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

[Sally Sunshine]

Well I just won an ebay auction for SFH eggs so I am going to try your scientific methodology to see if I can get a better hatch rate!

I was eyeballing some blue orp eggs earlier but not sure I am ready for the stress again.

Well I just won an ebay auction for SFH eggs so I am going to try your scientific methodology to see if I can get a better hatch rate!

Just DO IT!!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Ok, I candled my shipped eggs on day 7 for the turkey and day 6 for the d'Uccles, and most of the little guys are growing!!!! Oh my gosh, the excitement!

I was a bit worried about the turkeys not showing any development, but after doing a little googling found it's better to candle them at day 10 to 12. They grow more slowly. They are also harder to ship and hatch successfully I've heard, so

.

I've done SO MUCH differently with this bator full of eggs than the others, almost all due to BYC, and looks like it was good information! I was getting tired of spending $$ for eggs to feed to my (very thankful) dog.

Darn good thing her coat is looking better, or I'd be even more

I still think the failures were due mostly to the USPS, but at least now I have a battle plan for dealing with some of the damages they cause. So far I haven't seen any eggs scrambled like SS and others have, so barring that unconquerable situation I'm keeping a bit of hope for shipped eggs. Still think it's a better idea to go with local eggs or at least breeders in nearby states though. Lots of little tricks to help get the eggs through the USPS alive might have helped these latter eggs too.

coffwwkittie.... what all did u change for ur hatch plan?

 

[coffeekittie]

I did a lot of things differently - this mostly pertains to shipped eggs although I have some "homegrown" in there too, being treated the same way.

1) Keeping the large end of the egg up and all times, even when candleing (how DO you spell that, anyhow?). When I first checked for loose air sacs on these, the most I did was tip them gently a few degrees slowly this way and that to see if anything moved. As I can't seem to see the air sacs usually anyways, I just looked to see if the yolk bounced around a lot. In the prior batches, the eggs with loose air sacs had very mobile yolks.

2) Not using the turner in the bator, at all, ever, for the shipped eggs. To keep the embryos from sticking, I lift the whole incubator up by one corner only a couple inches, and only change the tilt once or twice a day - very slowly. I've forgotten to change the tilt a few times and I'm not letting that worry me. Not quite a "still" incubation, but definitely a couch potato-paced one (sorry, I have a bad joke tendency).

3) https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubation-cheat-sheet Using Chookschick's incubation rules for humidity. I live in maritime Pacific Northwest Washington, and we don't have really dry or really moist air to worry about anyway. Also using her ideas for setting and maintaining the temperature.

4) Keeping my little black cat from sleeping on top of the bator, which moved it around, messed with the temperature setting and frankly just worried me a lot. This possibly should be Rule #1. She helped me mess up the other eggs very effectively.

5) Not opening the incubator other than to add batches of eggs or to candle at 7, 14 and 18 days. The turkey eggs are just going to have to deal with the neglect.

I checked the prior batches multiple times....

Other than trying to defeat the POs attempts to ruin my eggs, that's pretty much it. Some tricks that I've been told and am trying are not writing "hatching eggs" anywhere on the box, insuring the box (I figure the workers won't know the contents aren't insurable and will be more careful), writing "non machineable" and of course, "fragile, this end up" all over the box, lining the inside with foil to help with x-rays, and wrapping the eggs so they aren't completely sealed off from fresh air which will render them unhatchable.

I think that's it.....

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I did a lot of things differently - this mostly pertains to shipped eggs although I have some "homegrown" in there too, being treated the same way.

1) Keeping the large end of the egg up and all times, even when candleing (how DO you spell that, anyhow?). When I first checked for loose air sacs on these, the most I did was tip them gently a few degrees slowly this way and that to see if anything moved. As I can't seem to see the air sacs usually anyways, I just looked to see if the yolk bounced around a lot. In the prior batches, the eggs with loose air sacs had very mobile yolks.

2) Not using the turner in the bator, at all, ever, for the shipped eggs. To keep the embryos from sticking, I lift the whole incubator up by one corner only a couple inches, and only change the tilt once or twice a day - very slowly. I've forgotten to change the tilt a few times and I'm not letting that worry me. Not quite a "still" incubation, but definitely a couch potato-paced one (sorry, I have a bad joke tendency).

3) https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubation-cheat-sheet Using Chookschick's incubation rules for humidity. I live in maritime Pacific Northwest Washington, and we don't have really dry or really moist air to worry about anyway. Also using her ideas for setting and maintaining the temperature.

4) Keeping my little black cat from sleeping on top of the bator, which moved it around, messed with the temperature setting and frankly just worried me a lot. This possibly should be Rule #1. She helped me mess up the other eggs very effectively.

5) Not opening the incubator other than to add batches of eggs or to candle at 7, 14 and 18 days. The turkey eggs are just going to have to deal with the neglect.

I checked the prior batches multiple times....

Other than trying to defeat the POs attempts to ruin my eggs, that's pretty much it. Some tricks that I've been told and am trying are not writing "hatching eggs" anywhere on the box, insuring the box (I figure the workers won't know the contents aren't insurable and will be more careful), writing "non machineable" and of course, "fragile, this end up" all over the box, lining the inside with foil to help with x-rays, and wrapping the eggs so they aren't completely sealed off from fresh air which will render them unhatchable.

I think that's it.....

u sure! LOL

 

[coffeekittie]

Heh, are you saying I talk a lot? I hear that a lot, whenever there's a pause....

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Heh, are you saying I talk a lot? I hear that a lot, whenever there's a pause....

Are you kidding me!! Havent you noticed how much I talk to myself on here? I babysit so I assure you I MUST get it out!!
I meant you made ALOT of changes! but next time I do it I will too! but I have been changing EVERYthing as I go! LOL

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I love this CANDLE video!!! and she eggtopsy after... plus she cracks me up!! What a Mom!!

 

[coffeekittie]

Well, at least you are making changes before buying like 2 dozen eggs from 4 different people and having them *all* fail! I don't even have the excuse of having scrambled eggs inside the shells!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Well, at least you are making changes before buying like 2 dozen eggs from 4 different people and having them *all* fail! I don't even have the excuse of having scrambled eggs inside the shells!

No just the mistake of 1 dozen LOL !!! its gonna be good this time!!!

get the brooder ready!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]