How to Tell if Overdue Eggs are Still Alive

[ChickNanny13]

Aside from smell, it may be sweaty

 

[DownHomeChickenPeople]

I am in the same boat had 4 hatch 2 days early and now day 25 and nothing with other 8. In my case ambient temp was raised by having heat lamp from brooder close by. The 25 watt incandescent bulb on a dimmer works well once dialed in in my mini fridge diy incubator. But the warmer room temp may have raised inc temp too much

 

[Arya28]

Ok so, here’s our update on how this hatch went:

This was our first ever hatch, and it is our first year having chickens. This hatch we knew would be somewhat experimental, aimed at colored egg-layers. We knew some things might be a little iffy to begin with, because we used first-season eggs. We read people do it a lot, so we went for it. Not only that, but we didn't pay extra special attention to storing them (and we knew nothing about turning the eggs regularly BEFORE going in the incubator- we knew about turning them while they incubate). They sat on our counter, and some of them may have been a little older than they should of been; however, we tried to keep them limited to 2 weeks old (a couple older ones could have been sneaked in though). And then, (for those of you who don't know), we had an oops with the incubator instructions. There was a misprint in them saying to load the incubator with the pointy end UP. Apparently this is a huge no no, which we found out after reading online on day 9. So on day 9, we flipped them so that the pointy end was down in the turner, hoping we could make them be able to breathe at hatch still. We did, and the next day we candled them. Most of them looked great, still moving and developing. However, a few of them (probably around 6) definitely had died that night. Lesson learned, we will load the incubator the correct way next time.

We had 30 eggs in the incubator to start with. We had ten eggs left in the incubator last night who had not hatched. 5 of them did hatch- 15 of them had been discarded throughout the process and before lockdown because development clearly had stopped. One of them pipped in the wrong spot a couple days ago and got shrink-wrapped. Last night was day 24. Last night, after candling, we were pretty sure most of the 10 eggs left after candling were alive, so we put them back in and closed the lid.

One egg hatched on day 21. One egg hatched on day 22. One egg hatched on day 23. 2 eggs hatched on day 24.

This morning when we woke up there were still no new pips. So, we decided to do the float test. We warmed up a little water and placed each egg in. 7 of the 10 of them definitely appeared to be viable, according to the float test- only 8-10% of the top stuck out of the water. 3 of them were floating too high, so we figured they had died, but hoping against hope we just stuck them back in for a couple more hours anyway.

Probably around 4 hours later, we decided we should carefully perform an eggtopsy on the ones that appeared not to be viable. We thought maybe we'd be able to see how they were malpositioned, or anything that might help us to save the other ones if we had to. We carefully made an artificial "pip" in the air cell of the first one, and it had been shrink wrapped, and was definitely dead. It had made a pip in the inner membrane (not cracking the shell) and had missed the air cell. The next one had also been shrink-wrapped. However, the third one had appeared to have drowned. It seemed all of them were possibly crammed in the egg shell and for some reason couldn't get turned enough to pip at the right spot in time.

After our assessment of those three eggs, we decided (after many hours of contemplation) that our only chance to have the others hatch would be to get them out before they drowned or got shrink-wrapped. I know, I know, we both know, you're not supposed to help them. They might not have absorbed the yolk, or the blood vessels, or they could have had deformities, etc. etc. Any number of things could have gone wrong, and you're not supposed to do that, but after seeing those three we decided it might be our only chance to save them at all.

So we did. We got the first egg that appeared to be viable (according to the float test). We used an xacto knife and carefully made a whole in the air cell (after candling, and tapping and listening, all that stuff to check for signs of life). After carefully chipping cell from above the membrane in the air cell, it became very clear this chick had also been shrink wrapped and did not survive.

We did this with each egg, very carefully and patiently, and none of them had made it.
It was very sad, and seemed a bit morbid, but we took the chicks completely out of the shell to see how it was positioned, if it had absorbed the yolk, etc. so that maybe we could prevent it form happening again. We also took a picture so that if anyone needs help in the future, the way they were malpositioned may be of use to someone trying to save theirs. It was not fun, and it sucked a lot, but it was better than sitting at the incubator for 3 more days having false hope that they'd hatch. I know, you're supposed to be patient, but something didn't seem right and we wanted to save them if it was possible before it was too late.

So overall, 5 of the 30 eggs hatched. We would have loved for them all to have hatched. But we're looking at it this way, we have 5 very healthy, very boisterous chicks who we didn't have before. They are very cute, and honestly, we are lucky that many survived. The last one to hatch didn't have her yolk absorbed all the way when she came out, so I am really surprised she did, but she is doing amazing.

We think the hatch rate we had was due to them being first season eggs, possibly the turning mix up we had, because they sat for too long before being loaded, or maybe because the temp was .5 degrees too high throughout hatch. They stayed pretty consistent at about 38 celsius- we know 37.5 is optimum, but our book said between 37 and 39. So next time we will try to keep the temp a little lower as well. And also, the float test didn't work for us.

Our humidity stayed pretty consistent, so we don't think that was the issue.

If anyone has any other ideas as to why this may have happened they are welcome.

Thank you to everyone who gave us incubating and hatching advice throughout this whole crazy process- it is greatly appreciated. We didn't realize how stressful of a process incubating could be- but it is greatly rewarding seeing all of the chicks who did survive be healthy and running around in the brooder. We do also have a broody hen outside with eggs, so we will see how her hatch rate is for the first time, too.

 

[junebuggena]

Ok so, here’s our update on how this hatch went:

This was our first ever hatch, and it is our first year having chickens. This hatch we knew would be somewhat experimental, aimed at colored egg-layers. We knew some things might be a little iffy to begin with, because we used first-season eggs. We read people do it a lot, so we went for it. Not only that, but we didn't pay extra special attention to storing them (and we knew nothing about turning the eggs regularly BEFORE going in the incubator- we knew about turning them while they incubate). They sat on our counter, and some of them may have been a little older than they should of been; however, we tried to keep them limited to 2 weeks old (a couple older ones could have been sneaked in though). And then, (for those of you who don't know), we had an oops with the incubator instructions. There was a misprint in them saying to load the incubator with the pointy end UP. Apparently this is a huge no no, which we found out after reading online on day 9. So on day 9, we flipped them so that the pointy end was down in the turner, hoping we could make them be able to breathe at hatch still. We did, and the next day we candled them. Most of them looked great, still moving and developing. However, a few of them (probably around 6) definitely had died that night. Lesson learned, we will load the incubator the correct way next time.

We had 30 eggs in the incubator to start with. We had ten eggs left in the incubator last night who had not hatched. 5 of them did hatch- 15 of them had been discarded throughout the process and before lockdown because development clearly had stopped. One of them pipped in the wrong spot a couple days ago and got shrink-wrapped. Last night was day 24. Last night, after candling, we were pretty sure most of the 10 eggs left after candling were alive, so we put them back in and closed the lid.

One egg hatched on day 21. One egg hatched on day 22. One egg hatched on day 23. 2 eggs hatched on day 24.

This morning when we woke up there were still no new pips. So, we decided to do the float test. We warmed up a little water and placed each egg in. 7 of the 10 of them definitely appeared to be viable, according to the float test- only 8-10% of the top stuck out of the water. 3 of them were floating too high, so we figured they had died, but hoping against hope we just stuck them back in for a couple more hours anyway.

Probably around 4 hours later, we decided we should carefully perform an eggtopsy on the ones that appeared not to be viable. We thought maybe we'd be able to see how they were malpositioned, or anything that might help us to save the other ones if we had to. We carefully made an artificial "pip" in the air cell of the first one, and it had been shrink wrapped, and was definitely dead. It had made a pip in the inner membrane (not cracking the shell) and had missed the air cell. The next one had also been shrink-wrapped. However, the third one had appeared to have drowned. It seemed all of them were possibly crammed in the egg shell and for some reason couldn't get turned enough to pip at the right spot in time.

After our assessment of those three eggs, we decided (after many hours of contemplation) that our only chance to have the others hatch would be to get them out before they drowned or got shrink-wrapped. I know, I know, we both know, you're not supposed to help them. They might not have absorbed the yolk, or the blood vessels, or they could have had deformities, etc. etc. Any number of things could have gone wrong, and you're not supposed to do that, but after seeing those three we decided it might be our only chance to save them at all.

So we did. We got the first egg that appeared to be viable (according to the float test). We used an xacto knife and carefully made a whole in the air cell (after candling, and tapping and listening, all that stuff to check for signs of life). After carefully chipping cell from above the membrane in the air cell, it became very clear this chick had also been shrink wrapped and did not survive.

We did this with each egg, very carefully and patiently, and none of them had made it.
It was very sad, and seemed a bit morbid, but we took the chicks completely out of the shell to see how it was positioned, if it had absorbed the yolk, etc. so that maybe we could prevent it form happening again. We also took a picture so that if anyone needs help in the future, the way they were malpositioned may be of use to someone trying to save theirs. It was not fun, and it sucked a lot, but it was better than sitting at the incubator for 3 more days having false hope that they'd hatch. I know, you're supposed to be patient, but something didn't seem right and we wanted to save them if it was possible before it was too late.

So overall, 5 of the 30 eggs hatched. We would have loved for them all to have hatched. But we're looking at it this way, we have 5 very healthy, very boisterous chicks who we didn't have before. They are very cute, and honestly, we are lucky that many survived. The last one to hatch didn't have her yolk absorbed all the way when she came out, so I am really surprised she did, but she is doing amazing.

We think the hatch rate we had was due to them being first season eggs, possibly the turning mix up we had, because they sat for too long before being loaded, or maybe because the temp was .5 degrees too high throughout hatch. They stayed pretty consistent at about 38 celsius- we know 37.5 is optimum, but our book said between 37 and 39. So next time we will try to keep the temp a little lower as well. And also, the float test didn't work for us.

Our humidity stayed pretty consistent, so we don't think that was the issue.

If anyone has any other ideas as to why this may have happened they are welcome.

Thank you to everyone who gave us incubating and hatching advice throughout this whole crazy process- it is greatly appreciated. We didn't realize how stressful of a process incubating could be- but it is greatly rewarding seeing all of the chicks who did survive be healthy and running around in the brooder. We do also have a broody hen outside with eggs, so we will see how her hatch rate is for the first time, too.

A few questions. Forced air or still air incubator? What was your average humidity level during incubation? When did you stop turning and raise the humidity? How high did the humidity get during the hatching period?

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Although it sucked, I applaud you for opening and taking photos of the chicks. Lot of educational purposes for those, for you and others.

 

[Arya28]

A few questions. Forced air or still air incubator? What was your average humidity level during incubation? When did you stop turning and raise the humidity? How high did the humidity get during the hatching period?

It’s a forced air incubator. Before lockdown, during incubation our humidity stayed between 40-55% but it was mainly about 45%. The incubator had an auto turner, which turns them well every 2 hours. We stopped turning and raised humidity to 65% on day 18, and that’s about where humidity stayed during hatching. Any time it went down (only to about 63 a couple times) it was back up within 30 seconds. The temp was between 37.5 and 38.3 the whole time, mainly staying at about 38.1 Celsius.

 

[Arya28]

Although it sucked, I applaud you for opening and taking photos of the chicks. Lot of educational purposes for those, for you and others.

It definitely did but we figured it might be able to help us and other from having it happen again!

 

[Chic344]

I wonder if somebody can help me out with my question been taking care of eggs for no 31 days she shows signs at the 27th day but now the egg it's all dark no yolk no signs of anything as we did the floating test the light test and nothing we had them in the choosing the incubator everything seemed fine but there was developing Racine their eyes your feet they seem to be making noise and then all the sudden it nothing everything now is dark can see through the egg and they fail to Yoke the floating test is that mean that your dead and how can I tell

 

[MidwifeMamaHawk]

Ok so, here’s our update on how this hatch went:

This was our first ever hatch, and it is our first year having chickens. This hatch we knew would be somewhat experimental, aimed at colored egg-layers. We knew some things might be a little iffy to begin with, because we used first-season eggs. We read people do it a lot, so we went for it. Not only that, but we didn't pay extra special attention to storing them (and we knew nothing about turning the eggs regularly BEFORE going in the incubator- we knew about turning them while they incubate). They sat on our counter, and some of them may have been a little older than they should of been; however, we tried to keep them limited to 2 weeks old (a couple older ones could have been sneaked in though). And then, (for those of you who don't know), we had an oops with the incubator instructions. There was a misprint in them saying to load the incubator with the pointy end UP. Apparently this is a huge no no, which we found out after reading online on day 9. So on day 9, we flipped them so that the pointy end was down in the turner, hoping we could make them be able to breathe at hatch still. We did, and the next day we candled them. Most of them looked great, still moving and developing. However, a few of them (probably around 6) definitely had died that night. Lesson learned, we will load the incubator the correct way next time.

We had 30 eggs in the incubator to start with. We had ten eggs left in the incubator last night who had not hatched. 5 of them did hatch- 15 of them had been discarded throughout the process and before lockdown because development clearly had stopped. One of them pipped in the wrong spot a couple days ago and got shrink-wrapped. Last night was day 24. Last night, after candling, we were pretty sure most of the 10 eggs left after candling were alive, so we put them back in and closed the lid.

One egg hatched on day 21. One egg hatched on day 22. One egg hatched on day 23. 2 eggs hatched on day 24.

This morning when we woke up there were still no new pips. So, we decided to do the float test. We warmed up a little water and placed each egg in. 7 of the 10 of them definitely appeared to be viable, according to the float test- only 8-10% of the top stuck out of the water. 3 of them were floating too high, so we figured they had died, but hoping against hope we just stuck them back in for a couple more hours anyway.

Probably around 4 hours later, we decided we should carefully perform an eggtopsy on the ones that appeared not to be viable. We thought maybe we'd be able to see how they were malpositioned, or anything that might help us to save the other ones if we had to. We carefully made an artificial "pip" in the air cell of the first one, and it had been shrink wrapped, and was definitely dead. It had made a pip in the inner membrane (not cracking the shell) and had missed the air cell. The next one had also been shrink-wrapped. However, the third one had appeared to have drowned. It seemed all of them were possibly crammed in the egg shell and for some reason couldn't get turned enough to pip at the right spot in time.

After our assessment of those three eggs, we decided (after many hours of contemplation) that our only chance to have the others hatch would be to get them out before they drowned or got shrink-wrapped. I know, I know, we both know, you're not supposed to help them. They might not have absorbed the yolk, or the blood vessels, or they could have had deformities, etc. etc. Any number of things could have gone wrong, and you're not supposed to do that, but after seeing those three we decided it might be our only chance to save them at all.

So we did. We got the first egg that appeared to be viable (according to the float test). We used an xacto knife and carefully made a whole in the air cell (after candling, and tapping and listening, all that stuff to check for signs of life). After carefully chipping cell from above the membrane in the air cell, it became very clear this chick had also been shrink wrapped and did not survive.

We did this with each egg, very carefully and patiently, and none of them had made it.
It was very sad, and seemed a bit morbid, but we took the chicks completely out of the shell to see how it was positioned, if it had absorbed the yolk, etc. so that maybe we could prevent it form happening again. We also took a picture so that if anyone needs help in the future, the way they were malpositioned may be of use to someone trying to save theirs. It was not fun, and it sucked a lot, but it was better than sitting at the incubator for 3 more days having false hope that they'd hatch. I know, you're supposed to be patient, but something didn't seem right and we wanted to save them if it was possible before it was too late.

So overall, 5 of the 30 eggs hatched. We would have loved for them all to have hatched. But we're looking at it this way, we have 5 very healthy, very boisterous chicks who we didn't have before. They are very cute, and honestly, we are lucky that many survived. The last one to hatch didn't have her yolk absorbed all the way when she came out, so I am really surprised she did, but she is doing amazing.

We think the hatch rate we had was due to them being first season eggs, possibly the turning mix up we had, because they sat for too long before being loaded, or maybe because the temp was .5 degrees too high throughout hatch. They stayed pretty consistent at about 38 celsius- we know 37.5 is optimum, but our book said between 37 and 39. So next time we will try to keep the temp a little lower as well. And also, the float test didn't work for us.

Our humidity stayed pretty consistent, so we don't think that was the issue.

If anyone has any other ideas as to why this may have happened they are welcome.

Thank you to everyone who gave us incubating and hatching advice throughout this whole crazy process- it is greatly appreciated. We didn't realize how stressful of a process incubating could be- but it is greatly rewarding seeing all of the chicks who did survive be healthy and running around in the brooder. We do also have a broody hen outside with eggs, so we will see how her hatch rate is for the first time, too.

thank you so much for the details of how it turned out! That is so helpful!