Blooie's Blankie Fort

[Blooie]

I had a couple explode under a broody. Cleaning that up was NOT an experience I care to repeat!

 

[Jessimom]

I had a couple explode under a broody. Cleaning that up was NOT an experience I care to repeat!

That is why I candled my broody hen's eggs one time! I didn't like disturbing them. Since I had 2 broodys sitting on 1 nest, when 1 got up, the other sat, it was difficult to convince the two of them to back off.

I was just given horror stories of exploding eggs under a broody.

 

[aart]

The big incubator has an automatic turner so I don't turn those. It does a real good job, slow and steady and frequently. The Brinsea I move from upright, to down on the back side, then to the front, the back to the center so those are turned 3 times a day. With the bad air cells, I hesitate to turn them a lot.

They aren't looking good. Most of the floating air cells never did re-attach, a few of those that did are saddle shaped, and over 1/2 the eggs are now sporting large, obvious blood rings. There are at least 4 clears, one that had an almost invisible crack in it, and a couple that some of the more expert hatchers have called "funky looking." I'm sad, but hold out hope for the 5 or 6 that still have signs of life. I haven't pulled out my book and marked which are bad and which are good because I might see something new when I candle on Day 10, which is tomorrow. I think some of us are just not cut out to do this. Temps on all the thermometers are pretty steady at 99.5 and humidity is holding well at 45 - 50%. The ones I'm still thinking might make it are Green Magnolias and Olive Eggers. The Marans (both the Black and the Blue), the Cream Legbars, the Ameri-flowers and the Bielefelders all look pretty much gone.

It's not easy....it's tedious and can be an anxiety ridden process.
Is this your first incubator experience?
All shipped eggs? Hard way to start out as there can be so many problems with them due to the traveling.
Hang in there!
Someone did a survey here and found most folks have a 50% hatch on average...tho the data protocol was not finite, so inconsistent.

 

[BantyChooks]

The big incubator has an automatic turner so I don't turn those. It does a real good job, slow and steady and frequently. The Brinsea I move from upright, to down on the back side, then to the front, the back to the center so those are turned 3 times a day. With the bad air cells, I hesitate to turn them a lot. They aren't looking good. Most of the floating air cells never did re-attach, a few of those that did are saddle shaped, and over 1/2 the eggs are now sporting large, obvious blood rings. There are at least 4 clears, one that had an almost invisible crack in it, and a couple that some of the more expert hatchers have called "funky looking." I'm sad, but hold out hope for the 5 or 6 that still have signs of life. I haven't pulled out my book and marked which are bad and which are good because I might see something new when I candle on Day 10, which is tomorrow. I think some of us are just not cut out to do this. Temps on all the thermometers are pretty steady at 99.5 and humidity is holding well at 45 - 50%. The ones I'm still thinking might make it are Green Magnolias and Olive Eggers. The Marans (both the Black and the Blue), the Cream Legbars, the Ameri-flowers and the Bielefelders all look pretty much gone. Too many look like this. Ignore the red line at the top - Ken grabbed the fine point red sharpie in the dark instead of the black one that I wanted to use to mark air cells. But you can't ignore the red line at the bottom. This is one of the bad air cells. Photo is a little blurry, sorry.

They are shipped eggs, nothing is your fault! The top one does look like my eggs when they were scrambled..... :/ Hang in there......

I had a couple explode under a broody. Cleaning that up was NOT an experience I care to repeat!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

The big incubator has an automatic turner so I don't turn those. It does a real good job, slow and steady and frequently. The Brinsea I move from upright, to down on the back side, then to the front, the back to the center so those are turned 3 times a day. With the bad air cells, I hesitate to turn them a lot.

They aren't looking good. Most of the floating air cells never did re-attach, a few of those that did are saddle shaped, and over 1/2 the eggs are now sporting large, obvious blood rings. There are at least 4 clears, one that had an almost invisible crack in it, and a couple that some of the more expert hatchers have called "funky looking." I'm sad, but hold out hope for the 5 or 6 that still have signs of life. I haven't pulled out my book and marked which are bad and which are good because I might see something new when I candle on Day 10, which is tomorrow. I think some of us are just not cut out to do this. Temps on all the thermometers are pretty steady at 99.5 and humidity is holding well at 45 - 50%. The ones I'm still thinking might make it are Green Magnolias and Olive Eggers. The Marans (both the Black and the Blue), the Cream Legbars, the Ameri-flowers and the Bielefelders all look pretty much gone.


Too many look like this. Ignore the red line at the top - Ken grabbed the fine point red sharpie in the dark instead of the black one that I wanted to use to mark air cells. But you can't ignore the red line at the bottom.


This is one of the bad air cells. Photo is a little blurry, sorry.

I was going to say something, but aart pretty much said it. You started out the hardest way possible. I started hatching in 2014 and I am just now doing my first shipped eggs. (Local/your own eggs are soooooo different!) I am on day 2 and already a wreck, and the eggs looked like they were in great shape too. I just can't see my air cells, but it's not even hit day 2 yet, so I am trying not to get too worried.

That is what I do. People say some eggs go bad and might explode, but that must be so rare, and I would think it would be a cracked shell or something that could cause that. I have left questionable eggs in all the way to hatch date, and never had trouble.

Good luck!!! I'm setting a bunch more tonight, then more on Tuesday.

I came close once. Egg had no prior cracking. Thank god the membrane was thick as crap cause it was sitting in the turner popped all the way around the egg.But ya, it's rare and I think the majority that may explode you can catch by smell before they get that far, but this one didn't even smell ntil it was broke open.

It's not easy....it's tedious and can be an anxiety ridden process.
Is this your first incubator experience?
All shipped eggs? Hard way to start out as there can be so many problems with them due to the traveling.
Hang in there!
Someone did a survey here and found most folks have a 50% hatch on average...tho the data protocol was not finite, so inconsistent.

This

 

[sasafras4u2]

I'm sorry Blooie about your blood ringed eggies. I'm very nervous about my batch that ship the end of april. The ones I have set right now are locals. 10/10 growing well so far but...

Yikes my electric went out. I'm on day 8 of incubation. I frantically watched the temp drop to 81 in one while the other read 77.the electric is back on now. Out from 725 until 819.I have some of those hand warmers but didn't get them on the eggs before the electric came back on. It came on just as I got here from the store and taking the kid to school ( he was as worried about my eggs as I am). By the time they get heated back up do you think it was long enough to hurt any of them? There are only 10 eggs all were alive and moving last night! Oh my gosh 2 more weeks of this! Now I'm considering whether or not I need a small generator!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'm sorry Blooie about your blood ringed eggies. I'm very nervous about my batch that ship the end of april. The ones I have set right now are locals. 10/10 growing well so far but...

Yikes my electric went out. I'm on day 8 of incubation. I frantically watched the temp drop to 81 in one while the other read 77.the electric is back on now. Out from 725 until 819.I have some of those hand warmers but didn't get them on the eggs before the electric came back on. It came on just as I got here from the store and taking the kid to school ( he was as worried about my eggs as I am). By the time they get heated back up do you think it was long enough to hurt any of them? There are only 10 eggs all were alive and moving last night! Oh my gosh 2 more weeks of this! Now I'm considering whether or not I need a small generator!

I've seen people have power outtages for 12-24 hours and still have decent hatches. Where they are in the incubation does play a role too. The Brinsea site has a page about power loss and what temps will be fatal at what ages.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I've seen people have power outtages for 12-24 hours and still have decent hatches. Where they are in the incubation does play a role too. The Brinsea site has a page about power loss and what temps will be fatal at what ages.

Ok, maybe it doesn't have embryo age : http://www.brinsea.com/Articles/Advice/PowerOff.aspx

 

[Feather duster]

Hello Everyone

I candled the 30 Australorp eggs I set on the 24th. I had two that were infertile and two that had died. So still have 26 in the Incubator chugging along. I traced all the air cells. They look like their right where they should be for 7 days. I did not have one single detached air cell , that's something for shipped eggs. I think shipping eggs in those foam blocks is the way to go. Last year I only had one saddle shaped air cell out of 21 eggs . It made it to lockdown ,but failed to hatch. I won't open the incubator or touch the eggs now until next Friday unless something goes wrong, such as a light bulb burning out or something. I wash my hands real good and wear exam gloves when I candle. Probably over kill,but it can't hurt. I think day 7 is my most favorite time to candle,because you can see the embryos moving around. Next week the eggs will be mostly filled in and dark. Well that's my day seven report hope everyone else is having good results. Pray for good weather and no power outages.

 

[Blooie]

I got these eggs in two separate shipments. The group that was given to me by @LocalYokel arrived in layers of foam with each egg pocketed in a little cut-out and then packed with more foam. The ones I ordered were individually packed in bubble wrap (many layers) and padded with newspaper. It hasn't made a difference which way they came shipped - there are air cell issues with eggs from both boxes.