Help Needed Please! Day 21 no pips, movement or chirping!

[Sonya9]

Please don't float test them @OroraOra . It's a terrible idea, and I wish it wasn't so popular. It doesn't work. Candling is the only method. You'll know by candling if they're alive. There will either be veins at the top (live egg) or not (dead). Dead eggs look cloudy and confusing. If in doubt leave them. Leave any and all eggs until day 25. Then you can candle and toss the remaining eggs. Always candle before you toss just to check. You can open them up and eggtopsy them if you feel up to it (I always do).

Why do you think water candling is terrible? A few weeks ago I water candled my bantam's 5 eggs a day before the expected hatch and it worked perfectly (it tests for movement not floating). Out of 5 eggs 4 jiggled within a few seconds, the 5th egg did not move and never hatched so it was 100% accurate. I have also seen avian experts use that method which convinced me it was safe.

Also water candling is *only* used very close to the hatch date when candling with a light will only show a "black mass" that denotes a developed chick, but often won't show if the chick is actually moving/alive.

 

[MGG]

Why do you think water candling is terrible? A few weeks ago I water candled my bantam's 5 eggs a day before the expected hatch and it worked perfectly (it tests for movement not floating). Out of 5 eggs 4 jiggled within a few seconds, the 5th egg did not move and never hatched so it was 100% accurate.
I have also seen avian experts use that method which convinced me it was safe.

Bacteria can seep in through the pores of the egg, and it is so unreliable. Maybe it's somewhat safe, but it is not reliable at all. I used the float test on my first batch of chicken eggs that were on day 12. I couldn't tell anything by candling, and i was pretty inexperienced anyway. I did them all, and they all sunk. No movement, nothing. I was going to remove any duds and set new eggs, so I wanted to float test. I tossed them all. I took one out, and broke it open, and the little baby was alive. I couldn't do anything, I had to just watch it die. I'm sure a number of the other ones were alive too. So I will never use the float test again, even if it is "safe". It will only indicate the size of the air cell. More air = more buoyancy. Putting the egg in a gravity free environment makes it easier to see any movement. BUT... the chick may be resting... and not moving. So, if that's the case, the whole test is a waste of time. Not to mention: very porous eggs will absorb water through those pores, which may make an already too wet egg even wetter inside. And, if your humidity was too high or too low it will cause the egg to either ride lower in the water or totally float. Which will make the test results even more inaccurate. Candling is the only reliable method. If you can't see anything inside the egg, just leave it in. You can't change the results anyway, unless the chick is already internally or externally pipped. By then you could start assisting, but it might die from premature assisting too. Just leave them be for a little longer, and cross your fingers.

 

[Sonya9]

Bacteria can seep in through the pores of the egg, and it is so unreliable. Maybe it's somewhat safe, but it is not reliable at all. I used the float test on my first batch of chicken eggs that were on day 12. I couldn't tell anything by candling, and i was pretty inexperienced anyway. I did them all, and they all sunk. No movement, nothing. I was going to remove any duds and set new eggs, so I wanted to float test. I tossed them all. I took one out, and broke it open, and the little baby was alive. I couldn't do anything, I had to just watch it die. I'm sure a number of the other ones were alive too. So I will never use the float test again, even if it is "safe". It will only indicate the size of the air cell. More air = more buoyancy. Putting the egg in a gravity free environment makes it easier to see any movement. BUT... the chick may be resting... and not moving. So, if that's the case, the whole test is a waste of time. Not to mention: very porous eggs will absorb water through those pores, which may make an already too wet egg even wetter inside. And, if your humidity was too high or too low it will cause the egg to either ride lower in the water or totally float. Which will make the test results even more inaccurate. Candling is the only reliable method. If you can't see anything inside the egg, just leave it in. You can't change the results anyway, unless the chick is already internally or externally pipped. By then you could start assisting, but it might die from premature assisting too. Just leave them be for a little longer, and cross your fingers.

She said her eggs were PAST the hatch date. Water candling is designed to be used to check for movement CLOSE TO HATCH when a light is no longer reliable. When they should be hatching in the next 1-2 days bacteria isn't a concern since the egg will be hatching imminently.

I am very careful with hatching eggs. I used that method *at the appropriate time* after seeing an avian expert use it for exotic eggs. I sure as heck wouldn't do something that I didn't fully understand and risk killing the embryos, or disgard/crack open the eggs which would definitely kill the embryos.

 

[MGG]

She said her eggs were PAST the hatch date. Water candling is designed to be used to check for movement CLOSE TO HATCH when a light is no longer reliable. When they should be hatching in the next 1-2 days bacteria isn't a concern since the egg will be hatching imminently.

I am very careful with hatching eggs. I used that method *at the appropriate time* after seeing an avian expert use it for exotic eggs. I sure as heck wouldn't do something that I didn't fully understand and risk killing the embryos, or disgard/crack open the eggs which would definitely kill the embryos.

OP's eggs are only on day 21. That's not overdue. Their incubator temp was probably on the low side. I've done it past hatch too, just to check and it still was ridiculously wrong. Who was the avian expert? If my eggs were overdue I would not be float testing them, I'd start going in as I would assist. Float testing doesn't do anything. If the babies are still alive and stuck in the eggs that late they need help. Once you get the air cell open you can tell what's going on.
To each his own.

 

[ChickensAreEpic123]

Candle the eggs and make sure the eggs aren’t older then a week when they went it

 

[MGG]

Candle the eggs and make sure the eggs aren’t older then a week when they went it

What do you mean?

 

[ChickensAreEpic123]

What do you mean?

candle the eggs to see if they have any growth most of my fertile eggs older then a week old tend to fail when incubating them

 

[MGG]

candle the eggs to see if they have any growth most of my fertile eggs older then a week old tend to fail when incubating them

These eggs are 21 days old already. They have been candled, but they're quite dark inside so it's hard to see. Why do your eggs quit after a week? There must be something wrong with your incubation method.
Also, welcome to BYC!

 

[ChickensAreEpic123]

These eggs are 21 days old already. They have been candled, but they're quite dark inside so it's hard to see. Why do your eggs quit after a week? There must be something wrong with your incubation method.
Also, welcome to BYC!

Thank you! And I meant to say most of my eggs that are more then a week old don’t make any progress after incubation

 

[MGG]

Thank you! And I meant to say most of my eggs that are more then a week old don’t make any progress after incubation

Ohhhhh, ok! That makes sense. Yes, eggs can only be stored for up to a week before hatchability starts to drop off.