Depressed

[angnic22]

So...kinda worried about my MPC eggs. The air cells on a couple are very mis-shapened. Real long on one side. Tried to take pics. Hope you can see. (Long brown egg and 1 other).

Also, I see a spot in one but very little movement. I see a blood pool but it doesn't go all the way around. Don't see much veins either. What do you all think?

This is one with spot I'm worried about.

 

[n8ivetxn]

I see.... your Marans egg looks like it has a "saddle" shaped air sac. My shipped eggs had several of them. Personally, I'm not counting on them hatching. I don't see any development when I candle mine.

The other egg with the blob in it, looks like an early quitter to me - maybe around day 7 or 8? I'm sort of guessing on that... Does it have any movement? - If I remember, your eggs were set about the same time as mine, 14 days? I'd say that one is gone. Unless it's a slow developer and you've seen some movement or growth?

I did the day 14 candle and removed half my eggs

. Out of the remaining 20, I think only 10 of them have developed and only 3-4 look "alive."

 

[angnic22]

I started my friends EE's on 9/8. I set the MPC eggs on 9/13 so these guys (the pictures) are day 8 today.

I don't see movement, and honestly, I haven't seen much change either. It's early yet. My biggest fear is a blow-up. I don't want to infect the good ones...if there are any.

And I'm so new to this. I'm not sure what I'm looking at. At first it's easy, you see the dot, you see it move. Then it grows bigger and maybe you can see something towards the bottom. My eyes play tricks on me. I think it's moving but then wonder if it's just me.

 

[angnic22]

Thanks for the wording! I was able to search 'saddle shape air sac' and found a BYC thread. The success rate is mixed and the recommendation is to incubate them upright in a carton, which is what Ruby had instructed me to do at the beginning before I even got the eggs. So, that could be good news. It's hard to tell if there is activity because it's a Marans egg, but I'm going to stay hopeful.

 

[n8ivetxn]

Yeah, that's what I did with mine...Since my set up is home made, I also trimmed a hole in the bottom of each egg cradle in the carton, for even air flow. I don't know for certain, but one of my saddles looks like it might be viable.

I can't hardly see any movement in any of mine, only one or two...yes, when I candled them last, I found myself staring at them until I thought I saw movement!

I would feel so much better if I could hear some cheeping in there

Are you doing a staggered hatch in the same bator, or do you have 2 separate bators going?

 

[angnic22]

I have 2 bators going. A Littlr Giant 9300 and Brisea mini advance. I've tried to add some of my own eggs but they never show life. I see the blastoderm so they look fertile. Not sure why nothing ever happens. I blamed the bator at first and that's why I bought the Brinsea, but now that 16/18 are showing life in the LG, I know it's definitely not the bator.

The Brinsea is consistent but it's small. I can only do 9 at a time in the carton, 7 if I use the turner. Good for small hatches.

I candled last night. All 16 look great. I see movement in 3/8 in the Brinsea. 3 are so dark I can't tell and I threw away one. Not fertile.

How many are you hatching?

 

[n8ivetxn]

Your numbers sound awesome, wish I had half of yours! I started with 41 eggs. After candling a couple times, I weeded out half of them at day 14: yolkers, clears & really early quitters. I have 20 eggs in the bator now, but I can only see movement in 2 or 3 of them. Another 2 or 3 are very dark and I couldn't see anything other than the air sac. So, my best guess is that I have 4-6 good eggs. The rest, I'm just not sure about.

 

[angnic22]

I'm not discounting the dark ones. I used a plug-in light and could see much better. I think they are sleeping sometimes. Lol

 

[n8ivetxn]

I think they are sleeping sometimes. Lol

I think the same thing! They grow at such a high rate of speed, they must conserve their energy for all that growth!

 

[angnic22]

UPDATE: candled the 6 that go on lockdown tomorrow on Friday. All have movement and look great!

UPDATE MPC: had to throw out 2 on Friday. One is suspect. Those darn Marans eggs are just so hard to see. Checking again tonight at least for the one. If no smell, I'll continue to try but not sure for how long. One I threw out looked like it had seepage. That was different. It was like little clear bubbles on the exterior of the egg. It did have a slight smell but didn't explode when I opened it. Both looked like the started and quit very early. One appeared to have a floating airsac. Lockdown is set for Friday.

Sad news!! I have to go out of town the 29th-2nd. Thurs-sun. And yep. That's right on hatch day for the 16 and during lock down for MPC. (Day 21 is 4th). I'm gonna miss my very first hatch!! Good news is, my son & dil are living with us until they find a house so I have great backup. They have both been integral in helping me build things and take care of my flock so I know I'm leaving it in good hands. Just sucks that I'm gonna miss it. Since the 16 are local, there shouldn't be any problems, but if you're a beleiver, prayers for a healthy hatch would be appreciated.

Getting the brooder set up today. Got the Brisea Glow 50 (the heat thing) several days ago. That red light annoys me, plus with this, I can see them better and not worry about fire hazard or if I have it set right. I'll post pics when it's all set up.

Oh, and that darn chicken math got me. We still wanted to find a replacement for the d'uccle that got killed (the reason that started this whole journey). We discussed getting more eggs then decided to just order chicks so they'll all be about the same age. My dil and I ordered some day old chickens from MPC LAST NIGHT. Shipping the week of 10/3 so they should be within 10 days of each other. Of course there is a minimum so we had to buy 7. Lol. We got an assortment: light/buff brahmas, molted Cochin, Wyandotte. Not the d'uccle I lost but the molted Cochin looks like a female version of him. (All ordered are females so I don't have to worry about too many roos.) I'm so addicted to my chickens! If all hatch/survive, that will put me at 40. Yikes!! We plan to sell some of the EEs and give back some to the lady that gave me the eggs but it looks like another coop may be in order. Thank goodness I'll have a couple weeks to get that going.

Sorry for the long lost. Hope every is having a wonderful weekend!