set them and see how you do. Nothing wrong with that.

If you do, please report back to let us know how it went.

 

[LTAY1946]

I can candle with the stronger light from Brinsea. Still is is hard for me to really understand what I'm looking at sometimes. I don't won't to set Jumbo sized eggs, just extra large. I've been culling 2 1/4 ounce eggs but today I think I will set them so I can use no egg older than 3 days. 2 - 2 1/4 ounce, Large and extra large only today. The hatch coming now is looking better by the hour. I believe I'll get an 80% or maybe better for a first time hatch. Better with the RIR. It's the Delaware that are having problems. They started laying a month later than the RIR's did and the eggs are still running a medium to medium + size and that may be the factor.

 

[LTAY1946]

So far 48 of 82 of the medium + to large + eggs have hatched and another 12 have pipped or even zipped some. I'll take a 75% hatch from the young gals and young guns.