Incubating against the odds...

[SavKel&RynKel]

We have eight confirmed embryos and one possible! It's still early in the game but I'm hoping to provide good news all the way through!

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

Embryos were extremely visible tonight! our oldest egg of the nine has an enlarging air sack, but still no visible embryo. Still got my fingers crossed!

 

[aart]

a friend of ours recieved a blue copper maran rooster and his Americauna has been laying fertile green eggs quite consistently. .....
We'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions

Don't think those are Ameraucana eggs.....probably Easter Egger.....so 50-50 chance to get Olive Eggers(assuming that is your goal).

Yes, air cell in every egg, look closely the next time you make breakfast.
They will get larger by evaporation even if you don't incubate them(I think).
I set some eggs a week ago, one egg was laid that day and the air cell was tiny, probably 1/4-3/8" in diameter....the older eggs air cells were larger.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

I believe you're right, still learning the differences between Americaunas, aracaunas, and easter eggers. But i think "true" Americaunas only lay blue eggs?
But yes our goal is olive eggers. But whatever comes out I'll be happy with. A colorful basket is nice, but since we're new to chickens I'm still exploring breeds.
I've seen the sacks in fridge eggs, but as we've never hatched any yet i assumed that was with age as you mentioned.
Thanks for sharing!
The more we get into this chicken stuff the more i like it.

 

[ScottandSam]

Yes I have found ,and I'm sure I'm not the first too, the airsacks will grow with age. Heated or not..
Scott

 

[aart]

I believe you're right, still learning the differences between Americaunas, aracaunas, and easter eggers. But i think "true" Americaunas only lay blue eggs?

Ameraucana's(true spelling there) definitely only lay blue eggs
But EE can lay a good blue too, just only half the chance they will pass down a blue egg gene.
I have hatched several batches of blue laying EE egg fertilized by a Welsummer cock,
got a bunch of browns, but several decent olives too.
It is fun!
I now finally have true blue egg layer in CCL with a BCM cock....which also give me sexlinked chicks, so I know how many cockerels/pullets right off the bat, but will still have to wait ~6mo to see egg color. Cross breeding takes patience and a tolerance for disappointment.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

Ameraucana's(true spelling there) definitely only lay blue eggs
But EE can lay a good blue too, just only half the chance they will pass down a blue egg gene.
I have hatched several batches of blue laying EE egg fertilized by a Welsummer cock,
got a bunch of browns, but several decent olives too.
It is fun!
I now finally have true blue egg layer in CCL with a BCM cock....which also give me sexlinked chicks, so I know how many cockerels/pullets right off the bat, but will still have to wait ~6mo to see egg color. Cross breeding takes patience and a tolerance for disappointment.

Very interesting. Are you getting the brown eggs because the brown gene is dominant in the EE? I am obviously new to all the genetics stuff. We were just trying for some olive eggers for a few people we know. Definitely went into this one a little blind. We've really only hatched a total of 2 other batches before this one. Funny how hooked you can get on chickens.
That's amazing on your sexlinked chicks. That's got to make things a little easier at least for the first part. The 6 months til the eggs gets me every time. I have little to no patience. It will be interesting when I give people their chicks at 8 weeks and have to give them the "there's no guarantee" speech. I don't know how breeders do it. You hatch all these eggs with hopes of traits and maybe you get it and maybe you don't. There really is so much behind the scenes. Gives me an appreciation for the heritage breeders focusing on only one or a few breeds.

 

[Mraya]

I thought the idea of hatching only near perfect eggs is to lesson the chances of hatching a chick with issues. This will be very interesting. I'll be following this.

Good Luck

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

If anyone is interested, my other half has been candling these eggs every night just to see the difference a day makes. He is the one who started this thread also. You could say its his experiment.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

I thought the idea of hatching only near perfect eggs is to lesson the chances of hatching a chick with issues. This will be very interesting. I'll be following this.

Good Luck

This is exactly why he is doing this experiment actually. A little back story: I was incubating some FBCM and used one of these eggs to fill the bator. Day 21 there is a pip on the shell, day 22 comes and there is a major problem with a chick in the incubator. Poor thing was bleeding out when i found it. Needless to say the chick didnt absorb the yolk all the way and the chick that was in there with it, pecked the sac and it was just horrific. I vowed never to hatch that type of egg again. In retrospect, I cant be sure it was the shell shape. But my better half being the analytical one, decided he would try again, this time with carefully regulated humidity and the same eggs, as our friend's EE ONLY lays these oblong eggs. So now here we are with an incubator full of these eggs, a spread sheet, and candling every night.

And Thanks!