sad candling day

[Akane]

Today was day 11. Normally day 10 would be decision day but I was rather busy so that made tonight decision day. I recandled my eggs and then proceded to break all the clears and quitters. Of my 3 dozen eggs I now I have 9.

All but 2 of the sebrights were totally scrambled and those 2 did nothing. 4 of the hamburgs were scrambled and the others did nothing except the 4 remaining ones which are definitely alive. The lakenvelders faired better. They made a good attempt and every egg had at least a streak of blood from attempting to grow. One I broke open did actually have the beginnings of a chick. There was not a single clear of the lakenvelders but there was just too much shipping damage. Only 5 of them remain. It's a sad day to go from expecting 1-2 dozen chicks which is my usual hatch on shipped eggs to probably 5 or 6. Probably about the worst survival rate I've had except the poorly packaged box of 6 scrambled or infertile serama eggs I got once.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Oh no! I'm sorry.

I hope at least the remaining eggs all hatch for you!

 

[RonnieAtkeson]

I feel your pain. Me and my wife made a small trip to another town and bought 180 guinea eggs. After candling I was down to around 64. After recandling last nite im down to about 59, now thats pathetic out of 180 eggs!

I do have 10 out of 19 turkey eggs developing nicely that are from shipped eggs though. 1 blue slate 3 narragansettes and 6 bourbon reds.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I'm sorry. I can sympathize with you.

I incubated my first eggs this year under my broody hens and only got 7 chicks from the 30 eggs I bought. Out of 10 eggs placed under hen #1, only 1 made it (due to hen's clumsiness). I purchased 8 penciled rock eggs from a BYC member and had them shipped to me, but not one of them even started to form - mostly scrambled. At the same time I purchased 12 eggs from an e-bay seller - 6 of these 12 hatched.

30 eggs at a cost of over $50 - 7 chicks; 4 cockerels & 3 pullets. We can't keep roosters here, so all that work & money and we only get to keep 3 of them

 

[Pathfinders]

Quote:
But think of how much it would cost if you had purchased 3 started pullets and had them shipped to you. Probably $50 just for the shipping, plus whatever the breeder would have charged for the birds themselves.

It's important to keep things in perspective when purchasing hatching eggs.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
But think of how much it would cost if you had purchased 3 started pullets and had them shipped to you. Probably $50 just for the shipping, plus whatever the breeder would have charged for the birds themselves.

It's important to keep things in perspective when purchasing hatching eggs.

I usually run down to the feed store and pick up sexed chicks for $3-$4 each (depending on breed), so the experience did turn out to be expensive.

But..... to keep it in perspective - this was our first time hatching eggs and I did it for the DDs experience (at least that's what I tell myself - I liked it too).

The one & only surviving chick from the first hen was hatched by ME. After Clumsy Hen broke egg #9 with a dead, but fully developed chick still attached to its yolk, I brought the last egg inside, put it in a basket under a light bulb inside my bathroom with a room humidifier going - 6 hours later, we were able to watch it hatch. Pretty amazing.
It is now a beautiful 10 week old spash orp pullet.

We got 2 BA pullets from the second hen (and a LB cockerel & 3 BA cockerels that I have to rehome). It was cute watching her being a mother to them, but the BAs are now the most skittish of my chicks (I ended up buying feedstore chicks also).

All in all, I chalk up the money to the experience and I do LOVE my splash orp. In the future, I plan to buy eggs locally - much better hatch rate.

Akane - It is really dissappointing to lose so many potential chicks - I hope the rest of your chicks make it.

 

[Maryallison]

Sorry so many of your eggs didn't make it. Recently I tried hatching turkey eggs and none of the 7 hatched. I was so excited too.

 

[Akane]

I'm probably getting some sebrights locally if we can set up a time to meet the person.

Unfortunately the local guinea fowl have already slowed down and for some pens stopped laying for the year here.

No keets for me this year unless I want eggs shipped from down south.