Float Testing, Checking Egg Viability For Late Or Overdue Hatching

[Chicken-Waffles]

My egg is day 14, but looks like day 8 maybe...sinks to bottom for float test but no movement in water or candling...can still see eye spot but thats about it...so confused as to whether I should toss it or not...any thoughts or suggestions? Please

 

[Erkenstein]

If you candle it and it looks dark, I'd put it back in the incubator. I wait until 24 hours after the last hatcher and then check for life before discarding. It's not time for the hatch yet, so I wouldn't toss it.

 

[Chicken-Waffles]

If you candle it and it looks dark, I'd put it back in the incubator. I wait until 24 hours after the last hatcher and then check for life before discarding. It's not time for the hatch yet, so I wouldn't toss it.

Already tossed it, it was starting to smell and there was no movement for days and no growth or change for a week. I only had the one egg anyways. Thanks anyways.

 

[Erkenstein]

So, just in case you're not aware of this, you can collect fertile eggs from your girls over about 10 days and then put them in the incubator at once. Just keep them at 60-65 degrees and turn them at least a few times a day during the collection period, let them come to room temp before you put them in the incubator and away you go.

 

[needmorechicks504]

I tried this and all my eggs sink almost entirely but it's day 26 and I'm not sure what to do next... Help please.

 

[Cindilong]

Can we still post on this thread? I brought in a bunch of eggs that my hen abandoned after she had eight little chicks. I have no idea how far along the eggs were. She's been sitting on eggs for a while and other hens keep adding eggs. I don't have an incubator, I might go buy one tomorrow, but I put them in a bin with a non-slip floor, give them a heat lamp and some of those disposable hand warmers. I read that on a thread here. They're in my bathroom with a space heater going and some wet paper towels in their bin.

Having never incubated any eggs before, I've been reading all day. I read about duds exploding and spraying bacteria everywhere. I tried candling, but most of my eggs are laid by copper Marans and the shells are so dark, I can't see a thing. So I tried just tapping and listening for peeping. One is actually peeping! Then I checked to make sure there were no Pips and I did the float test.

Six floated with the tiny bit of the egg showing at the surface. I dried them off and put them back in my fakey incubator. Six sank hard to the bottom so I figured they were duds. But I didn't just throw them away, of course I cracked one open. Inside was a little chick, looking to be about 18 days along, fully feathered, albumin mostly gone, responsive to touch but I don't know if breathing air yet, could still see the big umbilicus and some veins in the rest of the yolk. I don't know enough about opening them at this stage to tell if there was a proper air sac and if everything looked right. I should have taken a picture. I was too busy crying though.

So what gives? Why did the float test give me such inaccurate information? Does the fact that these eggs sink so hard mean that they're just not beyond 22 or so days? Or does it mean they developed maybe without an air sac and they are going to die no matter what? They're in my incubator now but of course I don't want them exploding.

 

[JaeG]

All you can do is wait and see what hatches (dark shells are so frustrating). Fingers crossed for you! You should smell a bad egg before it explodes so just do a daily sniff test by the vents.

I don't find the float test very reliable. I think the air cell would have to be a certain size to counter the weight of the chick in the egg, especially when they are getting big, so the ones that sank probably hadn't developed a large enough air cell yet. That's the only reason I can think of.

 

[AlishaRichard]

I have 4 turkens overdue by a day...candled and saw one move so float tested the other three. One barely floted, and rocked. The other 2 sank but rocked...once I set alal of them on the counter to toss water they all rocked. Any idea... why are they sinking?

 

[AlishaRichard]

Internal pip is my guess.

 

[VanUnamed]

had 4 low floater with just the air cell exposed. 1 had a fully developed baby chick, dead, another 3 were smaller embryos they didnt bob in water