Egg, incubation, and broody questions…

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

1. I had 6 Sebastopol eggs shipped to me. The incubation guide on this forum says to wash the eggs under slightly warm water prior to incubation. This goes against everything I have ever read. Please advise! I will attach a pic of my messiest egg.

2. In that same incubation guide, the author also makes reference to an article explaining how to handle shipped eggs/damaged air sacs, etc,.. I have searched everywhere and cannot find that information. Does anyone have a link to that?

3. I was also sent an egg by the seller that is not smooth on the side but has what I would call “wrinkles”. Is that going to be ok to attempt to hatch?

4. Can I switch to a broody chicken or goose if at any point in the incubation if I get a broody? I thought incubating would be fun, but now the thought of the hatching part fills me with dread. I find birth of any type to be gross and beyond frightening.

5. Do geese always cover their eggs when they get off the nest? It’s funny to have to dig way down to find them!

6. Lastly, my one year old Pilgrim goose sits on her infertile eggs all night long. There are 8 in there at this point. As soon as it’s daytime, she hops off the nest and spends the entire day outside, usually waiting for me to come out so she can bite me. She has done this for over a week. Is it likely she will go broody, or will she probably just keep playing house? Several chickens have managed to figure out how to get in the goose house where they add to the stack of goose eggs daily.

Thanks for any advice/help. I am going to wait patiently in hopes someone has answers.

 

[Iain Utah]

1. I tend to take damp cloth and wipe worst of dirt off, but not necessary.
2. Before incubating, place eggs upright in egg shell carton for 1-2 days. Then, stand damaged air cells fat end upright for first two weeks, at slight angle, so they can still be rotated.
3. Wrinkles on shell surface will not affect fertility.
4. Switching to a broody is highly unreliable.
5. Geese have individual personalities, including how they build their nests, care for their eggs, and whether they even desire to go broody.
6. Sitting on nest overnight indicates the goose cares about her eggs not freezing or getting taken and is likely to go broody.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

1. I tend to take damp cloth and wipe worst of dirt off, but not necessary.
2. Before incubating, place eggs upright in egg shell carton for 1-2 days. Then, stand damaged air cells fat end upright for first two weeks, at slight angle, so they can still be rotated.
3. Wrinkles on shell surface will not affect fertility.
4. Switching to a broody is highly unreliable.
5. Geese have individual personalities, including how they build their nests, care for their eggs, and whether they even desire to go broody.
6. Sitting on nest overnight indicates the goose cares about her eggs not freezing or getting taken and is likely to go broody.

Thank you! Do you know of a site that shows pictures of what a damaged air sac looks like?

 

[JRies]

Thank you! Do you know of a site that shows pictures of what a damaged air sac looks like?

Damaged air cells from shipping usually look watery and travel a bit while your candling. If this helps the air sac is between the outer membrane and the inner membrane. Going up and down in a plain allows moister to build in it. this can make the air sack gap between membranes bigger by going upright for a few days you can minimize the spread and let it settle into place. Iain Utah has great advice. Check also with a candle for any hairline cracks you can use candle wax to seal them. Great luck with your hatch