Is a sinker guaranteed dead (two weeks incubated)

[762]

For eggs incubated approximately two weeks, is it a guarantee that sinkers are 100% dead eggs? I have ten eggs candled that look good, but float tested a couple of them and they sank.

I know you are not supposed to do this, but we had to stagger sets of incubated eggs. We were incubating six eggs due 4/18, and we added another dozen on 4/10 (due 5/1) because the broody hen they were under got badly injured.

I figured a few days of higher humidity wouldn’t be a huge deal for this dozen in the early stages of development, but unfortunately no-one started hatching until 4/20. I still have two of six eggs unhatched that passed the float test, but we are now on day 4 of them being later than their siblings and I think they must be dead (also, this means a full week of higher humidity).

I returned humidity to normal but did a float test on a couple of the dozen due 5/1 and they sank, even though candled ten of twelve definitely look to have good chick development.

We have another hen that has gone broody and I’d really like to move these eggs under her, but I don’t want to give her bad eggs.

 

[BelovedBirds]

For eggs incubated approximately two weeks, is it a guarantee that sinkers are 100% dead eggs? I have ten eggs candled that look good, but float tested a couple of them and they sank.

I know you are not supposed to do this, but we had to stagger sets of incubated eggs. We were incubating six eggs due 4/18, and we added another dozen on 4/10 (due 5/1) because the broody hen they were under got badly injured.

I figured a few days of higher humidity wouldn’t be a huge deal for this dozen in the early stages of development, but unfortunately no-one started hatching until 4/20. I still have two of six eggs unhatched that passed the float test, but we are now on day 4 of them being later than their siblings and I think they must be dead (also, this means a full week of higher humidity).

I returned humidity to normal but did a float test on a couple of the dozen due 5/1 and they sank, even though candled ten of twelve definitely look to have good chick development.

We have another hen that has gone broody and I’d really like to move these eggs under her, but I don’t want to give her bad eggs.

Water testing isn't reliable and can actually harm the eggs.

Instead, candling with a light is much better. Can you post candling photos? Shine the light through the air cell end, in a dark room

 

[762]

Water testing isn't reliable and can actually harm the eggs.

Instead, candling with a light is much better. Can you post candling photos? Shine the light through the air cell end, in a dark room

We only water tested three. Two of the three looked like they stopped developing when we candled them so they were tossed (I opened them and they definitely stopped developing).

Here are a few candled. Very hard to see thru the shells. One is a double yoke!

Edit: we should be on day 15 of development, but there could be some significant delay due to the fact that our hen was inconsistent and then quit (sorry I got my injured hen story confused with my slacker hen story).