floating late batch

[Selsee]

my eggs are a couple days late but I floated them and all the ones that moved, sunk. I also candled them and it was completely dark. Was floating them a bad idea?

 

[007Sean]

Personally I wouldn't do a float test. It takes the protective "bloom" off the egg. Candling is a tried and true test for determing embryo development. With "floating" outside interferences (bumping the table, vibrations) can make it appear to wobble when infact it didn't.

 

[Selsee]

Personally I wouldn't do a float test. It takes the protective "bloom" off the egg. Candling is a tried and true test for determing embryo development. With "floating" outside interferences (bumping the table, vibrations) can make it appear to wobble when infact it didn't.

I waited for all the eggs to still themselves. The ones that moved, I waited carefully for to make sure they actually did.

 

[paneubert]

Setting aside all the opinions about float testing at all, the fact that yours sunk is a bad thing. The common wisdom (unless I am completely remembering wrong) is that the viable eggs are going to barely sink/barely float. Like 1/4 of the egg is above water, and the part above water is the round end and not the pointy end. If it sinks, the assumption is that the air cell in the egg is tiny and the chick will drown. Or it is a super fresh egg that hasn't even had a chance to incubate. High floaters means the chick did not develop and a lot of air is in there.

If they were late and they sunk, that begs the question about what your humidity was for the incubation. Why did the eggs not develop good sized air cells.

 

[Selsee]

Setting aside all the opinions about float testing at all, the fact that yours sunk is a bad thing. The common wisdom (unless I am completely remembering wrong) is that the viable eggs are going to barely sink/barely float. Like 1/4 of the egg is above water, and the part above water is the round end and not the pointy end. If it sinks, the assumption is that the air cell in the egg is tiny and the chick will drown. Or it is a super fresh egg that hasn't even had a chance to incubate. High floaters means the chick did not develop and a lot of air is in there.

If they were late and they sunk, that begs the question about what your humidity was for the incubation. Why did the eggs not develop good sized air cells.

I don’t have a formal humidity measurer. My incubator said to put in 1liter of water at a time.

Should I do an assisted hatch? I don’t want them to die

 

[Selsee]

I did end up doing an assisted hatch. I only opened around their beaks and I’m going to let them do the rest on their own.

 

[paneubert]

My incubator said to put in 1liter of water at a time.

My eyes did this when you said that. How big is this incubator? What brand? How often did you add another liter of water? That seems both like wayyyyyyyyy too much water, and a bad way to incubate in general. You really need to be able to monitor humidity....

 

[Selsee]

My eyes did this when you said that. How big is this incubator? What brand? How often did you add another liter of water? That seems both like wayyyyyyyyy too much water, and a bad way to incubate in general. You really need to be able to monitor humidity....

I meant milliliter!! Sorry about that.

 

[paneubert]

Hmmm....well that seems like too little! Haha. Both are extreme numbers. What incubator are you using?

 

[Selsee]

Hmmm....well that seems like too little! Haha. Both are extreme numbers. What incubator are you using?

This is the exact one I got: Z ZTD 12 Eggs Automatic Turning Egg Incubator Digital Temperature Control Poultry Hatcher Chicken Brooder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075F9X259/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wjuTAb28YPVS3