Day 23 in the incubator and still alive.

[x4livin]

I had a few hens still laying when they were at the end of their molt and the river of eggs were drying up. I got one egg one day and put it in the incubator thnking "what a neat trick it would be to just add one a day and hatch one a day for a while". Well, that was to be the last egg for several weeks and the poor lonesome thing has sat in the incubator alone. I candled it at 1 week and it was moving, and progressing, though slower than I thought it should. Back to the bator and continue to turn. Week two, still really floating in liquid and not really formed.....but alas...certain movement. Ok, back you go. Day 21 came and went. I candled it at day 21...it was super wet..floating still....but very distinct movement. I got witnesses to be sure my eyes weren't fooling me. Now we are on day 23 and the egg is dry. The air pocket is there. It looks like a day 20 egg. It is still moving, though not vigorously. It has begun to get tight in there. I have never seen an egg go past 21 days. Most start pipping on day 20. I have since had another egg laid(days ago) and have added it to the bator, but for the most part, this little guy is alone.

Has anyone had any experiences with eggs going this long? It has a small chance of being a guinea fowl or a guin-hen egg....do they run longer?

Any thoughts?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

guineas do take longer. at this moment i have forgotten . i want to say 24 or 26 days.

your thermometer may be off a bit too. normally with only one egg you have the problem of not enough humidity aka, drying up too fast.

 

[aart]

• Guinea

28 days
http://www.thatquailplace.com/raising/periodchart.htm

 

[x4livin]

I'm glad I didn't throw it out on day 22. I never considered that the guineas were going into the hen house and laying. How cool. We're going to have a baby guinea.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

what does the egg look like? guinea eggs are pointed almost on one end and are dark most times with darker spots. and they are seasonal layers. is it warm where you are?

 

[x4livin]

It's the one on the right. I have a Turken also, a manilla colored little thing. I thought it was her egg because she lays them exactly the same color. My last batch had a baby Turken in it. I didn't know what it was at first. I told my son "Oh no...somethings wrong with that one...it has a blister on it's neck". My 10 year old starts laughing and says mom....it's a baby Turken. Ohhhh no! How could I miss that. It's now adorable and about 3 weeks old.

As for the thermometer in the incubator, this is the most reliable incubator I have ever used. Tiny but perfect. If it's going to be a screw up, I can pretty much guarantee it was me, not the incubator. I highly recommend Brinsea.

As for the temp here, we have just come through another ice stor, We are in North Central Texas up by the Southern Oklahoma line. It is warm compared to most of the US, but not unseasonably so here.

 

[aart]

Aren't guinea eggs much smaller than that?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

ya, thats not a guinea egg. sorry would test your thermometer with a different one.

 

[x4livin]

And on day 24, it pips. The temp in the incubator has always been steady and true(after initially tweaking it). I wonder if it was less stable related to the fact that there was only one egg in there until just lately.

 

[aart]

Sometimes they take longer. Now that it's pipped, don't open the incubator do the humidity stays up