Poll! What would YOU do?

[familypendragon]

I read about it. so i took a q tip and rubbedit on. lighty so you wouldnt even see it. and not sure if it helped..lol but it didnt hurt. its still alive. but a couple of the eggs i have are showing some black spots i cant find any info on.??? not sure what it is

Inside or outside the egg?

 

[jnjmanning]

My reason for not laying is this. Many breeders, who hatch constantly, have found that which ever position the egg is incubated it, is the direction the chick acclimates to. So having them upright for 18 days, then suddenly laying on the side can be confusing. If I incubate on side I hatch on side, if I incubate upright I hatch upright.
Wonky, splattered, saddled air cells I believe have a better chance laying down to hatch. I candle my shipped eggs every day for the 1st 5 days. Those with damaged air cells dont go in a turner untill day 5. Rocking in a turner is less hard on those cells that are attached. Where rolling to turn while laying on the side can tear the membrane even more. I place them long way across an egg carton with the damaged side of the air cell down. Then use a block of wood and lift the end of the egg carton, change sides and lift the other end. So they are being rocked, but not upright.

 

[jenbell83]

Inside the egg. ill try posting a pic

 

[jenbell83]

 

[jenbell83]

Looks like black blood or bacteria?? idont know. but the ducks are alive and moving fine. im asking everyone i can so i can find out what it is and maybe hopefully fix or prevent something

 

[yinepu]

If the air cell is "fixed" (not moving around) I lay them down for hatch. In my mind it gives them a better chance if they are mal-positioned. You are better able to see a pip that is not in the air cell if they are laying down.

the air cell is "fixed" long before hatch.. usually after the first 10 days or so

Quote:
I use melted wax all the time.. I clean off the cracked area first with Oxine then once it's dry I dip a q-tip into the melted wax and paint it on the crack.. sometimes it works.. sometimes bacteria has already breached the shell.. there's no way to know for sure until you incubate it

Quote: I just thought that I'd mention it since you are trying to improve your hatch rate. It is the most accurate way to ensure correct humidity. I never do dry hatches on shipped eggs, it simply doesn't work for me. The air cells usually end up developing too much. Eggs that have less than perfect air cells can be very difficult to judge air cell development, there fore it's best to weigh them.

I admit that I don't really weigh my chickens eggs. I hatch fairly often and it takes quite a bit of time to keep tracks of the weights, but if you're willing to put the time into it, then weigh them. I always weigh eggs that are important to me such as goose eggs or certain shipped eggs.

It's just something that you may want to try for your next batch. I hope your hatch goes well!

I dry incubate and dry hatch shipped eggs all the time.. it just depends on how porous the shells are and how old the eggs were when the seller shipped them

My reason for not laying is this. Many breeders, who hatch constantly, have found that which ever position the egg is incubated it, is the direction the chick acclimates to. So having them upright for 18 days, then suddenly laying on the side can be confusing. If I incubate on side I hatch on side, if I incubate upright I hatch upright.
Wonky, splattered, saddled air cells I believe have a better chance laying down to hatch. I candle my shipped eggs every day for the 1st 5 days. Those with damaged air cells dont go in a turner untill day 5. Rocking in a turner is less hard on those cells that are attached. Where rolling to turn while laying on the side can tear the membrane even more. I place them long way across an egg carton with the damaged side of the air cell down. Then use a block of wood and lift the end of the egg carton, change sides and lift the other end. So they are being rocked, but not upright.

seriously?

.. I have been hatching eggs for well over 50 years.. we always lay the eggs down on their sides at hatch if there's room in the bator (even after incubating them upright).. never have an issue.. I consistently get 100% hatch rates on undamaged (not scrambled), fertile eggs.. and I hatch out hundreds if not a few thousand eggs a year (I don't call bubbly air cells or loose air cells "damaged")

my shipped eggs sit upright out of the incubator for 24 hours.. then upright in the bator unturned for 24 hours.. then into a turner IF i have one available.. but 99% get hand turned 5 times a day after day 2
btw.. I never rock or roll my eggs when turning by hand.. each egg is picked up individually and turned carefully by hand.. then put back down at a 45 degree angle into the incubator..


the key is having a steady hand, and not shaking them up or spinning them around like a maniac..
turning hundreds of eggs a day by hand (5 times a day) does ensure that you don't have a life... but I heard I could buy a life cheap ... so someday I will..

 

[familypendragon]

the air cell is "fixed" long before hatch.. usually after the first 10 days or so I use melted wax all the time.. I clean off the cracked area first with Oxine then once it's dry I dip a q-tip into the melted wax and paint it on the crack.. sometimes it works.. sometimes bacteria has already breached the shell.. there's no way to know for sure until you incubate it I dry incubate and dry hatch shipped eggs all the time.. it just depends on how porous the shells are and how old the eggs were when the seller shipped them seriously?

.. I have been hatching eggs for well over 50 years.. we always lay the eggs down on their sides at hatch if there's room in the bator (even after incubating them upright).. never have an issue.. I consistently get 100% hatch rates on undamaged (not scrambled), fertile eggs.. and I hatch out hundreds if not a few thousand eggs a year (I don't call bubbly air cells or loose air cells "damaged") my shipped eggs sit upright out of the incubator for 24 hours.. then upright in the bator unturned for 24 hours.. then into a turner IF i have one available.. but 99% get hand turned 5 times a day after day 2 btw.. I never rock or roll my eggs when turning by hand.. each egg is picked up individually and turned carefully by hand.. then put back down at a 45 degree angle into the incubator.. the key is having a steady hand, and not shaking them up or spinning them around like a maniac.. turning hundreds of eggs a day by hand (5 times a day) does ensure that you don't have a life... but I heard I could buy a life cheap ... so someday I will..

Thanks for the wealth of info and experience And this seriously cracks me up: "Our critters eat religious zealots & germaphobes for breakfast.. It's a shame since I need a few of their skulls for my collection"

 

[lizanne]

the air cell is "fixed" long before hatch.. usually after the first 10 days or so

I've had shipped eggs that had wiggly air cells at hatch. I can't remember if any of those made it though....

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
if it has a live viable embryo in it (by day 10 or so).. it won't migrate around the shell...

as the embryo forms the aircell "sticks" for lack of a better word.. the same air cells which were damaged in shipping that were rolling about or were bubbly... there is no way that they CAN continue to migrate once a healthy embryo forms simply because the veins will adhere to the membranes and "stick" them to the shell.. If you have ever done the "stages of incubation" where eggs are cracked open on different days of incubation you will have seen what I mean

in a rotten egg.. or one where the embryo died.. or an infertile or scrambled egg the membrane can still roll around simply because there are no healthy veins to hold it in place.

 

[yinepu]

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