First time hatching and Murphy's Law seems to be in full effect

[goats2chickens]

Pretty sure my Serama egg is dead. Sloshy, no movement...

Shoot! I am so sorry.

That was your last hope for this hatch, right? I guess you and I are both going to have to do another hatch. I am doing any eggs I can get a hold of and filling it up with eggs so I can have at least one success before winter. I am still going through the motions with my first attempt but don't have much hope. I would suggest you don't try candling until day 7 because I read somewhere Those first few days are touchy. I plan on starting my new endeavor on the 25th. Pray for me, please.

Let me know what happens.

 

[Naliez]

Shoot!  I am so sorry.  That was your last hope for this hatch, right? I guess you and I are both going to have to do another hatch. I am doing any eggs I can get a hold of and filling it up with eggs so I can have at least one success before winter. I am still going through the motions with my first attempt but don't have much hope. I would suggest you don't try candling until day 7 because I read somewhere Those first few days are touchy.  I plan on starting my new endeavor on the 25th. Pray for me, please.    Let me know what happens.

Well, that was my FIRST batch of eggs... Lol I got another 16 shipped Serama eggs that are in the incubator now, but some of them were pretty old before they even shipped, so I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope for those either. AND because I know Seramas are difficult to hatch on their own much less shipped, I ALSO picked up a few local Silkie eggs... I didnt want to be COMPLETELY disappointed my first try, so I've covered myself by having 42 eggs total... 12 down... 30 more chances to go... SOMETHING'S gotta hatch! I do believe I may have just experienced "chicken math". Lol Sending good thoughts and vibes your way!!!

 

[goats2chickens]

Well, that was my FIRST batch of eggs... Lol I got another 16 shipped Serama eggs that are in the incubator now, but some of them were pretty old before they even shipped, so I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope for those either. AND because I know Seramas are difficult to hatch on their own much less shipped, I ALSO picked up a few local Silkie eggs... I didnt want to be COMPLETELY disappointed my first try, so I've covered myself by having 42 eggs total... 12 down... 30 more chances to go... SOMETHING'S gotta hatch! I do believe I may have just experienced "chicken math". Lol Sending good thoughts and vibes your way!!!

Thank you! So you have already started the new ones. When are you going to candle them? Can I candle before I start them and tell if they are fertile? These are predominantly barnyard mix for the most part with a few pure in there.

 

[Naliez]

Thank you! So you have already started the new ones. When are you going to candle them? Can I candle before I start them and tell if they are fertile?  These are predominantly barnyard mix for the most part with a few pure in there.

These went right in the incubator without candling, mostly bc I'm not sure what I'm looking for until they have veins or obvious movement. I tried seeing if they were fertile right when I got them, but I'm still not sure what exactly I'm looking for. If you find a good picture of candling before they go into the gator, you should post it here! I'm not having any luck. I left the New Serama eggs alone in the bator until day 3, but still, all I can see is a dark blob. I guess I'll wait until after day 10. The Silkie ones went in a few days before and I can definitely see movement now in 9 out of 12, but the new Serama ones- nothing. I am seriously considering getting a FOURTH batch from a local breeder. The shipped ones seem to have a hard time surviving. Maybe if I was more experienced, but right now I think I am finished getting eggs via mail. The Serama hatching egg has become my White whale... But I'm fairly confident that my Silkie eggs will have a hatch or two so I don't have to walk away completely empty handed.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

You can not tell if an unincubated egg is fertile by candling it. The only way to tell if an egg is fertile prior to incubating is cracking it open and checking for the "bullseye" on the yolk. Other than that you have to incubate and check them at day 4 or 5 ish. Even when an egg does not develop or start developing, it doesn't neccessarily mean it was not fertile. (Especially in shipped eggs.) Egg quality/handling/age of layer can affect the development of the egg as well as proper egg incubation.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

It's always a good idea to candle eggs before setting them. Sometimes you can have hair line cracks that can't be seen w/o the light of candling that could pose problems with bacteria getting in and ooze leaking out. It will help you look at things such as porosity of egg shell which could help determine cause of deaths later on. If you are getting your eggs from an outside source it may even alert you to an egg that has been unknowingly incubated by a broody or bad storage in too warm conditions. (Rare, but a possibility.) Plus it gives you an opportunity to check for air cells and gives you an idea of how fresh of eggs your supplier is sending/giving you.

 

[goats2chickens]

Thank you, AmyLynn, we need all the help we can get, right, Naliez?
I was hoping there was a way to tell without cracking them open but alas, that isn't to be. I haven't ever bought eggs to be mailed so have no idea what happens to them. I would imagine the juggling and changes they go through would cause several to be ruined before you start. My cousin and I drove and picked up eggs from a lady and not one of the two dozen she bought hatched. That has to be frustrating for an experienced hatcher and some one like us - well just keep your chin up.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you, AmyLynn, we need all the help we can get, right, Naliez?
I was hoping there was a way to tell without cracking them open but alas, that isn't to be. I haven't ever bought eggs to be mailed so have no idea what happens to them. I would imagine the juggling and changes they go through would cause several to be ruined before you start. My cousin and I drove and picked up eggs from a lady and not one of the two dozen she bought hatched. That has to be frustrating for an experienced hatcher and some one like us - well just keep your chin up.

One of the biggest problems with shipping is detatched air cells/saddle shapped air cells. Also if they were handled extremely rough they can literally get "scrambled" inside the shell in which case they are ruined. Generally if you get 50% hatch rate from shipped eggs, you're doing good. There are a few tricks and extra things you can do to increase your chances of shipped eggs, especially in the area of air cell re-attatchment like not turn the first few days of incubation, incubate upright, but shipped eggs are much riskier..

 

[goats2chickens]

I candled everything and I think they are all goners. I. Can't see into the Black Copper Maran eggs or the Favorelle eggs but the rest have no movement except when I move the egg, then I see them move a bit in there.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I candled everything and I think they are all goners. I. Can't see into the Black Copper Maran eggs or the Favorelle eggs but the rest have no movement except when I move the egg, then I see them move a bit in there.

Sorry to hear that.