Cream Legbars

[Ravynscroft]

@ChicKat scrambled is a good idea too... I boil mine then through the whole eggs in a food processor/chopper/blender and feed them out that way...

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

Back on the egg grading. I am thinking that eggs graded high for eating would make very poor eggs for hatching.

How so? I would think the complete opposite.

 

[dretd]

Saw this while looking at candling images.... Does THAT mean that the AA Grade egg with the smaller air cell is a better egg than the B grade with the big air cell? The AA egg even looks a bit porous. I can hardly ever even see an air cell when I put eggs into the incubator..........

This is how NY grades eggs

Section 190.6 Standards for quality of individual shell eggs.

1. AA quality. The shell must be clean, unbroken and practically normal. The air cell must not exceed 1/8 inch in depth, may show unlimited movement and may be free or bubbly. The white must be clear and firm so that the yolk is only slightly defined when the egg is twirled before the candling light. The yolk must be practically free from apparent defects.
   
2. A quality. The shell must be clean, unbroken and practically normal. The air cell must not exceed 3/16 inch in depth, may show unlimited movement, and may be free or bubbly. The white must be clear and at least reasonably firm so that the yolk outline is only fairly well defined when the egg is twirled before the candling light.
   
3. B quality. The shell must be unbroken, may be abnormal, and may have slightly stained areas. Moderately stained areas are permitted if they do not cover more than 1/32 of the shell surface if localized, or 1/16 of the shell surface if scattered. Eggs having shells with prominent stains or adhering dirt are not permitted. The air cell may be over 3/16 inch in depth, may show unlimited movement, and may be free or bubbly. The white may be weak and watery so that the yolk outline is plainly visible when the egg is twirled before the candling light. The yolk may appear dark, enlarged, and flattened, and may show clearly visible germ development. It may show other serious defects that do not render the egg inedible. Small blood spots or meat spots (aggregating not more than 1/8 inch in diameter) may be present.
   
4. Dirty. An individual egg that has an unbroken shell with adhering dirt or foreign material, prominent stains, or moderate stains covering more than 1/32 of the shell surface if localized, or 1/16 of the shell surface if scattered.
   
5. Check. An individual egg that has a broken or cracked shell but with its shell membranes in tact and the contents of which do not leak. A “check” is considered to be lower in quality than a “dirty”.

Great photo and definitions, Thanks!

The air cell increases over time as the egg loses moisture through the shell. So to me the quality of the egg is really an indication of how fresh it is more than anything else.

I am collecting some eggs for hatching and always put them big end up for storage. One of my hens lays a more or less elliptical egg--both are fat ends

I candled the just-laid egg and I could not see any air cell at all--None. Zip. I went by the fat end usually has a bit more roughness to it and hope I am right. I looked at an egg from her that is several days old and it has a tiny air cell in the guessed big end. This hen has my best type and the eggs are very large and more on the blue side so I really want to have some chicks from her! If she were a mediocre layer or off-type I wouldn't set the egg!

So would an egg that has no air cell be a AAA egg

 

[caychris]

Great photo and definitions, Thanks!

The air cell increases over time as the egg loses moisture through the shell. So to me the quality of the egg is really an indication of how fresh it is more than anything else.

I am collecting some eggs for hatching and always put them big end up for storage. One of my hens lays a more or less elliptical egg--both are fat ends

I candled the just-laid egg and I could not see any air cell at all--None. Zip. I went by the fat end usually has a bit more roughness to it and hope I am right. I looked at an egg from her that is several days old and it has a tiny air cell in the guessed big end. This hen has my best type and the eggs are very large and more on the blue side so I really want to have some chicks from her! If she were a mediocre layer or off-type I wouldn't set the egg!

So would an egg that has no air cell be a AAA egg

Its my understanding that the air cell is what the chick essentially uses for oxygen as it is trying to pip and open the shell and while it is true it increases over incubation as moisture is lost the amount would not be a significant amount to overcome a very small air cell. It is also my understanding Pipping internally and other disorders leading to drowning in the shell all have an air cell size/shape component to them

For an eating egg you want the best internal volume so an AA egg would be better and represent more egg product regardless of size. (Weight also being a factor)

An AA egg might have more nutrition etc for a developing chick so that might offset the air cell size issue but strictly looking at air cell size I would think very small would not promote great hatch rates. But if the truth is opposite then I will accept that and wonder about how to determine if small air cells on a shipped egg are a good thing or a bad thing

 

[ChicKat]

@ChicKat scrambled is a good idea too... I boil mine then through the whole eggs in a food processor/chopper/blender and feed them out that way...

Thanks!! IF I ever break one in the pens, I mix it (raw) or what I can salvage of it with feed. I think I will see my chooks plump up a bit with their new plan for better grub.

 

[ChicKat]

Great photo and definitions, Thanks!

The air cell increases over time as the egg loses moisture through the shell. So to me the quality of the egg is really an indication of how fresh it is more than anything else.

I am collecting some eggs for hatching and always put them big end up for storage. One of my hens lays a more or less elliptical egg--both are fat ends

I candled the just-laid egg and I could not see any air cell at all--None. Zip. I went by the fat end usually has a bit more roughness to it and hope I am right. I looked at an egg from her that is several days old and it has a tiny air cell in the guessed big end. This hen has my best type and the eggs are very large and more on the blue side so I really want to have some chicks from her! If she were a mediocre layer or off-type I wouldn't set the egg!

So would an egg that has no air cell be a AAA egg

Love it -- yep AAA. I have a hen that also lays a more oval with a real difficulty of determining the air cell - but my incubator they lay on their side...so it is less of a concern. She always hatches fine here -- but for some reason once shipped they don't hatch as well as they should...I was thinking shape may have something to do with that.

 

[ChicKat]

Its my understanding that the air cell is what the chick essentially uses for oxygen as it is trying to pip and open the shell and while it is true it increases over incubation as moisture is lost the amount would not be a significant amount to overcome a very small air cell. It is also my understanding Pipping internally and other disorders leading to drowning in the shell all have an air cell size/shape component to them

For an eating egg you want the best internal volume so an AA egg would be better and represent more egg product regardless of size. (Weight also being a factor)

An AA egg might have more nutrition etc for a developing chick so that might offset the air cell size issue but strictly looking at air cell size I would think very small would not promote great hatch rates. But if the truth is opposite then I will accept that and wonder about how to determine if small air cells on a shipped egg are a good thing or a bad thing

This would be a very interesting study for a science project providing that the air cell size is the only difference and not the air cell size plus the age of the egg.

 

[Debs55]

Its my understanding that the air cell is what the chick essentially uses for oxygen as it is trying to pip and open the shell and while it is true it increases over incubation as moisture is lost the amount would not be a significant amount to overcome a very small air cell. It is also my understanding Pipping internally and other disorders leading to drowning in the shell all have an air cell size/shape component to them

For an eating egg you want the best internal volume so an AA egg would be better and represent more egg product regardless of size. (Weight also being a factor)

An AA egg might have more nutrition etc for a developing chick so that might offset the air cell size issue but strictly looking at air cell size I would think very small would not promote great hatch rates. But if the truth is opposite then I will accept that and wonder about how to determine if small air cells on a shipped egg are a good thing or a bad thing

The air cell in an egg grows as it gets older no mater if it is incubated or not. Therefore an egg with a smaller air cell is simply fresher than one with larger air cell. Fresher and eggs with smaller air cells do better for shipping because large air cells tend to become detached much more easily (from what I have read about egg shipping techniques etc, this is usually mentioned)

 

[Flaming Chicken]

More pictures of the confusing chick (it has clear eye liner which confuses me most).

i

This is a girl! She has the v at the front of her head, eyeliner and the chipmunk stripes clearly marked on her body. She gets a little muddled on the top of her head, but the rest says girl to me.

 

[Phage]

I would say girl as well