Setting eggs today...20th May...anyone else?

[comptonsgonecountry]

Alaskan and Loopy12,

Glad you people are on the other end of this thread!

I actually did exactly as you recommended Alaskan - I was feeling rather bad about it though, because it did not end nicely... and just now I read your post and thought well, obviously others would have done exactly as I did, so I don't feel so bad now.

Basically I pierced the airsac - nothing... pierced the white membrane - leaving the inner membrane intact. I could physically see the yolk (lots of it - runny too not in a bolus) & pulsing vessels around a very thick inner membrane. No head nor beak visible. It was fully formed and feathered and still alive. I placed it back in the bator with some moist muslin laying lightly over the top. ( I had only opened the top 1/4 of shell) I kept moistening this throughout the day. But it was dawning on me how much work this chick was going to be... like having a chicky ICU! Clearly this chick was no where near ready to hatch and if I'd left well-enough alone it would still be happily cooking in its shell...but I had no idea of its due date.

Anyway, I decided to cull it - the main reason being it was starting to smell - and likely would have developed a bacterial infection of some sort associated with the yolk/wound. I believe it was around 18 days - late stage but no where near ready to hatch.

I'm finding it hard not to get cranky at the bloke who gave me the eggs; If he'd just been straight with me and told me how long they'd been in his incubator correctly, I would not have been tempted to do this. It's as if this breeder added a new egg to his bator each day and I got one of each all at different stages! And what breeder doesn't know the date of when they start a new batch of eggs??? Crazy!

Long and short of it is, I've learnt the hard way. I still have one egg in there. And in a way, it's kind of blessing that this has happened before those precious Marans are ready to hatch. They were $$$

Dear God, so sorry. I just now read the post above my last one I just submitted. Incubating sure is a learning process. Keep on learning and look at the positive of each incubation. Disco is adorable!

 

[brairgirl]

Today is the eggs 10 day mark in my bator. I candled yesterday, day 9, because I just could not wait until today. Sigh, I'm just glad I have a fulltime job for the sake of the eggs I incubate. Otherwise I would be home checking on them every hour or so. Out of the 2 1/2 dozen, I'm down to 2 dozen after throwing non developed eggs out. The 6 I threw out were from 8 banty eggs I pulled out of the fridge. But, I do have two fridge eggs with bouncing chicks growing. Who would have thunked?

I have a refrigerated egg that has a baby in it too!

 

[CGinJCMO]

I moved my broody this evening (hope she likes the new digs enough to not abandon the nest but now no other hen can occupy her nest and cause her to be sitting on a new nest). In the process of removing the eggs, I dropped one. Bad crack/shatter on one side so I didn't think I could seal up the hole and I might endanger the rest of the batch. I brought it in to see what was in there since I've never incubated eggs before. I found this:

He was alive (and kicking). I'm sad for this guy, but it gives me hope that the other 9 are doing good. I never would have expected this 1 inch long thing to be in the shell based upon what I see when I candle the egg (mostly solid dark with just air cell).
CG

 

[Alaskan]

Why there you are again CG

Same question... How old?

And sorry you had to loose one, but I think it is cool to get to see it. Very educational.

 

[Amykins]

Why there you are again CG

Same question... How old?

And sorry you had to loose one, but I think it is cool to get to see it. Very educational.

And yet, still kinda sobering...the biologist in me wishes I could have seen it first-hand to study, but the chicken mama in me is making a face like this:

 

[ashem0]

Oh Ashem, that sucks. Clearly the breeder doesn't know what he's doing. It does sound like he's been adding them to his incubator as they were laid. he could at least have written the date on them. Sigh.
Was that the last one? I thought there were two left of the ISAs? I think (be clear this isn't a criticism) I would've candled it, and if the beak wasn't in the air cell I would've left it. Its all a learning curve...and you really got thrown in the deep end.
Still, back to the Marans...and a gentle stately learning curve for the next two weeks
I think Disco will turn into an adoring lap chicken with all that undivided attention

Hi loopy12 - yes you are right - there was 2 - one had a fatal accident

but it looked as though it had died anyway. Now I have one. Not doing anything special, just sitting there.

Disco is so friendly! He/she chirps every-time we walk into the room and is clearly trying to get near us through his brooder box.

 

[ashem0]

Oh, ahem! You poor dear!


What a horrid thing!

I never would have thought that that egg would been so far behind the others, especially since it was wiggling etc.!!!

OK...focus on the good!

You have one good cute adorable healthy chick....and really that is all the kids need.

In some ways, the single chick will be even more fun, since it will be forced to bond with you and the kids, it will become much more friendly!

Focus on..... Super cute fuzzy, remember we would have made the exact same mistakes...and think happy!

Big hugs!

I agree Alaskan.

Disco sure is a cutey. I will take some more pics after he has had a bath and fluffed up properly. I also want an opinion on his toes. And soo friendly!

Have you candled yours again?

 

[ashem0]

I just got back from candling 10 eggs under my broody...found two browns ones that must have been laid when she got up for a potty/streatch break so took them out (I'll keep them separate from my selling eggs just in case there's a "surprise inside". LOL) My homemade candler was a toilet paper tube (with about an inch and a half TP still on it) and a mini mag light. I had a flashlight with LEDs but it wasn't bright enough.

I was estimating this to be day 7 and was expecting to see small dot with veins but I saw about half of the egg in darkness on 7 or 8 of the eggs. Kind of like day 10 (middle photo) or day 12 on the Chicks are Here Egg Candle pixs thread.

So...either my eggs are farther along than I thought, or since this is my first time candling and incubating, I messed up somewhere/somehow. The first egg that looked like that (second one candled) I took a long hard sniff to try and see if it was rotten (someone on one of these threads said to smell the egg when checking), but didn't smell anything.

CG

A very creative egg-candler indeed!

 

[loopy12]

CG sorry about the broken egg. Always sad, but always fascinating and educational. Hope the broody settles in well in her new place.

Ashem: good to hear Disco is doing well.

Compton: we used to have terrible problems with raccoons when we were in upstate new york. Lost countless chickens, including two beautiful cochins and a stunning blue orpington that I had hatched and 4 full grown female pekin ducks, two complete batches of about-to-hatch eggs etc. And they ate the chicken food too. They are too clever...and have a voracious appetite. We had to resort to cage trapping in the end, and caught 9 of them in one summer. Look so cute...but oh so deadly.

Today is day 10, but because I candled day 8 I think I will leave them and do day 12 and 18 instead. Can't handle tossing any more today!

 

[Alaskan]

I am trying to not candle for a few days......but I looked in I think four when I was turning them.

Those silly dark eggs! !! I can barely see inside them!

How big is the chick supposed to be now? About yolk size? I have some eggs, where the yolk still floats freely, and always wants to be on top. But, I have other eggs where the yolk is no longer yolk shaped, maybe a tiny bit bigger, and wants to stay in one spot and not move.

Do your 8 or so old eggs do that? With a chick developing, it no longer floats freely?