The 10th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!!!!!

[BullChick]

Ugh I’m so disappointed and frustrated. I set 42 eggs and only six hatched. I’ve finally gotten decent fertility but it seems I still have a bunch drowning in the egg. Now I have to figure out if 30-35% is still too high or if I increased too much at lockdown.

I think I’m going to set another batch before the hol and track weight again. I had the best results on the batches were I did that.

Lockdown humidity won’t drown them. Did you calibrate your equipment? Your humidity may be higher than you think.

 

[ronott1]

Ugh I’m so disappointed and frustrated. I set 42 eggs and only six hatched. I’ve finally gotten decent fertility but it seems I still have a bunch drowning in the egg. Now I have to figure out if 30-35% is still too high or if I increased too much at lockdown.

I think I’m going to set another batch before the hol and track weight again. I had the best results on the batches were I did that.

The first cause of issues like yours is temperature related and not humidity related.

Usually the average incubation temperature is at least 1 degree too low. Yes, that is how important temperature is.

It sounds like humidity is fine for you so stop focusing on it.

It is counter intuitive but drowning in the shell is more a symptom of improper chick development not too much water in the incubator

 

[Cynthia12]

Hi Cynthia12!

Hi Mike! I've missed you all.

 

[Cynthia12]

I had cotournix (sp) quail in my room as a teenager, 1 male and 2 females. Thought it neat that the egg song was a long whistle. Not so neat was the male crowing at all hours, and -- as a slovenly teenager -- the least appreciated was the dawn revelry. Got lots of yummy delicate-flavored eggs. Wished they had had a tall cage as they were prone to head banging on the ceiling of their enclosure. The quail thing lasted about 3 months before I was quite over it.
Now, on occasion, I will incubate the wild Gambel's Quail eggs that my dogs find in the backyard. (Once discovered, that nest will never remain undisturbed and Mama Quail is long gone in the wind.) Luckily the wildlife rescue takes them after hatching. The cool thing about wild quail is that they all hatch out within 90 minutes of the first pip...a survival thing, no doubt. They are quick popcorn-like little things!

That's what I called them.. I hatched button quail for fun. Fast little babies.

 

[Cynthia12]

I’m gonna be hatching EE, OE chicks!!!

I'm jealous. I love hatching those fluffy faced babies. Maybe I'll just start sharing some photos of my past chicks.

Yhe gal that I bought the eggs from..used this photo to show for her ads. A great great hatch for shipped eggs, all the way from Ga. to Ut.! Blue Americauna

 

[Cynthia12]

Are you renting the hens then? I think rent a coop has different programs. I ask because you said only keep them in the spring and summer...of course I likely read that wrong LOL

Oh! No..sorry.. I will buy some hens. I have a friend who rescues fowl. I may find something from her, or get some some where else, then, give the hens to her during late fall. She also rescues goats, mules, ...love that she takes all roosters. Has a big place up against our west mountain. There will be folks actually looking for a rooster, or, like me, a few hens. People downsize, like I used to do when I hatched, kept.. and would raise some to lay. Let her take my stinkers, or the older ones. I ways had good layers. Now, will only get three girls. Will see if I can let them go this fall. I do get attached with some. Where there will only be three................?

 

[lomine]

Lockdown humidity won’t drown them. Did you calibrate your equipment? Your humidity may be higher than you think.

The first cause of issues like yours is temperature related and not humidity related.

Usually the average incubation temperature is at least 1 degree too low. Yes, that is how important temperature is.

It sounds like humidity is fine for you so stop focusing on it.

It is counter intuitive but drowning in the shell is more a symptom of improper chick development not too much water in the incubator

I’ve got a dial hygrometer that reads the same humidity so I think it’s accurate. I didn’t put in my second thermometer this time around since my incubator has been very accurate in the past but I suppose it may have been after after being in storage over winter. Those that hatched hatched early which I think means the temp was a bit high. I’ll do some testing after I clean out the incubator.

I’m at high altitude and some very helpful BYC folks pointed out that it has its own issues. All my research points to humidity being the biggest factor for me so that’s why I’ve been focusing on it. I thought I had a good method down after my last batches but I guess not. Think I’ll just need to be more diligent about checking progress and start keeping records again.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Myshire likely gets hatch rates on shipped eggs that high because she packs correctly.

Sadly I have tried to coach some with better packing techniques and they usually insist that there bad packing is not the problem but the Post Office is the problem.

If you see someone blaming the PO for broken and scrambled egg when shipped, do not get hatching eggs from them!

Yeah, I think they do have a really good packing method and I think they reship if any are broken but that may have been someone else.

And yeah, I hate when people just automatically jump to blaming the post office!! Yeah, they suck at handling usually and aren’t the most gentle but if the eggs are well packed, that shouldn’t matter!!

USPS = United States Pre-Scrambled

LOL true

I give mine shoe boxes with sand in them, they love that.

I bet they do!!

I would not get eggs from you!



I bet you would pack them correctly, or at least try packing my way if I asked you too!

To be serious for a minute though, if a seller constantly has eggs broken in shipping, they are not packing correctly. You can get smashed boxes every once in a while but it should not be a regular thing with good egg packing.

Oz posted this letter:

An open letter to egg shippers
Dear Sir/Madam
I am excited about our business arrangement and look forward to your eggs arriving here in the best possible
condition. While I am sure you have had plenty of experience shipping eggs, I am glad that you have agreed to try shipping
my way. I would like to share what I feel is the ideal way to receive eggs.
1. Eggs must be fresh. By that I mean that they should be less than 2 days. It takes 3 days for USPS to get the eggs from
you to me and then they need to rest for 24 hours. Any eggs over 2 days old when shipped will be over 6 days old when I
get them into my incubator. Also remember that the older the egg the larger the air cell so the more damage. Please never
ship me an egg laid on a Wednesday.
2. Please label the eggs before you wrap them. You may only have one breed of birds but I may be buying several orders
at once and sometimes I have to look up the shipping label reference in order to find out who they came from and what
breed they are. I am always impressed when the date laid is also on there. A lead pencil or non-toxic marker such as a
sharpie is great.
3. Packing. I prefer the Sally Sunshine method. I’ve attached an in depth article on packing them this way and believe that
it will minimize impact damage. Lots of heavy and odd shaped items will be in the same trucks as these precious lives.
Alternatively, you could ship with foam inserts available from www.texaspoultry.com. I personally use these to ship eggs
overseas. They are more costly but the best solution I have found for this application.
4. Shipping. Shipping typically takes 2-3 days to get to me, for this reason alone never ship on Thursday. Even if you
ship fresh to 2 day old eggs on a Thursday I won’t get them until Monday or Tuesday at the best and this will guarantee you
will give me old eggs. Old eggs mean I will have a harder time incubating them and this is not acceptable. The best shipping
days are Saturdays, Monday and Tuesday. This gives the post office wiggle room to mess up the shipment and still get here
with time to salvage. A Wednesday shipment is risky but doesn’t leave any wiggle room for the post office to mess up.
Fridays are OK but occasionally the USPS can get eggs here in 2 days and Friday shipments remove that possibility.
5. Ask me if it is my preference to pick them up at the post office (reducing handling) or not. Some people who work
cannot get to the post office, while others would prefer less handled eggs.
Thank you for taking the time to read and review my preferred method of receiving shipped eggs. I thoroughly
understand the risks I am taking with shipped eggs and accept them. However I believe that following the Sally Sunshine
method will greatly reduce some of these risks.

I use a variation of this but double box and pad the space between boxes:

That seems like a lot of work and expensive but seems worth it!!

I'm jealous. I love hatching those fluffy faced babies. Maybe I'll just start sharing some photos of my past chicks. View attachment 1684799Yhe gal that I bought the eggs from..used this photo to show for her ads. A great great hatch for shipped eggs, all the way from Ga. to Ut.! Blue Americauna

So cute!!

Oh! No..sorry.. I will buy some hens. I have a friend who rescues fowl. I may find something from her, or get some some where else, then, give the hens to her during late fall. She also rescues goats, mules, ...love that she takes all roosters. Has a big place up against our west mountain. There will be folks actually looking for a rooster, or, like me, a few hens. People downsize, like I used to do when I hatched, kept.. and would raise some to lay. Let her take my stinkers, or the older ones. I ways had good layers. Now, will only get three girls. Will see if I can let them go this fall. I do get attached with some. Where there will only be three................?

That’s nice you have someone to take them!! Though how come you want to rehome them in fall/winter?

 

[cppeace]

That's good to hear the Quail eggs might be a bit tougher for shipping. If I have extras I will offer local sales for pretty cheap and then just butcher extras I don't need.
I have a big divided cage originally for my chinchillas, converted for pigeons and now will be used for quail. It's two layers and each can fit 4-5 so should be good for one layer breeders and one to grow out after out of the brooder.
My current incubation is going pretty well so far. Everyone once in a while it will slip down to 99 but generally stays 100-102 with still air so should be good so far. Will have another rough spot of adjusting temps for a day when adding the new eggs this Friday most likely. Will be doing first candling on Friday as well.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Myshire likely gets hatch rates on shipped eggs that high because she packs correctly.

Sadly I have tried to coach some with better packing techniques and they usually insist that there bad packing is not the problem but the Post Office is the problem.

If you see someone blaming the PO for broken and scrambled egg when shipped, do not get hatching eggs from them!

And yeah, I hate when people just automatically jump to blaming the post office!! Yeah, they suck at handling usually and aren’t the most gentle but if the eggs are well packed, that shouldn’t matter!!

I always just assumed it was because the mail trucks drive like crazy around here and we've basically got roads patterned like swiss cheese and washboards from all the farm equipment that uses them out here.

I don't recall anything outwardly wrong with how any were packaged, but it's been a long time, I was quite naive about shipped eggs back then, and any time I get anything poultry-related in the mail I'm a whirlwind of emotions. I don't really recall how either of my incubators were packaged when they arrived, either, and I just got the one last summer!

I see that box arrive and I'm already mentally unpackaging it, I guess.