Really bummed, and confused?

[dianneS]

I set some eggs 11 days ago, then realized that the temps were too low for the first four days. I raised the temp and waited a few more days before candling.

I've candled all of them and two are crystal clear, like nothing going on in them at all. The other nine are dark. Really dark inside. I don't see any veins, they're just dark. There is only one that seems remotely hopeful and even that one is questionable.

I've decided to set another 10 eggs now, and do a staggered hatch (if the first batch hatches at all!) rather than wait for these eggs, and just be disappointed.

I'm bummed. I think they're all going to be duds. I'm just confused as to why two are so clear, yet the rest are so dark?

 

[Knittycat]

The two clear ones are likely infertile. They never developed. The dark ones likely have something going on inside. Keep 'em. the lower temperature at the start may delay hatch day by a day or so.

 

[dianneS]

I figured that the low temps to start would delay things a bit, so I bumped back my lockdown date and my hatch date, but they just don't look so good? I'm really concerned at how dark they are inside, like rotting eggs? But wouldn't the infertile ones be rotting too?

 

[Knittycat]

Not necsissarally. If there isn't much bacteria inside, it takes a long time for an egg to 'go bad'. I'd take the clear ones out and do an eggtopsy to be sure if you want certainty. If you are worried about the ones that are dark, give 'em a sniff. If they don't smell, you should be ok, even if they're not alive. Keep your nose sharp, and you'll be able to catch anything that is taking a turn for the worst before they turn into egg bombs.

 

[dianneS]

I just sniffed a few, and some are starting to smell

, its just hard to distinguish which ones are emitting the most smell? Its tough, once I get a whiff, it seems like they all smell slightly?

When I open the lid to the incubator, I do smell something slightly unpleasant...

 

[dianneS]

Oh yeah, and some of them appear as if the air cell is getting larger.

 

[Knittycat]

If you have coffee in the house, sniff it in between each egg. It'll clear the nose. Also, you can do a float test. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ng-egg-viability-for-late-or-overdue-hatching It's usually done in the case of overdue hatching, but in this case, I'd give it a go.

 

[dianneS]

Well, I isolated the stinker and got rid of the clear eggs. I bought another thermometer today to improve accuracy.

I'm really questioning the viability of all of these eggs at this point. I may try the float test next. Thanks!

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Do you have a good candler? Sounds like some of them should be okay, the clears and the stinky one should be discarded. Sometimes when I can't find my good candler the eggs will appear just dark around day 11. Hope it pans out for you

 

[dianneS]

I have a big LED maglight flashlight. They are blue eggs, but I've been pretty good at seeing through blue shells in the past? Never had any problem and always saw veins, but these are different. They're really dark and seem almost too dark for this early on in the process, but who knows??? Maybe it is because they're blue?

I'm not sure if I should float them yet or not? I feel pretty good about eliminating the stinker and the other two. I've got two accurate thermometers now so I'm not worried about too high/low temps. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best?

The stinky egg didn't look as if it was developing at all. The yolk almost looked "cooked"? That has me worried. However, I didn't really get close enough to investigate since the smell was pretty bad. I had a few 104 temp spikes, but never long enough to cook the eggs... at least I don't think so?