Thread formerly known as Hatch day is today

[QuackerJackFarms]

There's just somethign weird in the air these days it seems like. My life has been nothing less than chaos and madness the past week. I was almost to work today when hubby called me to tell me the power was out at the house. On a sunny, calm spring day. For no apparent reason.

So I told him to go wrap up the incubators with blankets. With all my expensive eggs.

There's a bit of a story about the eggs themselves: I didn't realize one of my sellers had marked on the box for the post office to hold the package. So they held all of the eggs! I had to make a mad panic dash to the post office to get them. I was so afraid they'd be mushed or something but all were fine.

Anyhow, hubby rushes to get the gennie going and runs an extension cord up to the loft to plug in the incubators. But it won't work. Guess the gennie ran out of gas while he was inside attaching the extension cords. Right about then the power came back on. Ahh!

I'm happy its the weekend. I need a break.

The Universe is off here too. I'll spare you the details.

That sucks.....maybe you should start one for our thread????

That's a great idea.

 

[country_girl011]

That sucks.....maybe you should start one for our thread????

ehh itll be ok .
ill use them . im going to make a calander for next year.

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

Candled Sebs last night.
#1- don't see Anything at all.
#2- Eh..? Is that a red dot? Can't really tell..
#3- VEINING!!!!



Really hoping #2 gets going. There is something going on, but I can't really tell yet if it's starting to vein or a blood line is forming. There is some dirt on the egg and it's harder to see.

 

[QuackerJackFarms]

ehh itll be ok .
ill use them . im going to make a calander for next year.

That's a good idea too.

 

[Iain Utah]

Candled Sebs last night.
#1- don't see Anything at all.
#2- Eh..? Is that a red dot? Can't really tell..
#3- VEINING!!!!



Really hoping #2 gets going. There is something going on, but I can't really tell yet if it's starting to vein or a blood line is forming. There is some dirt on the egg and it's harder to see.

Veining egg:

Egg #2:

 

[70%cocoa]

Marty, got my fingers crossed for Duckling Number 1. Hoping for some good news there today.

 

[sbost]

Dumb question: I am embarrassed asking such a basic question but I can't find the answer anywhere. Last night when we starting checking air sacks on our eggs that were 23 days old, we noticed one of our pekin eggs had tried to pip through the egg I think. The egg had an area about the size of a pea that was notched outward in the air sac area. We moved it to the hatching incubator and it rocked and peeped a few times but nothing else. This AM we candled it and saw movement. So my question is is it an external pip I am seeing but what do you call it since it didn't break through the shell? Also this egg was still in the egg turner...

Also we are noticing that our pekin eggs have much larger air sacks than our buff, west india and snowy mallard eggs. Is this normal?

Thanks!!

 

[Iain Utah]

Air cells make a dramatic change anywhere between days 22-25. The baby is turning inside the egg to get ready for hatching... as it turns, it causes the air cell to make a dramatic dip. This is the time to lay the egg, with dip side facing up, and stop turning.

If you are hearing peeping, your duckling has internally pipped. If you see a raised dimple on shell, a crack, or even a piece of shell chipped off, then it has externally pipped. Make sure your humidity is up over 70%.

Best of luck!!

 

[Iain Utah]

FYI, there are basically three layers a baby has to break through to hatch. The outermost is the hard shell. Just within that is a thin papery looking membrane. Then the baby is wrapped inside a membrane as if in an enclosed plastic sack. While inside that inner membrane, it does not use its lungs to breathe like we do. However, when the baby breaks through that inside membrane, it triggers the lungs to begin functioning. Once the lungs are working, that is officially the completion of internal pipping. Then it will rest and allow its lungs to develop regular breathing pattern.... but it will then begin to use up all of the air inside the shell... which will trigger a muscle spasm process to break through the outer shell enough to get air. Once they break through the shell, they have externally pipped.

 

[70%cocoa]

Sbost your Pekin eggs probably have bigger air cells because the shells just happen to be more porous or thinner and this has allowed more moisture to escape during the incubation period. Not a problem as long as they are not TOO big. If air cells are getting too big too fast you can raise the humidity to slow down moisture loss from the egg. Bit hard when you have a mixed batch though.

Overall, eggs should lose about 14% of their weight during the incubation period.