She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[lazy gardener]

INteresting thought process.

 

[scottcaddy]

Quote:
I know that I'm a bit late here but, I was an Instrument Repairman for the Air Force for a few years. This is an easy test to mess up by a few degrees, This link does a nice job of making it easy to do right.
Hope that this helps somebody.
Edit to add the link EVEN! http://www.thermoworks.com/blog/2010/10/making-a-proper-ice-bath/
Scott

 

[kwhites634]

Ravyn, yes mine is the older model LG which I'm kind of glad of since Amy has such good hatches with hers and she can give me advice on what to do. Amy, I think the temp is pretty accurate but I'm worried just incase it is off a degree or so. I have 2 thermometers, 1 digital and 1 analog and they are both reading right at 101. On a positive note, all my eggs were in good shape. On the outside. I made a feeble attempt at candling them but being that they are speckled and all I have is an LED flash light with my hand cupped around it I couldn't see the air cells. It doesn't help that my eyesight is terrible, I'm legally blind, but my husband and daughter looked at them with me and they said they couldn't see anything either. I hope they're ok.

Suggestion: Get yourself an old ceramic light socket, a 40W bulb (approx.), and a tin can big enough to slip over the ceramic base. Cut one end off of the can, & cut a hole in the other end smaller than the diameter of your average egg with a hole saw. Smooth the edge of the hole with a file so nobody gets cut, plug it in, & candle away!

I had one all made up, but the can got gone; now I gotta make a new one.

 

[RubyNala97]

My dear BYC friend, Ronott, has a theory as to why some chicks make it to lock down, but don't hatch, especially shipped eggs.  His theory, and I think it is based off of studies as he is the academic type, is that the egg is a closed system.  It contains just enough internal energy to develop, hatch, and live until it can start feeding itself.  When there is internal damage due to shipping, or too much rough handling during incubation, the egg/embryo expends some of that energy repairing itself.  If it has to use too much energy for the healing process, it won't have enough for the hard work needed to hatch.  This theory makes sense to me.  It would explain the ones that are fully developed but never pip internally, as well as those that hatch, finally, but die before they start eating.  It would also explain why sometimes you can give a weak chick sugar water or egg yolk and keep it warm and it will pull through.  I realize that there are other reasons these things happen, but there have been many times that the entire hatch seemed to have been perfect, just to have chicks DIS.

That is interesting! Yes, I am referring to shipped eggs. I am trying to learn about why shipped eggs make it to lockdown and then fail to hatch. Some of us were actually discussing it today. I'm starting to believe that eggs are more fragile then I thought and shipping does tons of unseen damage. I had one set of interesting results from a shipped batch. I received a dozen eggs. Half black and half buff. The air cells looked good for shipped eggs. All the buff hatched and only one black hatched with a little assistance. All the other black chicks developed but died at some point in lockdown. I'm wondering with that set if the black eggs were older (this breeder does not mark the laid dates on the egg) or more fragile, or weaker genetics? I don't know but I love to learn as much as I can about shipped eggs! Thanks.

 

[OldMissionChick]

Feeling a bit sad. On day 23 and candled the duck eggs in the incubator, I was hopeful for 7 of them to make it to lock down and I dont see any movement :'( so I think I am going to start collecting eggs for the incubator again. Is it getting too late though? I don't know what to do

 

[scflock]

I am too curious. Of course I do mixes, so half of the curiosity comes from wanting to know what they would have been if they had hatched, the other half of me just wants to know for sure that they are gone and I'm not tossing a live chick.

If I hatched twice a year, I would probably be curious, too, but this is my 9th batch. I can tell from the candling that what I have is developed chicks that didn't hatch. I don't assist, and I wouldn't want one that hatched this late, anyway. I'm happy for the healthy ones that hatched, and the unhatched eggs get tossed without candling or anything

 

[scflock]

I have a question and this may make me look dumb but curiosity has finally got the better of me: What is a "hay bale"? Lol, am I right in assuming it's a hawk? Or does that make me look dumber? Lol.

Shhhhhh
Congratulations, that's your first

 

[RubyNala97]

I know that I'm a bit late here but, I was an Instrument Repairman for the Air Force for a few years. This is an easy test to mess up by a few degrees, This link does a nice job of making it easy to do right.
Hope that this helps somebody.
Edit to add the link EVEN! http://www.thermoworks.com/blog/2010/10/making-a-proper-ice-bath/
Scott

Scott,
The link didn't show up for me in your post but I can see it when I'm quoting (but can't click). Could you please repost it, I'd really like to check it out. Thanks!
Eta: I got it now!

 

[meganhundley]

I

I know that I'm a bit late here but, I was an Instrument Repairman for the Air Force for a few years. This is an easy test to mess up by a few degrees, This link does a nice job of making it easy to do right.
Hope that this helps somebody.
Edit to add the link EVEN! http://www.thermoworks.com/blog/2010/10/making-a-proper-ice-bath/
Scott

l'll read that thoroughly and see how accurate my thermo is based on that, thank you very much, I'm terrified of the wrong temp when it comes to incubating, I just keep picturing hard boiled eggs, lol.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

If I hatched twice a year, I would probably be curious, too, but this is my 9th batch. I can tell from the candling that what I have is developed chicks that didn't hatch. I don't assist, and I wouldn't want one that hatched this late, anyway. I'm happy for the healthy ones that hatched, and the unhatched eggs get tossed without candling or anything

So far I have been right on calling death by candling, but I am always worried I might be wrong. So far with the exception of the rotten first hatch, all of my hatches have been done by end of day 21, so I am not worried about late hatchers with problems. I candle and if I am positive on my death calls I do my eggtopsies end of day 21. I just hate prolonging the inevitable.