"Settling" Shipped Eggs: Necessary? With Auto-Turner?

[chkinut]

I've got a mix of local eggs and shipped eggs. I am picking up the shipped eggs today and will probably put them in the incubator late tonite or early tommorrow. My local eggs are going in at the same time. If I do not rotate them for the first day in the incubator, will this harm my non-shipped eggs? I haven't seen my shipped eggs so I have no idea how bad off the air cells are but I know they have been packaged well.

I don't want my locally collected eggs to be harmed by sitting still for too long, but my shipped eggs are priority

Anyone else have experience with this?

i wouldn't think it would hurt the local eggs. but maybe someone else knows more than i do, lol. i wouldn't think one day would hurt. i am actually doing a little experiment within my own silkie eggs. i was going to just keep them in the turner till i officially set them all....with the turner going. well, i've got my white and red silkie eggs in the turner with the local eggs at the moment....my blue silkie eggs are upright, in the incubator, but not in the turner. they're so small that they fit perfectly off to the side without fear of falling over. but once i turn the bator on, they will go in the turner with all the other eggs. i want to let them stand undisturbed for about 36 hours (that's about how long it will be till i set tomorrow night.....hopefully, if my EE eggs come tomorrow, lol).

 

[ReikiStar]

well, if you can't see anything, that's a good sign and most likely means your air cells are intact. a floating air cell looks like a bubble moving around in water when you candle and gently turn the egg in your hand to see if the air cell moves. eggs can also get irregular air cells during shipping.....they don't move around like a bubble, but are VERY oddly shaped, like a kidney for example.

So you're looking for the air cell to be in the large end of the egg. Like Chkinut said, it could be oddly shaped, not the neat round button of a local egg but it stays in the large end of the egg. That's fine, it's where it should be. If you find the air cell in any other part of the egg then it's detached. I got shipped eggs yesterday and one had the air cell in the small end of the egg. After 12 hours of sitting still, outside of the 'bator, it was still in the small end. I decided not to incubate that egg as I'm not prepared to rescue a chick who pips and there's no air cell for them.

Maybe someone else has experience of hatching when the air cells weren't where they are suppose to be.

 

[ReikiStar]

Might want to keep an eye on this thread as well since the eggs weren't turned for the first 6 days due to a broken turner. Suppose to hatch soon:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/640971/eggs-not-turned

 

[angusb]

If you find the air cell in any other part of the egg then it's detached. I got shipped eggs yesterday and one had the air cell in the small end of the egg. After 12 hours of sitting still, outside of the 'bator, it was still in the small end. I decided not to incubate that egg as I'm not prepared to rescue a chick who pips and there's no air cell for them.

Interesting, ReikiStar. If I had an egg where the air cell moved to the other end and then decided to stay there, I'd probably try to just treat it like that was the big end, and incubate it upside-down (with the new location of the air cell on top). I wouldn't count on it hatching without trouble, but I'd give it a shot, especially if it was an expensive shipped egg.

 

[ReikiStar]

Interesting, ReikiStar. If I had an egg where the air cell moved to the other end and then decided to stay there, I'd probably try to just treat it like that was the big end, and incubate it upside-down (with the new location of the air cell on top). I wouldn't count on it hatching without trouble, but I'd give it a shot, especially if it was an expensive shipped egg.

I'd be interested to know if that would work...incubating with the egg small end up since that's where the air cell is. We need to keep our chicken math in check and since I work all day, taking that egg out of the batch wasn't a hard decision for us. Also, I would just kick myself if my intervention could have saved a chick but I'm 40 miles away when they needed to be helped.

 

[Countrychick8540]

I incubated my first eggs ever from shipped eggs. I waited about 2 hours before I put them in my incubator. (Brinsea Mini Advanced(Auto Turner). I am now on day 15, and only 3 out of the 7 developed. I did have the auto turner on right away, and did not let them sit. They are also silkies, so they apparently are harder to hatch. With my next batch, I think I will try having them sit a little longer to "settle".

 

[NYRIR]

Quote:
That I can understand....
Too bad, though, it would be a learning experience! If you were close enough, I'd do throw it in mine!

 

[aveca]

its true, my vet gave me a shipped eggs cheat sheet ...they posted it over on the easter egg thread, the same advise is on a redwood incubator web site..the eggs need to sit and rest it isnt so much rough handeling as it isthe 30 thousand ft unpressurised un heated plane ride..like when your ears want to pop that same pressure they beleive detaches the air cell...the fresher the egg the better..the ones that have developed to a point can have DNA scrambled from pressure and cold of the flight..alowing them sit and rest some are able to recover but may quit later on if enough damage.

sitting still in the incubator for up to 7 days allows the embryo to get off to a good start and heal air cell...some they want to sit for up to 10 days....unfortunatly the egg turner does not have a low switch it only tilts, all the way to one side then the other , that can cause problems due to a very sloppy air cell can heal in an odd shape just makes zipping more difficult at hatch time..those are set in ICU unit area of bator in case you need to intervien..you can just raise up one side of the bator just a litttle with a small peice of wood or whatever then switch sides so that you are still moving the embro, just not at such a hard degree that will allow air cell to heal in a good shape.after 6 or 7 days you can just turn the turner right on..

it depends on what region you live in if its really dry you might need to add a little, in styrofoam incubators , they are notorious for drowning chicks..they only add a teaspoon of water then let that go completly dry for 48 hrs ...in styro bators you might not want add any water .just keep watching your air cells..adjust according to that..mine runs between 20 - 30%.. my nephew in england due to thier humid climate never adds water to his incubator..different than here in US, but then they tend to start to beef up humidity around day 16 - 17th to prepare for lockdown,

always hatch shipped eggs in cut down cartons fat eand up.

 

[aveca]

forgot to add to that..never be in a hurry to throw eggs in bator..iff they have not warmed up properly to room temp, you can cause condensation inside the shell causes bacteria......blood rings .. that is shocking and the internal workings of the egg cannot take shocking..be patient..do not touch the egg in bator for at the very lest 6 days preferally more, then carefully candle eggs remember how delicate the tiny embryo and veins are so no fast twisting or tilting ..gently lift them up in same position..you will be absolutly amazed at how well it works, that sloppy air cell will be rock solid by day 12..after you candel all around day 7 or 8, try not to be tempted to touch them again till around day 14......if you absolutly cant help yourself..limit yourself to looking at 1 ot 2 eggs..

those instructions are only for shipped eggs that need special attention, eggs right out of your own barn without damage can be handeled differently,a hen doesnt lay her eggs big end up and there is no pressure damage to an air cell that might locate itself in odd position..those can be warmed up carefully and placed right in bator...shipped eggs are ICU patients for a little while...often in eggs that the air cell has healed in an odd shape the chick will pip and stop or pip start to zip and run into material that it cant continue through..so make the effort to stabalize those air cells..

 

[curranchickens]

Wow... so you got this information from the vet? It is pretty much the same plan I came up with! I feel so much better now. I was also rethinking the 7 days without turning after some of the comments but now I feel better. It is only day 4 for me but it is taking everything I have not to go in there and candle!!!! (lol.. even though I do not know how to candle yet so I would not know what I was looking at... ) So.... you say to run the incubator between 20 and 30 percent humidity? I started my eggs off at a normal 50 percent but on the first day, after I did my research, I lowered it to 33-35.

Crossing my fingers!

its true, my vet gave me a shipped eggs cheat sheet ...they posted it over on the easter egg thread, the same advise is on a redwood incubator web site..the eggs need to sit and rest it isnt so much rough handeling as it isthe 30 thousand ft unpressurised un heated plane ride..like when your ears want to pop that same pressure they beleive detaches the air cell...the fresher the egg the better..the ones that have developed to a point can have DNA scrambled from pressure and cold of the flight..alowing them sit and rest some are able to recover but may quit later on if enough damage.

sitting still in the incubator for up to 7 days allows the embryo to get off to a good start and heal air cell...some they want to sit for up to 10 days....unfortunatly the egg turner does not have a low switch it only tilts, all the way to one side then the other , that can cause problems due to a very sloppy air cell can heal in an odd shape just makes zipping more difficult at hatch time..those are set in ICU unit area of bator in case you need to intervien..you can just raise up one side of the bator just a litttle with a small peice of wood or whatever then switch sides so that you are still moving the embro, just not at such a hard degree that will allow air cell to heal in a good shape.after 6 or 7 days you can just turn the turner right on..

it depends on what region you live in if its really dry you might need to add a little, in styrofoam incubators , they are notorious for drowning chicks..they only add a teaspoon of water then let that go completly dry for 48 hrs ...in styro bators you might not want add any water .just keep watching your air cells..adjust according to that..mine runs between 20 - 30%.. my nephew in england due to thier humid climate never adds water to his incubator..different than here in US, but then they tend to start to beef up humidity around day 16 - 17th to prepare for lockdown,

always hatch shipped eggs in cut down cartons fat eand up.