How to get the best hatch rates with shipped eggs.

[rp riley]

So I have ordered 14 welsh harlequin hatching eggs from Metzer Farms and I have been reading a lot about shipped eggs and how not many of them hatch. The eggs should be here Monday or Tuesday. I know I should leave them in a egg carton pointy end down for 24 hours. But I have heard some people say keep the humidity lower than usual also putting the eggs in the incuabator after the 24 hours of sitting but not turning them for 3 days. Another thing I want to ask about is saddled air cells, is there anything I can do to fix those or can the ducklings hatch fine in them? The last thing is should I leave the upright for hatching or lay them down on their sides? Thanks in advance

 

[Isaac 0]

@Pyxis , or @WVduckchick , can you help?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@MGG @Kiki

 

[Trisseh]

I personally incubate duck eggs on their sides no matter what. I also have now started hand turning all my eggs and have seen a marked improvement in hatch rates - I turn 180 degrees 3 times a day. I’ve never had an issue with hatching due to saddled air cells, but more often malpositions due to the eggs being shipped. I also candle obsessively so I usually can tell which side of the egg should be up to give it the best chance of pippin where it’s supposed to.

I usually only rest my eggs for a few hours unless they’ve had a really rough trip; then they get left overnight and put in the next morning. My last batch would’ve been a 100% hatch rate if the one duckling didn’t turn itself in the egg without actually zipping the shell. As it is, the others all hatched and are doing well.

It’s hard to say what’s going to be best for you humidity wise. Weighing the eggs is an excellent way to keep track of moisture loss, especially because humidity settings can differ so much across different locations and elevations. And the time of year/season makes a difference too. Have you used this incubator before and know it’s quirks? If you have you’ll have a good idea of what kind of humidity you’re going to want to start with.

I’ve always put shipped eggs at a slightly higher humidity, especially if they already have sizeable air cells or are a bit more porous, or if I have to wash them at all. I usually start at around 50-60% and adjust from there after 3-4 days. My homegrown eggs would have drowned if I kept them that high though, so they’re incubating at around 30% and doing well.
I’ll see if I can find that handy thread that has the egg weighing info for you.

 

[Trisseh]

Here is a good comprehensive guide. I used it when I first started out and it was extremely helpful. It focuses on geese but applies to all other eggs too.

 

[rp riley]

I personally incubate duck eggs on their sides no matter what. I also have now started hand turning all my eggs and have seen a marked improvement in hatch rates - I turn 180 degrees 3 times a day. I’ve never had an issue with hatching due to saddled air cells, but more often malpositions due to the eggs being shipped. I also candle obsessively so I usually can tell which side of the egg should be up to give it the best chance of pippin where it’s supposed to.

I usually only rest my eggs for a few hours unless they’ve had a really rough trip; then they get left overnight and put in the next morning. My last batch would’ve been a 100% hatch rate if the one duckling didn’t turn itself in the egg without actually zipping the shell. As it is, the others all hatched and are doing well.

It’s hard to say what’s going to be best for you humidity wise. Weighing the eggs is an excellent way to keep track of moisture loss, especially because humidity settings can differ so much across different locations and elevations. And the time of year/season makes a difference too. Have you used this incubator before and know it’s quirks? If you have you’ll have a good idea of what kind of humidity you’re going to want to start with.

I’ve always put shipped eggs at a slightly higher humidity, especially if they already have sizeable air cells or are a bit more porous, or if I have to wash them at all. I usually start at around 50-60% and adjust from there after 3-4 days. My homegrown eggs would have drowned if I kept them that high though, so they’re incubating at around 30% and doing well.
I’ll see if I can find that handy thread that has the egg weighing info for you.

Thank you! This is only my second time hatching. before I just hatched some barnyard mix chicks to test is out and it worked pretty well

 

[GreedySeedFeedy]

In my experience badly shipped eggs can benefit greatly from allowing them a day to settle before beginning the incubation process. While incubating, turn the eggs very slowly and keep them mostly vertical for the first week! Inside each egg is a sort of string called a chalaza which anchors the yolk to the top and bottom of the shell. In many cases with shipped eggs, these will be broken at one end, causing the yolk to drift more freely inside the shell. I'm no scientist, but these eggs tend to form upside down in the shell, easily tear a vein, or have a misaligned pip. Keeping the egg mostly vertical and turning very very slowly for the first week will help keep the yolk from turning to a strange location/direction while the chick is forming.
Another problem with torn chalazae is that this can also tear the air cell as well. If you see a mass of bubbles instead of an air cell, it has been torn and the likelihood of that egg hatching is slim to none.

As for saddle shells, these can hatch just fine. A lot of the time, the inner membrane of the shell has peeled away from the shell in some places, but as the chick fills the shell normally, the inner membrane will expand back into its normal place and the chick will pip the fat end of the egg just fine. For these saddle cell eggs you will get the best hatch rate by keeping them mostly on their sides with the fat end of the egg slightly elevated, just about 10 degrees, to encourage the membrane/check fills the shell properly with no air bubbles.

Keep close track of your hatching date!!! If you can, be out there when it's hatching time to monitor the eggs. If you have few eggs and cannot suffer losses, it's better to be more focused on watching for signs of distress than worrying too much about shrinkwrapping the chicks. In my experience, shrinkwrapping is easily corrected while having a chick drown due to pipping at the wrong end or bleed out from pipping a vein is not.

My tips for distressed chicks:

Read up on assisted hatches BEFORE the time comes, just in case. Have electrolytes, clean paintbrushes(thin ones with long, soft bristles), quik stop powder and rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer on hand. Be prepared, not sorry!

Best of luck! You'll do just fine.

 

[rp riley]

In my experience badly shipped eggs can benefit greatly from allowing them a day to settle before beginning the incubation process. While incubating, turn the eggs very slowly and keep them mostly vertical for the first week! Inside each egg is a sort of string called a chalaza which anchors the yolk to the top and bottom of the shell. In many cases with shipped eggs, these will be broken at one end, causing the yolk to drift more freely inside the shell. I'm no scientist, but these eggs tend to form upside down in the shell, easily tear a vein, or have a misaligned pip. Keeping the egg mostly vertical and turning very very slowly for the first week will help keep the yolk from turning to a strange location/direction while the chick is forming.
Another problem with torn chalazae is that this can also tear the air cell as well. If you see a mass of bubbles instead of an air cell, it has been torn and the likelihood of that egg hatching is slim to none.

As for saddle shells, these can hatch just fine. A lot of the time, the inner membrane of the shell has peeled away from the shell in some places, but as the chick fills the shell normally, the inner membrane will expand back into its normal place and the chick will pip the fat end of the egg just fine. For these saddle cell eggs you will get the best hatch rate by keeping them mostly on their sides with the fat end of the egg slightly elevated, just about 10 degrees, to encourage the membrane/check fills the shell properly with no air bubbles.

Keep close track of your hatching date!!! If you can, be out there when it's hatching time to monitor the eggs. If you have few eggs and cannot suffer losses, it's better to be more focused on watching for signs of distress than worrying too much about shrinkwrapping the chicks. In my experience, shrinkwrapping is easily corrected while having a chick drown due to pipping at the wrong end or bleed out from pipping a vein is not.

My tips for distressed chicks:

Read up on assisted hatches BEFORE the time comes, just in case. Have electrolytes, clean paintbrushes(thin ones with long, soft bristles), quik stop powder and rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer on hand. Be prepared, not sorry!

Best of luck! You'll do just fine.

Thank you! This is very helpful

 

[MGG]

I personally incubate duck eggs on their sides no matter what. I also have now started hand turning all my eggs and have seen a marked improvement in hatch rates - I turn 180 degrees 3 times a day. I’ve never had an issue with hatching due to saddled air cells, but more often malpositions due to the eggs being shipped. I also candle obsessively so I usually can tell which side of the egg should be up to give it the best chance of pippin where it’s supposed to.

I usually only rest my eggs for a few hours unless they’ve had a really rough trip; then they get left overnight and put in the next morning. My last batch would’ve been a 100% hatch rate if the one duckling didn’t turn itself in the egg without actually zipping the shell. As it is, the others all hatched and are doing well.

It’s hard to say what’s going to be best for you humidity wise. Weighing the eggs is an excellent way to keep track of moisture loss, especially because humidity settings can differ so much across different locations and elevations. And the time of year/season makes a difference too. Have you used this incubator before and know it’s quirks? If you have you’ll have a good idea of what kind of humidity you’re going to want to start with.

I’ve always put shipped eggs at a slightly higher humidity, especially if they already have sizeable air cells or are a bit more porous, or if I have to wash them at all. I usually start at around 50-60% and adjust from there after 3-4 days. My homegrown eggs would have drowned if I kept them that high though, so they’re incubating at around 30% and doing well.
I’ll see if I can find that handy thread that has the egg weighing info for you.

This is exactly what I do to! Duck eggs do not do well incubating upright. I usually incubate mine around 45-50% humidity, but I'm in a different location.