How about a Thread for Embdens?

[Chaneys Ranch]

Also meant to add, many things will affect an incubated hatch. I do not toss eggs unless there's an odor. Yep, smell them! Candling is difficult right before hatch. I candle twice usually, around 14 days and at lockdown. Less you mess with the eggs more will hatch. After due date I am really watching. I remove any hatched birds every 24 hours, wet more sponges and replace them. Babies get "shrink wrapped" if you open the bator during pip or if the humidity is too low. Eggs 5 days past the due date should be candled, and tossed if there is no movement or sign of pipping.

 

[horsekeeper]

Also meant to add, many things will affect an incubated hatch. I do not toss eggs unless there's an odor. Yep, smell them! Candling is difficult right before hatch. I candle twice usually, around 14 days and at lockdown. Less you mess with the eggs more will hatch. After due date I am really watching. I remove any hatched birds every 24 hours, wet more sponges and replace them. Babies get "shrink wrapped" if you open the bator during pip or if the humidity is too low. Eggs 5 days past the due date should be candled, and tossed if there is no movement or sign of pipping.

Yes, thanks. That was my plan.

 

[psue]

Also meant to add, many things will affect an incubated hatch. I do not toss eggs unless there's an odor. Yep, smell them! Candling is difficult right before hatch. I candle twice usually, around 14 days and at lockdown. Less you mess with the eggs more will hatch. After due date I am really watching. I remove any hatched birds every 24 hours, wet more sponges and replace them. Babies get "shrink wrapped" if you open the bator during pip or if the humidity is too low. Eggs 5 days past the due date should be candled, and tossed if there is no movement or sign of pipping.

I candle goose eggs often... and mine normally take 30 days in the homemade incubator I have. Upon candling you will see the gosling in the air cell area once it has internally piped.. lock down doesn't have to happen until then.

 

[horsekeeper]

I candle goose eggs often... and mine normally take 30 days in the homemade incubator I have. Upon candling you will see the gosling in the air cell area once it has internally piped.. lock down doesn't have to happen until then.

I got one of those magicfly egg candlers and it is great. Very bright (reviewers say you can candle a marans egg with it) and stays cool. It has two different size rubbery ends that seal against the egg. I can put it against a goose egg without moving the egg out of the incubator and see everything I want to. The first batch of eggs was very active about a week ago, but now it's total blackout with a decent sized air cell and I can't see what they are doing. The air cell lights up nicely so I think I will be able to see internal pip when it happens.



They are in a Farm Innovator incubator that is styrofoam with a hard plastic shell. I ended up with one clear and 10 that look good. Have been using those for a couple of years now and they hold temp and humidity well. The second batch of 6 is in the Brinsea and all are developing veins. I will be using the FI as a hatcher because the Brinsea is all over the place when I try to raise the humidity.

Because it's so easy I candle every couple of days when I let them cool down for 10 minutes every night. They get misted every time they are turned because the fan and hot air heat in the house sucks the moisture right out. I did that last year with muscovy eggs and had a nice hatch. When researching embden incubation there were so many conflicting time frames and advice for incubation I was confused. Then when they started to wiggle a bit a whole week early I got concerned. The eggs are sitting on the little wire holders that go in the brinsea so they don't roll around after I turn them and they were rocking end to end after turning. I usually put as many sponges as needed inside at lockdown to get the humidity for that type of fowl.

 

[horsekeeper]

Update - Tomorrow is Day 30. I have been opening the incubator a couple of times a day because even with three sponges and the water channels full it is hard to keep the humidity up. Luckily the temp comes back up in a few minutes, so I don't worry about that.

Yesterday I was sure they were all dead because there was no movement, so I pulled the egg that appeared to have just floating gunk, leaving 9 out of the original 11 that were set. (One was clear, probably froze before I got to it.) I candled without moving them and every one waved to me.

At least two were wiggling today and when I opened up to wet the sponges down again I was excited to hear at least a couple squeaking in the shell. Fingers crossed they make it out okay.

I got game bird starter crumbles because that is what I use for chicks, ducks, and turkeys. They grow so healthy and strong on it. Is it okay for geese or am I risking angel wing? What should I be starting them on?

 

[chrisngo73]

I m at Day 24 with 2 embden eggs left. They are both alive but one is much darker than the other. At what stage do i stop the automatic turn?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I m at Day 24 with 2 embden eggs left. They are both alive but one is much darker than the other. At what stage do i stop the automatic turn?

@jchny2000

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
I stop at day 25.

 

[horsekeeper]

I stop at day 25.

That's what I did, thanks to everyone's advice on here. So excited, I have an external pip in one of the eggs and they are talking to each other.

 

[Drex]

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