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

[chicksooner]

YAY!!!! I think they all miss their mark ha ha ha!!

plucked her belly???? none of mine ever did that is it norm?

Mine always pluck their belly feathers out and line their chosen nest site with them. They have a bare patch of skin that the eggs get rubbed all over and they get the natural oils from the hen. I think it adds extra barrier of protection on the eggs. Next broody you get flip her over and check her belly. It would be interesting to know if all breed do it or just a few.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: I have already, never seen the cochin, brahma or the serama do that, they are moist at the center bones lol but never seen a loss of feathers, not much in the nests either... out of curiousity what bedding material do you use for a broody?

 

[dolfi]

Dolfi, are you hatching your own eggs? or are they shipped eggs?

If they are your eggs, take an averaged sized fresh egg from the same breeding and weigh it.

Then take one of those eggs out of your incubator and weigh it.

Now take your second number and divide it by your first number.  It will give you the fraction of mass that the egg didn't lose.  It should be a bit less than .83 to .86 because eggs should lose 14% to 17% of their mass before hatch.

If you're having troubles figuring it out, ask away.  We're here to help.

I guess I was right. Most are at .96 how do I fix this. They're on day 18th today

 

[chicksooner]

I have already, never seen the cochin, brahma or the serama do that, they are moist at the center bones lol but never seen a loss of feathers, not much in the nests either... out of curiousity what bedding material do you use for a broody?

Well this one picked a corner of the coop by the roost filled with poopy straw. (She is back there again today) Normally I make sure they have a nest filled with lots of fresh clean pine shavings. I also usually put them in a cage/crate of some sort to keep others away from them and to make sure they are not collecting more eggs every day. I guess I am running to the store today to get pine shavings and another heat lamp bulb.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: not sure you can do anymore than you are, remove water until you see first internal pip, and keep checking for internals

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Quote: LOL maybe its warmer there? lol I gave up trying to figure them out!! Harmony has four serama broodies that are NOT happy this day!! Its so cold so I am mean and took all of them and put them in a grow out pen for a few hours.... I will go put them back before dark so they have access to heat lamp... if it dont fix them I dont know what will! good grief why now! its sooooo cold out!! PLUS I NEED EGGS I HAVE six orders for serama eggs and I am supposed to hatch a few too!!! cant win with chickens thats for sure, if you plan on something, think opposite and maybe you get lucky for things to go right!!!

 

[chicksooner]

the store was out of bulbs for the heat lamps so she is getting a wire cage until she straightens out. Thankfully the weather is warming up this week so I won't worry too much about her freezing to death.

 

[cochins1088]

Quote:
My hens do this too; cochins and silkies.

I usually don't notice a sudden abundance of feathers, but if you flip a broody hen over, her chest is almost always bare. I believe that they need to have direct contact with the eggs.

Quote:
There was a typo. I met to say slightly above .83 to .86, but .96 is much too high.

Were the eggs you weighed of equal size and shape? Perhaps try it again with 2 different eggs? If .96 is accurate, then your eggs will have only lost 4% of their masses while they need to lose 14% - 17%.

Remove all of the water for starters and don't replace it until there are internal pips.

Is your incubator forced air? If so, mist the eggs and leave the incubator open for about 5 minutes before putting the top back on. The water droplets will evaporate and will aid in moisture loss.

You may want to add some rice as well. Rice absorbs moisture, right?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

the store was out of bulbs for the heat lamps so she is getting a wire cage until she straightens out. Thankfully the weather is warming up this week so I won't worry too much about her freezing to death.

ours was too, we had to get the clear bulbs!

 

[chicksooner]

ours was too, we had to get the clear bulbs!

weird wonder if I missed the bulletin telling everyone to stock up. Ours didn't even have clears. I imagine here it is because people are freaked out over the cold we have had. Supposed to be 65 by Saturday. Heat wave!!!