My Silkie Eggs are here! Any suggestions?

[Maggie1030]

I just received my delivery of Silkie eggs. I opened and unpacked the eggs. I put them in a carton large side up. Now I'm letting them sit for 24 hours then I will put them in the incubator tomorrow. The eggs do feel cool to the touch. I hope they are viable with being shipped in the cold weather. Do I have to turn eggs while they are sitting coming to room temperature? Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's my first time hatching. Thanks

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You don't have to turn them while they are coming to room temperature but if you store them for another day or two, it would be a good idea to tilt the carton a couple times a day.

 

[Scott214]

I just got eggs today too! Silkies as well as marans and Wyandottes and olive eggers. Make sure to keep us updated. I read to not even turn them for a couple of days in the incubator and then to only turn them once or twice slightly a day until day 16. I hope your hatch is good!

 

[Welshies]

Your eggs will be fine if they have not been frozen. If kept for more than 24 hours (I go by 18), you should begin to tilt them twice or thrice a day.

 

[Bryam]

You can put them into the incubator and not turn them for a day, does the same thing. You are aware that the hatch is much lower with shipped eggs. Fertiliy may be good, just keep an eye things on the last few days of incubation.

Best of luck!

 

[Blooie]

Now that they've had a day to settle, I would gently pick them up and candle them. You won't see anything as far as development, but this gives you the opportunity to check for detached or loose air cells. Candle extremely gently - you don't want to dislodge an air cell that was questionable. Tilt the egg in your hand slowly from side to side and look for the air space at the fat end of the egg. If it's stationary, wonderful. If it wobbles a bit on one side, mark it as such. If it looks like the bubble in a carpenter's level, mark that one with a different code. Eggs with compromised air cells need more careful and deliberate handling than those where the air cell is still nicely intact and relatively small. You can come up with some kind of code for each type of air cells - D for detached, L for loose, G for good is simple and easy to remember - and write that on the very top of the egg so you can see at a glance which are which.

If you have a lot of eggs with wonky air cells, you can wait another day or so to see if those air cells tighten up....often they do if they are left undisturbed and may reattach very well. And eggs with loose air cells can and do develop, so don't lose all hope. If the air cells are totally loose and just wandering around inside the egg, chances decrease dramatically. Shipping is notoriously hard on eggs, so don't be too surprised if you find those wobbly air cells.

Keep us posted! Good luck! There is an excellent thread on BYC, Hands on Hatching and Help, as well as @Sally Sunshine's thorough thread on incubation. There's a lot of information on both threads, and don't be afraid to ask questions!!