Snowflake bobwhite air cell damage/abnormality? 11 days of development w/ picture

[marrgalo]

I'll throw my View attachment 2235880 in on shipped eggs.
Shipping is extremely hard on fertile eggs, more so with gamebird eggs than with chicken eggs.

My experince is: If the air cell is detached I toss the egg...never have had a detached air cell egg hatch....quail, pheasant, duck, goose, peafowl or turkey. Some people have reported them hatch but I never have had them hatch.
I typically let the eggs rest for 8 to 12 hours before turning the eggs. If it is very warm weather during shipping, I put the eggs in the incubator immediately upon arrival....due to the fact, the embryos are probably already developing. If you let them rest at room temperature, the likelyhood of the embryos dying is greater.

If they are cracked, they get tossed, too! I've tried several methods of sealing the cracks ( tape, wax, super glue) all to no avail. Here again, some people had claimed to have a sealed egg hatch, I have not had any hatch.

Hatching shipped eggs is a gamble, they might all hatch, some hatch or none hatch! It makes a huge difference on hatch ability depending on the 'method' used in packaging of the eggs; ie, foam, paper egg crates, sawdust, bubble wrap, tissue paper, etc. Foam egg crates have the highest percentage of hatching of all the methods, in my experince with shipped eggs.
HTH

Thank you for sharing your experience in such great detail! I regret that I did not turn the eggs from the beginning. I let them rest for 24 hours and then started incubating - only started turning after 6 days, per the seller's instructions (see original post for details). I'm getting a lot of good feedback from the quail folks here, and I am definitely going to change my strategy for the next batch (if none of these hatch). I will post updates!

 

[marrgalo]

I do pretty much the same thing. But I let mine rest for 5 hours max, and I patch dented or cracked eggs with nail polish. I've had great hatches on damaged eggs patched with the polish. I start the turner the day after I set the eggs.

Thanks MGG! Lots of great info on this thread.

 

[albinosilver]

I’ve had saddled air cell eggs hatch out but it depends on the severity of the saddle. The issue is the saddled cell will obstruct the natural position of the chick as it gets ready to hatch. The chick can easily be forced into a bad position and never be able to pip out.

 

[marrgalo]

I’ve had saddled air cell eggs hatch out but it depends on the severity of the saddle. The issue is the saddled cell will obstruct the natural position of the chick as it gets ready to hatch. The chick can easily be forced into a bad position and never be able to pip out.

Based on what I've read in this forum and in other places, I'm guessing that I should stay hands-off during the hatching process and hope that they can pip?

 

[albinosilver]

If possible, keep them standing straight up instead of on their side during lockdown. It always helps when hatching Eggs with damaged air cells. You can use an egg carton and just stand the egg up in there.

 

[marrgalo]

If possible, keep them standing straight up instead of on their side during lockdown. It always helps when hatching Eggs with damaged air cells. You can use an egg carton and just stand the egg up in there.

Thanks albinosilver! I'll make sure to do that. Really hoping I can get these saddled eggs to hatch.

 

[albinosilver]

Good luck! I was worried when I received these shipped eggs but they hatched out just fine for me in the end!

 

[marrgalo]

Good luck! I was worried when I received these shipped eggs but they hatched out just fine for me in the end!

Thank you! Knowing that those eggs hatched gives me hope. I'll post updates

 

[marrgalo]

Hi everyone,

Quick update: both eggs hatched! The hatching process took SO LONG I was starting to feel anxious that they wouldn't be able to get through it. Both chicks had one external pip for over 24h and then when they zipped and hatched it was so fast I didn't even catch it.

Interesting surprise though... one chick only has one eye and seems more lethargic than the other "normal" chick. Otherwise, both are eating and drinking water. These are pet quail and will not be used for breeding, so I'm not worried about culling a chick over a small developmental issue. Just hoping it will be able to grow normally.

Thanks for all the advice!
Jordan

 

[Ravenlover]

I'll throw my View attachment 2235880 in on shipped eggs.
Shipping is extremely hard on fertile eggs, more so with gamebird eggs than with chicken eggs.

My experince is: If the air cell is detached I toss the egg...never have had a detached air cell egg hatch....quail, pheasant, duck, goose, peafowl or turkey. Some people have reported them hatch but I never have had them hatch.
I typically let the eggs rest for 8 to 12 hours before turning the eggs. If it is very warm weather during shipping, I put the eggs in the incubator immediately upon arrival....due to the fact, the embryos are probably already developing. If you let them rest at room temperature, the likelyhood of the embryos dying is greater.

If they are cracked, they get tossed, too! I've tried several methods of sealing the cracks ( tape, wax, super glue) all to no avail. Here again, some people had claimed to have a sealed egg hatch, I have not had any hatch.

Hatching shipped eggs is a gamble, they might all hatch, some hatch or none hatch! It makes a huge difference on hatch ability depending on the 'method' used in packaging of the eggs; ie, foam, paper egg crates, sawdust, bubble wrap, tissue paper, etc. Foam egg crates have the highest percentage of hatching of all the methods, in my experince with shipped eggs.
HTH

Im trying clear nail polish read it works on small crack on a button egg on day 7 so far is developing ill let u if it hatches if u want