I can't tell which end of the egg is pointy....help!

[JitterbugFarm]

I'm new to hatching from eggs and just received some pekin duck eggs in the mail. The instructions say to allow the eggs to sit for 24 hours before I put them in the incubator (I know it has something to do with the air pocket). Problem is, two of my 4 eggs don't have a pointy end! Both my husband and I have looked at them and both ends look equal.... I know this is probably a stupid question, but I really don't know how to set them....

Thanks,
Tammy

 

[country_girl011]

I'm new to hatching from eggs and just received some pekin duck eggs in the mail. The instructions say to allow the eggs to sit for 24 hours before I put them in the incubator (I know it has something to do with the air pocket). Problem is, two of my 4 eggs don't have a pointy end! Both my husband and I have looked at them and both ends look equal.... I know this is probably a stupid question, but I really don't know how to set them....

Thanks,
Tammy

candle the eggs and you should be able to see which end has an air sack.
very dark room with very bright flashlight.
that is your only way to figure out.

 

[JitterbugFarm]

Thanks! I had a candler that I hadn't open yet and I just tried it....worked perfectly!

Tammy

 

[Cowdoggin]

Yes the only way to check eggs like that, is to candle them.. And waiting 24 hrs really doesnt have anything to do with the air pocket, but the temp. of the eggs. During shipment the eggs have under gone different temp. changes. Waiting the 24 hrs before putting the eggs in the incubator will bring the eggs up to room temp. and help prevent condensation build up on the eggs. This also give you a chance to make sure you incubator is holding the right temp which should be at 99.5*. No lower then 98.5* and no higher then 100.5*. These are the safe zones. I have incubated eggs at 97.5, but had a poor hatch because the eggs were too 'cold' and once at 101.0, but stressed because there is no room for error at that temp..neither is 97.5. but the eggs did hatch out ok. (was having incubator issues that year)

You will also have to figure out what humidity setting it right for Your incubator. Not every incubator conforms to the standards..My incubator works best with a humidity level of 40% for the 1st 18 days and then at 70% for the last 3 to 4 days.. anything above those levels, and my chick/ducklings drowned when they break the air sack..sadly, The only way to figure this out is through trial and error.


would like to help out more, but my computer is having issues w/BYC..

 

[JitterbugFarm]

Thank you so much! I have some bantam eggs in a small Brinsea Eco and that incubator seems to be very easy. Of course, it only holds 10 eggs, so I needed a second larger incubator within a week (silly me thinking 10 would be enough)!! The one I'm going to be using is the Farm Innovators 2200 with circulated air and the auto turner. Its much harder to regulate the temp, I'm finding. I've been playing with it all morning and it keeps fluxing somewhere between 95-102 degrees every time I turn the knob even a tiny bit. I have a meat thermometer in it as well as another themometer that came with the set...both are reading the same. The one which is attached to the unit seems to be useless, and appears to register about 10 degrees cooler.

I'm also not putting much emphasis on what the humidity guage is reading...it's saying 70% and i only have a tiny bit of water it the recepticles! I'm tempted to just remove the water....it's so humid here in the Southeast, that I'm wondering if there's enough natural humidity in the air, that the additional water isn't even needed?

Tammy

 

[Cowdoggin]

As far as the humidity issue goes.. I quit using the water reservoir in the incubator because I had a very hard time getting the humidity were I need it, usually too high, and it was hard to keep filled with the egg turner and eggs in it. I now use milk or juice caps for water reservoirs. They work a lot better, at least in mine. I live in Southwest Idaho, and I am originally from Iowa, but have lived in Colorado and Arizona. So totally understand the Humidity issue. I would try it w/o any water and see, you might get away with out using water for the 1st 18 days.. Again a trail and error thing.

It sounds like you have a temp gauge issue. I don’t know anything about the Farm Innovator, but the 3 hobbyists that live in the area, told me (when I first got into incubating w/ a used Little Giant 9200), that some of the brands have temp gauge issues and/or issues holding humidity. They also said that the best incubators were the Little Giant and even better, the Hova-bator. The only issue I have had w/mine is the temp gauge got tweaked a couple of years ago, and I didnt realize that the temp knob was missing when I got it.. So I was having trouble getting the temp right again. The guys at Incubator Warehouse. com help me out..

And YES!! Having an Egg Turner and a Fan is a big help. The Fan will keep the temp even through out your incubator. The egg turner means you wont have to remember to turn your eggs 2-4 times a day. I will not buy an incubator w/o the fan… or an Egg Turner now, and I’m glad that my used one already came with that stuff when I bought it. I didnt have to learn the hard way.

Just remember one thing..When it comes to incubating, no two work the same, even if you are neighbors.. You have to find what works for your incubator. So logging down everything is a good why to remember what worked and what didnt with each hatch, until you know you incubator.

 

[JitterbugFarm]

great advice thank you so much Its a fun learning experience so far....I feel like an expectant mother! LOL

 

[Cowdoggin]

I forgot to add..candling the eggs every couple of days or so will help you learn how the air sack should look and help you judge you humidity during incubation too.. besides its just fun to watch and see how they are growing..until you have done this for 2 years then the next 3+ years, you just candle at 10 days, then at 18, to weed out any clear eggs and/or quiters..LoL

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

I will add that I insisted my broody mom allow me to candle. I candled a lot, and@Cowdoggin is exactly right, you do learn a lot from it and it is super cool to see. But I would offer some caution too: first, in my experience, it seemed like the more I messed with, I mean, candled, the lower hatch rates I had. Plus, sometimes its difficult to see structures unless you know what you're looking for. The only structures that I see clearly from 1-10 or 12 days are usually just blood vessel development. But you do learn by doing. The air cell is very very obviously there later on, not so much earlier on, in my opinion.

I've seen lots of Pekin eggs brooded on by moms. I've seen eggs where there wasn't a really noticeable pointy end. I've looked at nests and tried to figure out what the moms' system for turning was, and based strictly and only upon my observations, it seemed like the broody moms weren't terribly concerned with the positioning of the eggs in the nest until much later, like around lockdown. Then I'd see that the moms would spend lots of time arranging the eggs just so.

You could try posting a pic.

 

[JitterbugFarm]

Here's the two eggs I was having trouble with (I took this earlier before I candled them and was able to see the air pocket). The other question I meant to ask was, whether or not I should wash them? I only have 4 eggs, and the one on the left was the most dirty. The incubator instructions said to wash them, but I read that it wasn't good to wash them....it's all so confusing! But, I keep telling myself that if birds can hatch them with their rumps for 1000's of years, surely I can figure out how to do it

oh, and I think I finally have the temperature stablized! For the past 5 hours it's been right under 100 degrees...yeah!