I just lost my OEGB last night, could I still hatch her eggs?

[dianneS]

I think I've got the temp in the incubator regulated finally, its holding steady. I'm thinkin of putting a heat sink in there too. I have a Little Giant still air bator and they have a tendency to fluctuate.

I'm thinking I'll candle the eggs next week. If they aren't developing, what will I see if they're dead? Will it change much in appearance, or will it just not develope any further?

 

[CallyB57]

Your chicks have probably perished due to shaken chick syndrome.

 

[dianneS]

I just wish I knew if they were alive in there or not. When would they start to smell if they are dead? What would I see if I candle them and they are dead? Will it start to look different? Will the air cell get bigger/smaller?

 

[neferset]

Depending on how long she was broody, if you get the eggs into a very dark room and candle them, you should be able to see a network of red veins near the top of the egg. This should be about day 5-7 or so. In some eggs, I can even see the heart starting to beat and by day 10, a little bird shape bobbing around.

Now, if the conditions are not dark enough or you aren't dealing with white eggs (I think most OEGB lay white eggs--I've gotten very little color variation from mine) you will see less detail.

If by day 10, you still see through a white egg with only a little cloudy in the middle and no veins at all in optimal candling conditions, then it's not likely to be fertile anymore. I won't talk about blood rings, because I've been mistaken about them in the past. My candling mistake is outside in my pen, in fact. Thank goodness I let her continue to grow.

Unless they start to weep, they don't really start to smell that early in incubation. At least, I can't detect it right away.

 

[Akane]

If you shine the light through the air sac you should be able to see veins along the edge even in a dark shelled egg completely full of chick.

A heat lamp bulb is way too hot for any use indoors. You can melt a thermometer with that. A 100w bulb is borderline depending on the temp of your house and how close you put it. I still get thermometers above 100F with a 100w bulb on my brooder so 18" above the thermometer. A 60w bulb is about all you should use over chicks or eggs inside. People always want to go overboard and end up overheating things. I even remember one person that turned their eggs into soft boiled eggs (when they cracked the egg is was solid and nearly fully cooked) using a regular desk lamp.

 

[dianneS]

I think I'm about to give up on these eggs...

Its been a week since they've been in the bator. Probably two weeks since the hen began setting.

I've seen absolutely no progress so far when I candle them. I think they may even be a little more liquidy than before and the air cells are getting larger.

I've seen no veins, no movement, nothing but darkness and the air cell.
I don't think they're viable anymore.

Since I've got the bator up and running, and its been holding a really steady temp, I've got the urge to hatch some chicks! Maybe I'll order some... I'm still sad I couldn't save my little girls eggs.

I think I'm going to build a separate pen for my last two remaining OEGB. I'm sure I have a hen and a roo, so when she starts laying, I'll have pure bred babies!

 

[neferset]

I'm sorry to hear that. Remember what I wrote you come springtime.