Diary & Notes ~ Air Cell Detatched SHIPPED Chicken Eggs for incubation and hatching

[wahmommy]

Do not cull yet! I had a whole bunch I thought were quitters or weren't developing at day 7 but at day 14 there is definitely a chick in there. I didn't see any movement in any of them at 7 days either. At 14 I can see a lot of them moving. Just wait and don't panic. If you only want a particular type of chicken you should give it a chance and hang in there til at least day 10, preferably day 14. Also, I did a lot of research on hatching shipped eggs and choosing a breeder closer to you is pretty much the only thing you can do and that still doesn't guarantee anything will hatch. Just hang in there and give it a little more time. The eggs I got came from across the country (MD to CA) and they do have air cell issues. Since I have some local eggs in there, I can see how just how bad shipping them messes them up. If I could do it without shipping I would, but like you I want something I can't get locally. Anyway, wait a bit longer

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Do not cull yet! I had a whole bunch I thought were quitters or weren't developing at day 7 but at day 14 there is definitely a chick in there. I didn't see any movement in any of them at 7 days either. At 14 I can see a lot of them moving. Just wait and don't panic. If you only want a particular type of chicken you should give it a chance and hang in there til at least day 10, preferably day 14. Also, I did a lot of research on hatching shipped eggs and choosing a breeder closer to you is pretty much the only thing you can do and that still doesn't guarantee anything will hatch. Just hang in there and give it a little more time. The eggs I got came from across the country (MD to CA) and they do have air cell issues. Since I have some local eggs in there, I can see how just how bad shipping them messes them up. If I could do it without shipping I would, but like you I want something I can't get locally. Anyway, wait a bit longer

I will wait, whats another week right? I went on CL to post an ad and canceled it... and came back to read more

 

[sumi]

How do I post a WANTED add? or cant I do such a thing? I am going to put an add on Craigslist but if I do that I WILL have to CULL and start over, even though it may be best.... more info I didnt read up on!! I sooooo wanted to do this all right! the kids are going to be upset, but at this point I think I MAY BE MORE SO!!

This thread explains it better than I can: Buy Sell Trade FAQ's

But see what happens with this lot.

You still have some viable eggs in there!

 

[alisar]

Sucks! I think you should start over.

I ordered two batches of eggs, one batch was scrambled in the shell and one batch was really good. They were both packed exactly the same so it was just luck of the draw.
The good eggs are so obvious. I was scratching my head at the pictures while candling the scrambled messed up ones. But at day 3 you can see all of the veining and heart beating in the good ones. These are in blue eggs too, so it should be more obvious in a white egg.

I'm using the brinsea mini eco. I think it ended up being $80-ish tax/shipped? I did have to manually adjust the temp down a little with the pointy end of a plastic flosser because it was running 2-3 degrees higher.

I bought a few hatchery chicks to come when these eggs are supposed to pip. Especially since I have little kids frothing at the mouth for these eggs to hatch!

 

[Wulfandwyn]

Definately do not give up yet. even if by some chance none of these eggs hatch you are still getting experience for your next attempt. my fist two dozen shipped eggs were a complete failure but i still learned a lot about the process and my incubator and i didn't even keep any records.

 

[coffeekittie]

I agree with Wulfandwyn. Don't toss the eggs. You set yourself a goal - to record the incubation and (hopefully) hatching of shipped eggs, and you aren't finished yet. There is at least one egg that seems good, and possibly more. There's no reason why you should chuck these eggs and give up on the batch. Keep them, keep tracking them, and see what happens on day 21/22.

One of the reasons I didn't use your egg incubation tracking sheet is that it's too focused (for me) on day-to-day changes in humidity and temperature. From everything I've read, you get a good hatch rate and healthy chicks from incubations that vary in temp/hum. That is reflective of a natural incubation from a hen, so it's actually good! Plus, you are making yourself crazy, which is taking away the fun of hatching eggs.

If none of these eggs hatch, it is obvious that the horrible treatment during shipping caused it. I used to work for a major shipping company in the truck loading area, and to have the scrambled innards like you found means that package was viciously shaken at some point. Not something that happens in a normal shipment process, even through machinery. Someone in the system did that, and I'm angry on your behalf.

 

[aoxa]

Hang in there!

 

[Wulfandwyn]

one thing i was thinking of is that you might want to think about your brooder setup for when you do have chicks hatch. I have been having a lot of trouble maintaining a good temp in my brooder and i wish i had got it up and running sooner to work out the kinks.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

This thread explains it better than I can: Buy Sell Trade FAQ's

But see what happens with this lot.

You still have some viable eggs in there!

Great Thanks!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Sucks! I think you should start over.

I ordered two batches of eggs, one batch was scrambled in the shell and one batch was really good. They were both packed exactly the same so it was just luck of the draw.
The good eggs are so obvious. I was scratching my head at the pictures while candling the scrambled messed up ones. But at day 3 you can see all of the veining and heart beating in the good ones. These are in blue eggs too, so it should be more obvious in a white egg.

I'm using the brinsea mini eco. I think it ended up being $80-ish tax/shipped? I did have to manually adjust the temp down a little with the pointy end of a plastic flosser because it was running 2-3 degrees higher.

I bought a few hatchery chicks to come when these eggs are supposed to pip. Especially since I have little kids frothing at the mouth for these eggs to hatch!

Howany does that mini eco hold? I was thinking about the buying hatchlings too. But I dont want to make another mistake