June Hatch-A-Long

[CluckNDoodle]

It's looking like my Biele eggs may arrive tomorrow as they are at my local distribution center about 45 minutes away. I've been burning up the pages researching and reading about hatching upright, which I get and think I can fashion something for my horizontal bator (Nurture Right 360) which usually rolls them gently. I can turn the turner off and put them in a carton or tray....

Once I do start "turning" (depending on air cells) should I just tip side to side, like upright turners do, or should I twist them?
Both?

There is not enough head space in my bator to prop an end up on the carton/home made hatching tray, so whatever I do it will be done individually and by hand.

Unless air cells are completely detached (like floating around freely like a bubble) I have so far had really good results putting the shipped eggs directly into the NR360 turner after allowing them to rest upright in a carton overnight before putting them in the incubator. The eggs that are completely scrambled will not produce a chick regardless.

 

[jolenesdad]

Unless air cells are completely detached (like floating around freely like a bubble) I have so far had really good results putting the shipped eggs directly into the NR360 turner after allowing them to rest upright in a carton overnight before putting them in the incubator. The eggs that are completely scrambled will not produce a chick regardless.

Ditto. I was going to say I’m pretty sure you hatch shipped eggs in the NR on their sides.

I think you hit the nail on the head.... a scrambled egg won’t produce regardless, and, I see a lot of times where I’ve tried to pamper those shipped eggs and really think it has negatively affected eggs that should have been fine.

@SnapdragonQ most scientific articles say the first 3-4 days of turning is the most important which flies in the face of the advice for shipped eggs not being turned. I don’t have enough experience I be really authoritative on this, but I did hatch 200+ shipped eggs last year and feel I had far more early quitters when I didn’t turn.

 

[FortCluck]

Unless air cells are completely detached (like floating around freely like a bubble) I have so far had really good results putting the shipped eggs directly into the NR360 turner after allowing them to rest upright in a carton overnight before putting them in the incubator. The eggs that are completely scrambled will not produce a chick regardless.

I do mine in an unplugged turner upright for 24 hours then I start the turner. I like doing it this way.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

if you’re going to start upright @SnapdragonQ i would advise turning from the get go.

if you have bad air cells rest them outside of the bator.

Unless air cells are completely detached (like floating around freely like a bubble) I have so far had really good results putting the shipped eggs directly into the NR360 turner after allowing them to rest upright in a carton overnight before putting them in the incubator. The eggs that are completely scrambled will not produce a chick regardless.

Ok, so if things look good/mostly good then on their sides are fine? (after the rest period)

If (if) I go the upright route, should I just do side to side on the 45? I played with some plain eggs and found toilet paper tubes sliced up are perfect to get a 45, and stable too.
I'm still uncertain bout twisting. Some seem to swear by it.

I know I'm over thinking this but these eggs, and potential chicks, are important to my future plans. And any chicks/chickens that don't make the breeding group to be kept going forward will go in the freezer. Because I use every normal part of the chicken plus the carcass for stock, one chicken feeds us for a whole week.

 

[Cturber]

Short toes don't usually hinder a chick's ability to get around but they're not desirable for breeding. Maybe this little one has something else going on as well? Short of making special shoes for a special needs chick, I wouldn't know what else to do other than waiting to see what happens if they learn to work with what they have. If you decide to work with a chick that is struggling, make sure that it's able to get around well enough to eat and drink.

As far as the back, could it just be a piece of dry membrane or is it a wound?

Fingers crossed for your little one!

Thank you For reply! I will recheck back.

the back looks to me like stuck membrane that pulled out the down.

are these marans? This is the fused foot or enhanced webbing issue I discussed earlier. No need to search, I didn’t go into it just referenced it. It doesn’t look bad enough to cut the webbing to me. I imagine it will get around fine soon.

This one is a Blue Copper Marans. Thank you for reply. I will watch closely.

 

[jolenesdad]

Thank you For reply! I will recheck back.



This one is a Blue Copper Marans. Thank you for reply. I will watch closely.

Okay great. Marans as an imported breed started with such a limited gene pool, this is one of the issues within the breed.

fused toe or webbed feet birds should not be used for breeding. Depending on the severity and which toes, depends on how much it will afflict them. Anyone “working” on the breed would cull these chicks. Its something that just pops up and is not necessarily controlled by the parents genetics specifically, so brothers and sisters without the trait are supposed to be okay to breed. When it’s just a bit of webbing on the outside toe, it’s not a huge deal, but yeah that toe does look a little short too. I still wouldn’t worry. Some people keep layers where that entire outer toe is fused to the one next to it.

 

[jolenesdad]

Ok, so if things look good/mostly good then on their sides are fine? (after the rest period)

If (if) I go the upright route, should I just do side to side on the 45? I played with some plain eggs and found toilet paper tubes sliced up are perfect to get a 45, and stable too.
I'm still uncertain bout twisting. Some seem to swear by it.

I know I'm over thinking this but these eggs, and potential chicks, are important to my future plans. And any chicks/chickens that don't make the breeding group to be kept going forward will go in the freezer. Because I use every normal part of the chicken plus the carcass for stock, one chicken feeds us for a whole week.

it you’re turning by hand, sure twist! If you’re turning by hand, I would go slightly less than a 45 degree the first couple of days. A toilet paper ring sounds perfect.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Ok, so if things look good/mostly good then on their sides are fine? (after the rest period)

If (if) I go the upright route, should I just do side to side on the 45? I played with some plain eggs and found toilet paper tubes sliced up are perfect to get a 45, and stable too.
I'm still uncertain bout twisting. Some seem to swear by it.

I know I'm over thinking this but these eggs, and potential chicks, are important to my future plans. And any chicks/chickens that don't make the breeding group to be kept going forward will go in the freezer. Because I use every normal part of the chicken plus the carcass for stock, one chicken feeds us for a whole week.

Yes, that sounds like it would work much like an automatic vertical turner and should work just fine.

If it helps you to decide, my last hatch, as well as the hatch I just put on lockdown, were both shipped and immediately put into the NR360 turners after resting in egg cartons overnight. I mentioned before that the lower development actually had more to do with poor egg selection on the breeder's part but in case you didn't read it, (a couple eggs were incubated under a broody before being shipped that were DOA, a cracked/upside-down air cell egg, and scrambled egg) Of the eggs that started to develop, there was only 1 quitter.

The hatch I just put on lockdown has 100% development on the Isabella Leghorns and they all have made it to lockdown, even though one has a crack mended with nail polish and another has an air cell on the side toward the pointed end (this one is stressing me out, lol).
I also set a dozen Orpingtons with the Leghorns and there were 3 quitters out of the eggs that started to develop.
These eggs were all shipped and treated the same as the first hatch.

These are good hatch rates for shipped eggs, so I feel comfortable suggesting incubating this way as long as the air cells are not completely detached. I still do this when the air cells are saddled or somewhat detached.

Breakdown of these 2 shipped egg hatches:

6/20/20: 83% (started with 12, 6 infertile/scrambled/DOA, 1 quitter, 5 live chicks)
- 10 Buff English Orpingtons (5 buffs did not start to develop, 1 quitter, 4 hatched)
- 2 Isabella Leghorns (the cracked leghorn egg did not start to develop, 1 hatched)

Due 6/25/20: (started with 24, 3 infertile/scrambled, 3 quitters, 18 chicks in lockdown)
- 6 Buff English Orpingtons (2 buffs did not start to develop, 2 quitters)
- 6 Mauve English Orpingtons (1 Mauve did not start to develop, 1 quitter)
- 12 Isabella Leghorns (100% fertility, no quitters)

 

[Honora]

I still have 1 lonely BBS Orpington egg hanging on for my June hatch. I started out with 24 shipped eggs that all had rolling air cells. 2 developed, 1 quit but 1 is still alive. The air cell is still wobbly on 1 side but it still has another week to attach. 1 more week and we’ll see if he hatches!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I still have 1 lonely BBS Orpington egg hanging on for my June hatch. I started out with 24 shipped eggs that all had rolling air cells. 2 developed, 1 quit but 1 is still alive. The air cell is still wobbly on 1 side but it still has another week to attach. 1 more week and we’ll see if he hatches!

Wow that's heartbreaking to have so many quit, I'm sorry! Fingers crossed for the little fighter!