Cracked egg while candling? Eggs with spots, cull?- UPDATE- PICS

[gabrielle1976]

those look like pourous eggs to me , that dosnt nesscarily mean there bad its the shell
maybe somene else will have another opinion

 

[rizq]

To me the egg looks like it is porous. I have successfully hatched porous eggs many times, but I think they are more sensitive because they lose moisture more easily.

Did you candle the eggs before you set them? I suspect the egg would have looked the same then. If it did not, then perhaps it is something else.

In the picture the egg does look clear, but it could be hard to tell from the angle. I do not usually throw anything out unless it smells or I need the room for a staggered hatch. I have had eggs that I thought had blood rings surprise me and actually hatch. Guess that says a lot about my candling skills

I am sure that if something other than porosity causes an egg to look like that, someone else will chime in

 

[kupi99]

No, I didn't candle before I set them. These aren't shipped eggs, I got them from one of my students. She has chickens.

This sounds much better than I was thinking. If anyone has another idea, please let me know. They might be clear, but I'll keep them in there anyway, since I can't really tell.

Y'all mentioned they might have issue with humidity? Do I need to raise the humidity then? I've been trying to do a dry incubation so farwith the hum level at about 30-40. But like I said, I've had alot of issues, and most days I'm having to spend alot time working on upping it back to the 30 range from the 20's.

 

[walkswithdog]

You might mention to her to start supplementing with oyster shell those are some seriously porous eggs. (Light areas)

Porous eggs lose moisture faster than most and can make for a difficult hatch even without other problems as was said. And yes, you've got to get the humidity higher than that for eggs that porous.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I agree it looks like porus eggs.

I'm concerned about you covering the bator with blankets. That limits the air supply in the bator and thus kill the chicks.

 

[kupi99]

"Porous eggs lose moisture faster than most and can make for a difficult hatch even without other problems as was said"

So, oyster shells? How do I use them? And could this be part of the reason why my humidity levels are fluxing so bad (the eggs are loosing alot of moisture)? If I find a way to raise the humidity level, what about the few good eggs I have that aren't as porous? I don't want to drown them, esp since I know they're good at the point.

 

[walkswithdog]

Normal eggs will tolerate up to 50% humidity with little trouble. I'd shoot for middle 40's to the fifties and hold it.

Yes, that's probably part of why your humidity has been weird but if you're blanketing the bator you could also be shifting the ventilation badly. Poor ventilation alters humidity levels.

You turn eggs/open the bator and humidity falls from fresh air and sudden ventilation, rises again when it's closed til it's too high... creating a problematic cycle.

A bator with balanced ventilation should maintain roughly the same humidity and temps as long as the water source is filled. That's why manufactured ones have set holes and directions for use of them.

It's one of the trickier parts of building your own. Getting the number and diameter of the venting holes correct.

Crushed oyster shell is sold as a supplement for chickens and some pet birds. Some feed stores also sell huge bags of "hard shell" which is pulverized shell supplement for poultry - but wow, big bag.

Good luck with them.

 

[kupi99]

Good point about the air supply, I didn't think of that. People on other threads mention that they've used blankets with their LG's with to help with LG's temp fluxes, and to avoid twisting the knob if the temp gets to low (as that what seems to causes almost temps spike with LG's). I don't cover the whole bator, just half of it, but I do cover some air holes. I'll if there's a way to arrange it without cover the air holes.

 

[kupi99]

walkswithdog and Farmer Kitty thanks. I won't blanket it anymore, that's good to know. Seems like that might have alot to do with my humidity probs. Even if this hatch doesn't work, I'll know for next year.
I've got an auto egg turner, so I dont have to open the bator for that.

I'll work on getting my humidity up and restablized. Any thoughts on what to do about low temps without the blanket? I'm worried, b/c twisting that knob seemed to be the number one user error that caused the LG to spike.

Thank you again for all your help!

 

[Peeper7]

Although new, I'm noticing a few things with my hatching attempt.

I now have an LG still air, a HovaBator still air, and a homemade wooden box with fan.

I had many problems with temp spikes, and I have found that any adjustment must be done extremely gradually and be sure to give plenty of time for the temps to adjust -- like a full day.

All 3 bators are now working well and steady. I just hope it's not too late for my lil eggs.... 3 days till first hatch.

Humidity level is directly related to the size of the surface area of the water. So if you have a water pan covering 1/2 the incubator, try to increase it to a full size. Spritzing with very clean fresh hot (which comes out warm) water will pick up the humidity fast for a short time. If your unit has a fan, humidity will drop much faster. Be sure to turn off the fan before opening and mist before closing.

I also tried to cull an egg that I thought was a big blood ring only to find a live embryo inside. I'm not so quick to cull anymore, but I'm so afraid of a rotten egg bursting in the incubator.
Good luck!