Good news and some concerns (really need advice here)

[Clay In Iowa]

I candled tonight and 11 of 12 of my Ameraucana eggs are developing!!!

Now for the concerns part. ALL the eggs have a bubble floating around where air cell should be. I'm guessing the postal monkeys used the box for foot ball practice... err. How much should I be concerned by this??? Can I alter the incubation conditions to help insure they hatch or am I just screwed? I'm currently running the incubator at about 50% humidity.



I'm very new to this and just have no Idea what to do?

 

[Lollipop]

I`m new here, but old time cocker/chicken fancier. I`d say that shipped eggs with that kind of success is fantastic. Shipped eggs generally have a really poor hatch rate. Can`t comment on the humidity cause I hen hatch all my chicks. Someone will know. Good luck

 

[twigg]

Quote:
Keep it at 50, and just let it happen. Nothing you can do about the eggs except hope they are viable. Time will tell.

 

[chickengirl124]

do not change the incubator conditions at all. The heat needs to consist at about 100 degrees and not go under 95.5 for more than 30 minutes. If there is a bubble, then wait until the 26th day to throw the eggs out if they don't hatch. If they do hatch then nothing to worry about! did you have water in the incubator though?

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Water levels are fine. No problems there.

*Editors note What follows is an educated guess by a private pilot and frequent international traveler.


I have no numbers, haven't read anything, heard anyone say this, I'm just guessing here........

My best guess(and it is a guess) is that when eggs are shipped long distance they are loaded on a barely pressurized aircraft and flown for hours to the mail hub. And then probably loaded onto another to their final destination. Those air cells never evolved to rapidly expand or contract. With a round of rapid depressurization and re pressurization and all the bumping and rocking in the aircraft it's probably just too much for what is a rather delicate membrane. They break.

I'm betting it's why so many say hatch rates are dependent on distance. They are correct. But it probably has less to do with the mail monkeys handling the package roughly than rapid pressure changes.

I had my first batch of eggs sent from the other side of Iowa. Not a single air cell was ruptured. All the eggs in both sets of eggs in this current batch are ruptured, 27 eggs total. I got one set from the East coast and the other from the West coast.

 

[daisychick]

Clay that really does make a lot of sense about the pressure in the airplanes changing and affecting the aircells in the eggs.

 

[Clay In Iowa]

I have to bow to more experienced peeps here. MissPrissy told me she has a had 100% hatches from goose eggs shipped from Washington state. And she said they are much more delicate than chicken eggs.

So now I think My theory hold less water. But I still think it might be a factor.

 

[daisychick]

Quote:
I would say if they are developing then you are doing something right! So just give them a chance and maybe the air bubble thing will go away.

Yes I would say if MissPrissy has good results with the eggs from the long distance places then it may put a hamper on the air pressure theory! I bow to everyone's knowledge on here! I am just a student to their experience!

I love all the stuff I am learning though!

 

[twigg]

Quote:
Generally eggs don't appreciate rough handling. Pressure changes would be one of the factors, cold another. Flying per se is probably only a minor issue, but add it to all the other minor issues and the results show in the hatch rates.

No one much likes buying shipped eggs, but sometimes it's the only way.