Incubation - Day 4 - Advice Needed!

[Ravie]

Hello!

I'm a new chicken mama. I've recently started selling hatching eggs and had someone write to me and tell me that none of my eggs took. He purchased the eggs from me on Sunday when none of them were more than 3 days old. Some of the eggs had been hatched hours before being sold.

The eggs were unwashed but clean. They were in my garage which is kept at around 50 degrees this time of year. They were in egg cartons and propped up at a 45 degree angle. I turned them several times a day.

I am reasonably sure of my rooster's fertility because I've found a few old nests of eggs and when I cracked them, there had been some serious development going on (even without warm temperatures or a broody hen!).

I've never hatched eggs before. Could my buyer have candled them too early? Could I have done something different?

I don't know anything anything about how they've been cared for since their sale, but would like to be certain I've done everything I could to ensure the eggs' viability.

 

[Baralak]

Really that's all you can do. No one can say for sure that an egg is fertile or not except through incubation or crack it open. I generally can tell if an egg is fertile by day 5, but I wait till day 7 to candle. That away the eye is well formed and you can tell quite easy. Anything before day 5 (and that's a full 5 days of incubation) would be early.

You can't control several items, their bator, the trip to their house, ect.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
you sold them on sunday and by thursday he is complaining? seems a bit soon to be certain they are no good.. How experienced is the person you sold them to? Have you received anyother complaints? did our eggs test out good before you sold some to him? how about after?

I would tell him to bring all the eggs back and Iwould replace them.. then you could crack them open and see for yourself if they are bad.. If he says that he threw the eggs away, I would forget him.. some people try this to try to get extra eggs..

 

[jennifersmith326]

He needs to wait a few more days before telling you, your eggs are no good. You could candle one day and see nothing and then 2 days later see veins and movement. Tell him to give a few more days and then recandle them.

 

[Ravie]

The buyer is new at this too and is being very nice. I asked him to keep me updated and he has.

He waited 88 hours and candled the eggs. After not seeing much development there, cracked 3 eggs open and saw no development at all. Just yolk, no veins or anything. He left the rest of the eggs on the incubator and will check them again tonight. I'm hoping he just checked a bit early, but he should have seen SOMETHING in the cracked eggs, right?

I haven't sold to anyone else yet. I'm compiling an order for someone else. I don't want to raise chicks right now, but I'm sorely tempted to go buy a Little Giant and try it!

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
at 88 hours , to an inexperienced person, you can miss the signs.

I would never have cracked 3 eggs after that short of time..!!

If you are going to hatch eggs, the first thing you have to learn and develope is P A T I E N C E .......we are living in an instant world. you cannot apply that to hatching eggs..

 

[Gypsy07]

Suggest that he leaves the rest of the eggs a full seven days of incubation before he even thinks of candling again.

 

[kvmommy]

I'd also ask that if he does crack, to take pictures of the bullseye. If its there, thats the best you can do. Sell him fertile eggs. If not, then the eggs aren't fertile and you should replace them with fertile eggs. That's what I'd do.

 

[jvls1942]

If you are going to be selling eggs, then brace yourself for all sorts of responses.. You miht want to come up with a good disclaimer to send before you send eggs.. like you have no further responsibility than to sell or ship fertile eggs.. you have no further control of them after they leave your farm..

 

[mulia24]

you should test some eggs before sell it... it could be a bad experience to the buyer..

to keep trust of buyer for our product quality is a must..

the buyer need more time to ensure that none is fertile... at least left it for a week.

I'm not judging... just giving tough... pardon me for any bad words..