guineas going on day seven. question

[monster1]

the guinea eggs have been in the bator for six going on seven days now. after a rough start of trying to get the temp just right after the first couple of days, the temp is perfect at 99.5 and 40-45% humidity. i candled a couple eggs even though it may be alittle soon. i didn't see anything i think i should be looking at. no dark ring around the egg or spider viens shooting though the egg. i did notice that the yokes didn't float in the eggs as i turned them near the candle(you know, like a bubble level). what does this mean? there was a dark mass in the center but was not round. it was almost rectangle shaped. sorry for the ignorance. this is my first hatch ever. what is going on?

 

[eggonomist]

I've had 4 goes of Guineas and each time I thought I had something and they turned out to be duds, while the others I put a question mark on that I thought were not fertilized ended up with chicks. I would wait another week, then you can usually see the embryo's move a little when you disturb them. The shells are VERY thick on Guineas (well mine were) and makes it quite hard to see anything viable. Most of the last batch I candled weekly and after the second week I was more certain I had the correct ones marked. I left the others in there as long as they didn't smell as a heat sink as they were evenly spaced between the viable eggs.

 

[eggonomist]

sorry I should at least try to speak the lingo, I meant keets not chicks

 

[feathersgalore]

I agree, guinea eggs are very thick. I usually try and candle after 14 days (remember it takes longer for guinea eggs to incubate). I also turn my eggs at least 5 times a day (alot more than duck or chicken eggs). Good luck with your hatch.

 

[Buckaroo]

Yes guineas are hard to candle at 7 days, better at 14 like said earlier. 28 days for these, and when they hatch, you will see a chunk of egg that looks cracked, its not pip hole like a chicken. I almost tossed my first one, thought the egg was bad. These guys just bust right out.

 

[DulcyDoll]

Yep! i agree with the two above me, guinea eggs do take longer to incubate, therefore longer to start forming. I candled at day 12 and saw a tiny bit of blood vessels, but reaaly didn't see much until day 14. Even if i didn't see anything forming, i still left them in till day 20, just to be sure. I had 5/12 hatch, 1 developed completely but died somewhere in the last 2 days.

Also about the hatching...they crack down most of a side of their egg! Its very different compared to chickens.

Good Luck!!!

 

[monster1]

one of the eggs that i checked, i rechecked. i can see a vien forming inside! it is exactly the same as the others except that it is clearly ahead of the others in devolopement(or so i think). i think this thing might actually work!