My Incubation Woes!!!

[Denninmi]

Sorry the eggs didn't work out.

Next year, I think if you decide to gather and incubate your own eggs, you'll find its a night and day difference versus shipped eggs. I found that the be the case this year with my own quail eggs, far better hatch and much healthier chicks without problems.

 

[goosemama]

Thank you to all who gave encouragement and tips for the future. Much appreciated! One interesting thing that happened when I took one of our eggs out of the incubator - I could smell decay on that one alone and could see lots of gray colored fluid inside at candling so knew before the due date that it was no longer alive. An experienced goose raiser on the Forum had suggested before to sniff the outside of the shell. Usually I put the egg in a plastic bag and break it to observe how long the development has gone - sometimes only tissue and runny yolk & fluid and other times a fully developed but very dead gosling. I hate to crack them open anymore as I hate to see that little dead baby. But the one egg I was sure was going bad from smell alone (the others did not have that smell at the time) I put outside on a table on our deck. I was trying to get up the courage to break it. I came out about an hour later to toss it and it was literally covered with great big black houseflies - disgusting. Tell me they were not attracted by the smell of decay!!! I opened it and there was a dead gosling but not l00% developed. Amazing that flies could home in on that scent through the egg shell.

Am washing and sterilizing the incubator today and packing it away for the year. I know now I can hatch some chicks from our fertile eggs whenever I need some and I may even try goose eggs again. Have 2 adults(Brown Chinese gander and Embden female) we were given when their owners were moving, 4 Pilgrims that are about 6 weeks old and my June crossbred baby and his sibling of 3 days - that should keep me content for the year. They are fun though - much more so than chickens.

 

[manybirds]

LOL now you'll have to get lots of ducks to keep them company.

 

[mitchell3006]

Your luck with incubating pilgrims sounds like mine 1 for 18 eggs set. I finally let two of my geese set this year and hatched 5 for 5 under one. The other was going 7 for 8 until about three days before hatch when a dog got her nest. He just broke the eggs but didn't eat them. Next year I will either let the geese set or use some of my muscovy hens. The geese seem better about keeping the eggs together under them. My muscovies are a little hap-hazard about staying centered on the nest.