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

[randerson846]

I hear ya about the money thing. Chickens are addictive! My best hope is to sell a few to defray feed costs, haha! Seriously, our flock are a bunch of spoiled pets, and my husband is the biggest culprit. We could sit and watch them for hours. I Envy your incubator - mine is a Farm Innovators with a computer fan wired in to circulate air and I feel like I have to check temp /humidity several times a day. But it works for the one or two hatches I plan to do a year. Good luck with your silkies!

thank you! They arrived today, all intact! I was wondering, how long, can u leave them before they start to go off? Are shipped eggs different

 

[WalnutHill]

When I gather eggs from the coop, I like to let them rest 1-2 days to allow the pH to adjust before setting. This helps prevent spoilage.

When I receive shipped eggs, I like to candle them, and let them rest 12-24 hours before setting. This allows air cells to stabilize.

This also allows all the eggs to go into the incubator at the same temperature, leading to more synchronized hatches.

How long can you leave them? While eggs up to several weeks old can still be viable, after ten days the hatchability decreases measurably. There are techniques for extending storage, by keeping development going with intermittent hours of incubation, but I haven't experimented with that.

 

[randerson846]

Ok thanks it's just they shipped them earlier than I would of liked, and they were all fresh, but my incubator is hatching geese, till next Thursday!! So I guess it's ok to wait till after they have hatched ?

 

[WalnutHill]

Yep! Depending on when they were laid, and how you store them, you may not even notice a decrease in hatchability. I'd suggest placing them in a carton in a ziplock bag, and place in your basement or other cool place 55-65 until a few hours before you are ready to set them.

 

[EvilleGardener]

X2^^

 

[ChcknNurse]

I have 28 eggs in the octagon 20. First shipment of 7 bantam, all air cells were detached. I let them sit for 24 hrs, no real improvement to air cells. After setting them, about 6 hours later, I rechecked and air cells that were moving around the whole egg, settled in the large end. By day 7, there is veining in all 7 eggs.

Second shipment of 13 eggs, all air cells were beautifully intact. I let these sit for 12 hours but with such beautiful air cells, set them after that. At the 7 days, I can see veining in all 3 silkies and 3 Orphingtons. 3 Ameracaunas are clear

and I cannot see anything but the air cells (with 2 flashlights) in the Marans

.

 

[BusyBearMama]

I have 28 eggs in the octagon 20.  First shipment of 7 bantam, all air cells were detached. I let them sit for 24 hrs, no real improvement to air cells.  After setting them, about 6 hours later, I rechecked and air cells that were moving around the whole egg, settled  in the large end.  By day 7, there is veining in all 7 eggs. 

Second shipment of 13 eggs, all air cells were beautifully intact.  I let these sit for 12 hours but with such beautiful air cells, set them after that.  At the 7 days, I can see veining in all 3 silkies and 3 Orphingtons.  3 Ameracaunas are clear  and I cannot see anything but the air cells (with 2 flashlights) in the Marans .

& as far as your am & marans... Don't give up hope yet. I can't ever see into marans eggs, just watch for wiggles.. And at about day 10-11 I started to see the veins in the ams I have going now. They are developing properly but something about the shell color for me at least I just couldn't see anything, thought mine were going no where, day 7 I thought maybe I would get 2 and I set them over a couple rows and a few days later rechecked and they all were developing just fine. Hard to tell sometimes... But I'm no expert, we are just starting out doing this recently. Currently crossing everything possible for the 7 eggs in the hatcher... Good luck!! Sounds like your eggs are off to a good start :-D

 

[ChcknNurse]

& as far as your am & marans... Don't give up hope yet. I can't ever see into marans eggs, just watch for wiggles.. And at about day 10-11 I started to see the veins in the ams I have going now. They are developing properly but something about the shell color for me at least I just couldn't see anything, thought mine were going no where, day 7 I thought maybe I would get 2 and I set them over a couple rows and a few days later rechecked and they all were developing just fine. Hard to tell sometimes... But I'm no expert, we are just starting out doing this recently. Currently crossing everything possible for the 7 eggs in the hatcher... Good luck!! Sounds like your eggs are off to a good start :-D

This morning. I was thinking the same, as I added a bit of water, thought one of the 3 looked a little darker, like the others that have developed more. Of course, one is so thick, can't even see light thru, except air cell and that's difficult. I will hold on, in hopes they surprise me.

 

[ChcknNurse]

Of the 28 eggs in the incubator, 3 are Ameraucana. One is so thick, I can't even see light into it. The other two look clear to me. What do you think? It's day 15.

 

[Ironsights]

I'm having some difficulty finding some explanation for "lockdown" . I'm think I'm getting the process down and I've read a lot of the articles in the learning center.
I wanted the grandkids to see eggs hatching so we bought a little giant a couple years ago, bought some eggs, and had pretty good success. Must have been beginners luck. We've hatched eggs since then, mostly catalog eggs. We just took out the hatched chicks and put them into a kiddy pool with a brood light. This year I found this site when I was ordering parts for the little giant. I decided to make my own (inspired by the DIY ones on here). I don't do things the small way so the one I'm making has two turners. I made room for a hatcher on one end but I don't know the purpose of it.
We started out using our own eggs before the little giant went south and some hens are setting, we've gotten 8 so far. I'm going to sneak in and candle tonight. So... Can I get some info about lockdown and the purpose of a hatcher?
PS. We've done turkeys too.
PS S sorry for being so verbose but I tend to ramble.