settling eggs- how to

[missychicky]

ALL of my eggs have loose air sacks (NOOOOO!). I am using the broody as I don't have an incubater. Do you have to have an incubater to settle an egg? Can you just leave it at room temperature for 24 hours? Can an egg be too old or young to settle? If so, what is the earliest and latest you can do it? I only have 3 eggs so If there is a bigger than small risk of damaging and/or killing the embryo I don't want to do it.

 

[Kedreeva]

Eggs should settle at 'room temp' but room temp should be fairly cool, around 60 degrees or so. They can settle from 6-24 hours, but if they've been through a lot, let them settle for 24 in a cool area. Store them in an egg carton pointy side down, tilt the egg carton so it's on a slight incline and turn the eggs a couple times a day (as though they were an incubator). They can't be too young but growth/hatch rates start to decline around 10 days. I never let eggs sit more than 7 days after being laid.

Good luck!

 

[missychicky]

Darn!

All my eggs are more than 10 days old. Is the it worth the risk to let them settle even though their too old?

 

[crazy country gal]

If a chicken sets a hatch of 10 eggs than her 1st egg is 10 days old...so go for it, the hen does...lol Good luck!

 

[Kedreeva]

I'd still put them in. Some people here say that they've stored eggs up to 2 or 3 weeks before incubating. I personally don't and it's true that the fresher the egg the better chance it has, but that doesn't mean other ways are impossible hatches. If you don't try, you'll never know.

 

[missychicky]

ok I just put them in set them. When should I turn them? Every 3 hours or so? When I do turn them does it matter how much you turn them? Please make it little chickies, please!

 

[Kedreeva]

You can turn them as often as you like as long as it's the same number of turns every day and as long as the number of turns is odd (so that the never sit overnight on the same side for two nights in a row). I think my auto turner turns them once every 2 hours or so, but you can turn them less than that and be just fine. I would rec. at least 5 times a day if possible.

 

[missychicky]

ok, and this WILL cure the loose air sack, right?

 

[Kedreeva]

Quote:
Well I can't really guarantee that will 100% cure every loose air sack you ever have. But it should give the eggs the best chance to settle and the air sack to do what it needs.

 

[missychicky]

Well, at leat there's hope. Do you have to turn the eggs even at night?