Setting 41 on 6-15, 7-8, 7-31, and 8-23 feel free to join in at any time

[NTBugtraq]

I don't know much about BCM or the local hybrid layers you have, but are the BCM looking ones female and the white with spots males? Love the feathered shanks and they are cute. I hope they develop as you want.

I don't try to vent sex, I haven't figured out how to keep track of chicks as they develop to determine if my vent guesses are right or wrong.

However, I do know that I have BCM looking males and females in my 8 week old flock, and red-sexlink looking males and females also. The sex-link chick coloration thing is definitely broken in these guys.

Here's an entirely new color from yesterday's hatches, I haven't seen this color before.





I transferred 12 dry chicks to the brooder this morning, so that makes 19 that have hatched so far. One pip died with its beak out of the shell. It had pipped out of the wrong side of the egg, as in not into the air cell, probably because after I saw it had pipped it got turned upside down and I never noticed it. The other pip I thought I had turned out to be broken shell from another hatched egg stuck to the egg. This morning, after moving the chicks out, I candled the remaining 23 eggs. I culled 4 more clears, and made a mistake with one that was actually thriving.

So right now I have 18 eggs in the Brinsea on Day 21 without pips that look viable. I keep looking for a pattern to emerge regarding those that have hatched, or those that haven't yet pipped...I'm not seeing it. Some of the oldest, heaviest, lightest eggs have hatched...and those that haven't pipped have similar properties to others who hatch on Day 19...

 

[WalnutHill]

I don't try to vent sex, I haven't figured out how to keep track of chicks as they develop to determine if my vent guesses are right or wrong.

However, I do know that I have BCM looking males and females in my 8 week old flock, and red-sexlink looking males and females also. The sex-link chick coloration thing is definitely broken in these guys.

Here's an entirely new color from yesterday's hatches, I haven't seen this color before.





I transferred 12 dry chicks to the brooder this morning, so that makes 19 that have hatched so far. One pip died with its beak out of the shell. It had pipped out of the wrong side of the egg, as in not into the air cell, probably because after I saw it had pipped it got turned upside down and I never noticed it. The other pip I thought I had turned out to be broken shell from another hatched egg stuck to the egg. This morning, after moving the chicks out, I candled the remaining 23 eggs. I culled 4 more clears, and made a mistake with one that was actually thriving.

So right now I have 18 eggs in the Brinsea on Day 21 without pips that look viable. I keep looking for a pattern to emerge regarding those that have hatched, or those that haven't yet pipped...I'm not seeing it. Some of the oldest, heaviest, lightest eggs have hatched...and those that haven't pipped have similar properties to others who hatch on Day 19...

I love that color. Those are colored much like a Partridge Rock.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Well, I'm scratching my head now. Here we are mid Day 22 and absolutely nothing has happened since early yesterday morning. 18 eggs, no pips...temperature and humidity have been steady (100.5F and 65%). I bumped up the humidity an hour ago to 75%...no changes. I am very tempted to candle them all again, this time looking for signs of movement or internal pips at least.

I'm open to any suggestions.

Update: Just candled all of the remaining eggs...found 2 more clears. That brings potential fertility rate down to 77%. No movement in any of the other eggs, no obvious red rings, no internal pips. 1/2 have the air sac drawn down to some extent.

 

[WalnutHill]

Any sign of fluid remaining when you candled? If so, those were late deaths. Cracking them open would probably show unabsorbed yolk but more importantly any defects that they may have.

Or do a float/wiggle test on each in 38C water. Wiggle = wait.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Any sign of fluid remaining when you candled? If so, those were late deaths. Cracking them open would probably show unabsorbed yolk but more importantly any defects that they may have.

Or do a float/wiggle test on each in 38C water. Wiggle = wait.

How do you check for fluid remaining? You mean if I spin the egg back and forth while candling and I see something seeming to move in ooze??

I did just weigh them all again. Some are below ideal weight loss, others are above ideal, and some are almost spot on. Highest weight loss is 16.54%, lowest is 9.11%, but I don't know what, if anything, that means.

 

[WalnutHill]

Fluid remaining will candle under the air cell clear or yellow, or at the pointed end. At 22 days, that usually means death around lockdown.

If you see active movement, that means that you have delayed development, which is not expected.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Fluid remaining will candle under the air cell clear or yellow, or at the pointed end. At 22 days, that usually means death around lockdown.

If you see active movement, that means that you have delayed development, which is not expected.

I just culled 3 more eggs. One was a young chick (versus embryo), the other two more even more developed although both had unabsorbed yolk sacks of some size. The other 13 have no visible fluid.

When I did the float test, 2 floated completely on their side, 4 floated on an angle, and the other 7 floated straight up and down and didn't move. I'm thinking that the 6 that floated on an angle have a chance, and the other 7 are dead...your guess?

 

[RubyNala97]

I just culled 3 more eggs. One was a young chick (versus embryo), the other two more even more developed although both had unabsorbed yolk sacks of some size. The other 13 have no visible fluid.

When I did the float test, 2 floated completely on their side, 4 floated on an angle, and the other 7 floated straight up and down and didn't move. I'm thinking that the 6 that floated on an angle have a chance, and the other 7 are dead...your guess?

I agree. They float where the air cell is. So I'm thinking the ones floating straight up and down died right before or around lockdown. The air cell didn't draw down on those, I'm guessing.

 

[WalnutHill]

If they did not actively move in the water, I'd suspect they are dead. I had a video posted on here somewhere of one of my eggs dipping and bobbing in the water.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_6Hsv6OB2gtYjRRTXNzd0lyQlU

 

[NTBugtraq]

I agree. They float where the air cell is. So I'm thinking the ones floating straight up and down died right before or around lockdown. The air cell didn't draw down on those, I'm guessing.

So I just went through the data again to see if a pattern emerges, floats straight up and down versus on an angle...and again, nothing. I thought the up and downers should be heavier, meaning they should not have lost as much water as the ones on their side (by virtue of the fact that the air sac is smaller). No proof of this in the data. The ones floating up and down actually represent both extremes in the weight loss category...one has lost 17.13% and another has lost 11.30%. Meanwhile, the slanters have one egg that's lost only 10.34%, and another that has lost 16.04%...and of course both categories have eggs near ideal ~14.06%. Its really frustrating. However, I consider the possibility that the eggs died on different days, then I assume its possible they stopped loosing weight on the day they died...or lost less weight than ideal after they died.

I have read so many posts now by people that say using egg weight loss is the best way of determining egg viability and proper progress in incubation...but as long as the results are like I am getting (in terms of the numbers), weight loss is no better than 50/50...which is as good as flipping a coin...