Could you Float Eggs Instead of Candling at Lockdown

[mogollon]

Just curious could eggs be floated instead of candling before they are locked-down? The water on the egg would contribute to raising the humidity for the lock down, we raise humidity anyways? Thoughts?

 

[Ebony Rose]

I've had the float test fail 2 of 4 times (so half the time). If the egg is pipped externally, you could drown your chick as well. As for me and mine, I don't float test anymore.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x Tycine1 Personally I would not float test unless to see if an egg is "fresh" to eat. Egg shell is porous (absorbing water) & submersion will chill the embryo.

 

[mogollon]

How fast does an egg absorb water? Don't we increase humidity at lock down? I can't imagine an egg absorbing enough water to drown a chick unless you let the egg float for a long time? (Playing devil's advocate) When I have floated eggs AFTER a hatch the eggs wobbled fairly quick. From all I've read everyone puts them back in the bator for hatching. So...if I float an egg at lock down isn't that the same process?

 

[mogollon]

Just read this:
By putting a warm egg into cold water, as the egg cools it will contract and draw moisture through the porous outter shell.

Remember that egg shells are porous and developing chick breath through the shell. Moisture can also be lost through the shell and this is why older eggs will float while fresh eggs will sink in water.

Thought:
Water on the outside should be as warm or tad warmer than the incubator when floated. yes?/no? Thoughts.....

 

[ChickNanny13]

We all have our opinions ....

@WVduckchick @Texas Kiki @Pyxis
Thank you in advance

 

[Kiki]

Do not put live eggs in water...ever.
Unless you want to kill them.

 

[Pyxis]

Nope, I too don't believe in the float test. I have seen a lot of people get incorrect results with it, and as a result kill a perfectly good egg.

Candling at lockdown will tell you if an egg is alive, no need to float. Also, water on the egg's shell does the opposite of raise humidity. As it dries and evaporates, it actually pulls water out of the egg. Sounds counter-intuitive, but that's why we mist goose eggs throughout incubation, and why some people mist duck eggs. It helps the air cell grow properly.

 

[Fishkeeper]

And why would you want to float, anyway? All you need for candling is a flashlight and maybe a piece of cardboard with a hole in it. It's not like it requires any special equipment.

 

[Blooie]

First off, there is a huge difference between “float testing” for freshness and “water candling” for chick viability. I don’t put much faith in either....I’ve had eggs laid that day flunk the float test. As for water candling, all you are trying to find out is if there is a live chick, so you make sure the water is as warm as the incubator it came from, gently put the egg in, wait until the water settles from adding it, then watch for little wiggles in the water from the chick moving in the egg.

I see water candling as a last ditch effort to see if it’s time to toss eggs that are more than a few days past the estimated hatch date. I had to resort to it once with overdue Silkie eggs. Most had hatched perfectly, but I had a few that seemed to be rocking in the incubator from time to time three days later, but there was no other sign that they were in there. Candling didn’t show me a thing because at that point I still didn’t even know what an internal pip should look like unless, as in one of them, it was very obvious. So in desperation I found a water candling video and followed it exactly. Two of the four mystery eggs were clearly still viable...in fact they started to pip externally early the next morning and were out later that evening. One I wasn’t sure of - I thought I saw a water wiggle but it was almost imperceptible so I’m more convinced it was wishful seeing. That one I carefully dried and put back in the incubator too. The last one did absolutely nothing, but I thought to myself, “He might just be sleeping” and I put it back in too. Those two never did hatch, even though I gave them two more days in the incubator.

You can drown chicks this way, so you have to be absolutely sure there is no teeny pip or crack in the shell anywhere. You have them in the water for the shortest time possible....no point in wasting time with a camera or showing the wiggles to an audience. The shells are porous but as long as you are certain there is no internal pip, the membrane is still intact and if you’re fast the shell won’t absorb much water. Then blot them dry with a paper towel and get them back in the incubator or under Mama. I don’t think they’ll cool down unless you dawdle. The mass of the egg and the chick inside doesn’t instantly cool to room temperature. And if you blot them dry, you’re not messing up the humidity in the incubator either.

BUT, water candling can’t and shouldn’t be a routine way to monitor viability. I see it as a last attempt before finally opening the trash bin and letting go. Usually patience and waiting a couple of extra days will tell you all you need to know. I did it that one time, with no ill effects, but I most likely won’t do it again. Too many “ifs” to suit me.