Please help! Do I need to put coconut oil on pip?

[HeatherKellyB]

@MGG I just got to look at the egg's air cells. I ordered 6 and received 8. One egg is cracked, one is detached and rolling, any and every which way all over the egg and it has bubbles in the air cell and the remaining 6 look surprisingly well. I don't believe I've ever received more than one egg per shipment that was only saddled. I am wondering if you have had more luck with washing the eggs or setting them as is? I've used a slightly rough (non damaging) kitchen Sponge to buff off any soiling. These eggs aren't really dirty. I believe that maybe 2 have a very thin line of soiling. I am so impressed with the air cells! They're all a bit saddled, but I'm always dealing with rolling/detached/bubbles in nearly all of the eggs!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I was thinking the same thing about changing incubators. The difference may be off a tiny bit but just enough to mess with the incubation. I'm excited to use the turner! This will be the first time using a turner!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I need to take an updated picture of Fancy. She has some serious fluff! My silkies that I purchased from TSC didn't have anywhere near this amount of fluff. She's so precious and of course she has me wrapped around her little feathered chicken toe!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Sounds perfect! How do the air cells look on your Spitzs? Did you calibrate your thermometers yet? I think if it were me, I'd rest the Spitzs for an hour, put them in, turn the turner off, and then plug it in tomorrow morning. That should be good. The turner being off overnight won't hurt them at all, and it will help them settle. Just make sure you plug the turner in tomorrow. Don't forget! Lol. That should get you off to a good start. What kind of eggs did you win the bid on? Sounds awesome. Your Marans girl sounds like a perfect fit. Is she a Black Copper or some other variety? The Marans X Silkie will be awesome looking! How old is your silkie? You should probably crack one of her eggs in a couple days to check for the blastoderm. If you post a pic of it it should be easy to tell. Then you'll know for sure if it worked. My buff brahma bantam roo fertilizes all of my eggs. My hens are all LF, and include a huge cochin hen. He does great. Don't doubt your little guy's abilities. Lol! In 3 or so days crack an egg and we'll see how it looks.

Mally is a Marans mix that Hoover's has named Midnight Majesty Marans. I believe they mix two different types of Marans. She's a gorgeous black with divine black/slate skin. One thing I've been worrying about is that she oftentimes will lay very rough porous (although they've never seeped or leaked, they do tend to float after only being about a week old) eggs. She also lays double yolkers occasionally. She is almost 11 months old. I have a Calico Princess of the same age in that same flock and her eggs are the only regular brown eggs, so easily identifiable. That mix doesn't sound as beautiful but she's been my most reliable layer of really nice quality eggs and she's a healthy girl at the top of the pecking order. My silkie cockerel that I would breed (I have another silkie cockerel that is a big guy and a jerk so I don't want him to reproduce) is a blue named "Blue" that is the same age as the pullets (almost 11 months). I also have a Barred bantam cochin in the same age group but he can't decide if he wants to be human aggressive or not. I can't tell my 5 hens eggs apart (SLW, Barred Rock & buff orpington). They'd be ideal, if I could just part with the 2 cockerels that are very human aggressive. They're in a Bachelor Flock with an amazingly gentle and intelligent (he knows who feeds him and protects me to his best ability) Crested Cream Legbar / Black Copper Marans cross. The plan is to let him live with my 5 hens. Maybe I can work on speeding up the process. I'm the biggest softie which explains why these roosters have all made it to roosterhood

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I wanted to update the picture of Fancy Nancy

 

[MGG]

@MGG I just got to look at the egg's air cells. I ordered 6 and received 8. One egg is cracked, one is detached and rolling, any and every which way all over the egg and it has bubbles in the air cell and the remaining 6 look surprisingly well. I don't believe I've ever received more than one egg per shipment that was only saddled. I am wondering if you have had more luck with washing the eggs or setting them as is? I've used a slightly rough (non damaging) kitchen Sponge to buff off any soiling. These eggs aren't really dirty. I believe that maybe 2 have a very thin line of soiling. I am so impressed with the air cells! They're all a bit saddled, but I'm always dealing with rolling/detached/bubbles in nearly all of the eggs!

Hi! Sorry, I've been so busy today. I think the worst I've ever had is 2 saddled out of a shipment. Mine are usually pretty intact. I would still just set them all as is. I've never washed any of mine. I had one duck egg that a friend brought me fron his hens nest (she abandoned it during a storm) that was so caked in mud. I picked a bit of mud off with my fingernail, but it was uselessly stuck on. I just left it. About a week later it started hatching! I had to help it hatch since the mud was too thick, but other than that it was fine. I just put a super poopy and dirty quail egg on lockdown. I don't know how it got so dirty, but it's the best looking development wise. I never worry about dirty eggs. They usually end up being my toughest and healthiest birds honestly. I would just set them. Can you post a pic of the dirty ones? If you've been "washing" the eggs, that could be part of your problem too. It rubs the dirt in through the pores, and can cause them to die from bacteria contamination further into the incubation period.

 

[MGG]

I was thinking the same thing about changing incubators. The difference may be off a tiny bit but just enough to mess with the incubation. I'm excited to use the turner! This will be the first time using a turner!

Maybe! The turner is really cool. It works great. Just push the + and - buttons at the same time a few times to make sure it works correctly.

 

[MGG]

I need to take an updated picture of Fancy. She has some serious fluff! My silkies that I purchased from TSC didn't have anywhere near this amount of fluff. She's so precious and of course she has me wrapped around her little feathered chicken toe!

Oh my! She's so cute! She's probably much better quality. Lol.

 

[MGG]

Mally is a Marans mix that Hoover's has named Midnight Majesty Marans. I believe they mix two different types of Marans. She's a gorgeous black with divine black/slate skin. One thing I've been worrying about is that she oftentimes will lay very rough porous (although they've never seeped or leaked, they do tend to float after only being about a week old) eggs. She also lays double yolkers occasionally. She is almost 11 months old. I have a Calico Princess of the same age in that same flock and her eggs are the only regular brown eggs, so easily identifiable. That mix doesn't sound as beautiful but she's been my most reliable layer of really nice quality eggs and she's a healthy girl at the top of the pecking order. My silkie cockerel that I would breed (I have another silkie cockerel that is a big guy and a jerk so I don't want him to reproduce) is a blue named "Blue" that is the same age as the pullets (almost 11 months). I also have a Barred bantam cochin in the same age group but he can't decide if he wants to be human aggressive or not. I can't tell my 5 hens eggs apart (SLW, Barred Rock & buff orpington). They'd be ideal, if I could just part with the 2 cockerels that are very human aggressive. They're in a Bachelor Flock with an amazingly gentle and intelligent (he knows who feeds him and protects me to his best ability) Crested Cream Legbar / Black Copper Marans cross. The plan is to let him live with my 5 hens. Maybe I can work on speeding up the process. I'm the biggest softie which explains why these roosters have all made it to roosterhood

Oh, I've heard of those. She sounds gorgeous! Maybe just set her best looking eggs. I've never had a problem with pourous eggs (luckily, as I've set a number of them) but double yolkers are a problem. I've seen a number of threads lately about trying to hatch them, and it never works unfortunately. You could do mostly Mally's and a few Calico Princess ones. Your Silkie sounds like a good match.

 

[MGG]

I wanted to update the picture of Fancy Nancy
View attachment 2221900

Awwwwww!!!! ❤
I love her! She's so pretty.