first time incubating

[Ashleyy_x3]

alright. so today iwas day 5 for my silkie eggs i got shipped allllll the way from alaska.. i got impatient and candled a couple of them. guess im not quite sure what i should be seeing? well i know veining and a spot indicating the embryo.. but they dont seem to look anything like the pictures ive been looking up on the internet for normal candling pictures of eggs... and its got me all worked up.

you guys should post some candling pics of your eggs for me to go by

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't have any day 5 candling pics, but most silkie eggs are at least a cream color. This would make it difficult to tell if there are veins. General rule of thumb is to wait till day 10 before candling, as too much movement can cause the embryo to die.

 

[Ashleyy_x3]

oh is that why? most of the eggs i have are cream colored so that makes me feel a little better

guess im just anxious to see some sort of sign of life!
and where they were shipped allllll the way from alaska. im not sure what a scrambled egg would look like candled or if the air sac is ruptured? i want to make sure i get any of those eggs out before they seep or explode..

 

[shelleyd2008]

If the eggs are going bad, you would be able to smell it. Just take a whiff of the bator everyday, and you will be able to tell if there is an egg going bad. Oozing is a bad sign, as is shell discoloration. A ruptured air cell will many times have bubbles throughout the egg, but it can be hard to see in a darker egg, and also if you aren't sure what you are looking for. I have (so far

) never had an egg explode in the bator, it is very easy to catch them before. I don't even think I have had any go bad?

 

[kelseygirl707]

My silkie eggs are at day 7 and I candled today. Only 1 is developing out of 11, but I really didn't expect much, because the P.O. dropped the box, you can tell because it's all muddy on one end, and 7 of the 11 had moving air sacs, so I am happy to have at least 1 develop. Give them a few more days, then candle again. I am 99% sure the other 10 of my silkies are going nowhere, but I will give them until at least day 12 to show me something. I just hope my my 1 little one stays strong

. Good Luck!

 

[shelleyd2008]

You should wait till at least day 14 before tossing any eggs. I have one egg in the bator right now that I was going to toss today, it had looked clear the last few times I had checked it. I was going to toss it a few days ago, but decided to wait. It had veins!!

It is just now on day 11, so you should definitely wait! A moving air cell doesn't always mean it won't develop. I have had some develop and hatch that had moving air cells.

 

[Ashleyy_x3]

yeah its hard to see anything within the egg except for the dark shadow of the yolk... in some i can see the air cell pretty clearly. but in most of them it kind of moves around when the egg is turned.. which im presuming to not be a good thing.

and some of the eggs are very pourous looking. not sure if its actually pores in the egg or air bubbles from the air sac rupturing... hard to tell

 

[shelleyd2008]

It probably is pores in the egg. A lot of my silkies eggs are like that, as are eggs I have gotten from other people. But don't toss the eggs with the moving air cell, they could still develop. Best to leave them alone till at least day 10, day 12 would be better, since it sounds like you have already moved them around a lot.

Do you hand turn or have a turner? If you hand turn, you may want to consider using an egg carton to incubate and hatch in, as this would make the air cell stay at the top of the egg. I had a duck egg that had a moving air cell that would roll all the way around the egg when I turned them (by hand), and it hatched.

 

[Ashleyy_x3]

oh ok. im hopeing their just very pourous eggs then! which i think they are since the dots dont seem to move at all. just wasnt sure if having lots of pores was a bad thing for eggs...

yeah i hand turn

should i put them in the carton now orr when it gets closer to hatch-time?

 

[shelleyd2008]

You can put them in a carton now, and just tilt it from one side to the other to turn. The porous eggs can dry out faster than a non-porous egg, that's why they have a harder time getting those to hatch. Just watch your air cell on those.