**UPDATE** on shrink-wrapped chick...HE'S OUT! :0)

[WillowWoodsFarm]

I have a dozen of mix breed chicken eggs in the bator. Had trouble with the humidity (because of wrong instructions that I found on the internet) during my first incubation but still got 11 out of it! This time I am incubating dry for the first 18 days and Im going to put them in the egg cartons at lockdown.
Hope to find a/some hatching buddies :0)

 

[WillowWoodsFarm]

I candled my eggs lastnight and I have 7 bouncy little babies, 3 duds and 2 that I am unsure of BUT I think it may possibly be 1 good and 1 bad. I will check again in another week and see if there is any change.
Should I do the float test on them? Do I have to wait for a certain amount of time to do the float test?

 

[heksa]

My quail eggs are due on the 14th, so a few days before yours.
I started out with 50 and pulled 7 out a week ago.
I candled a few yesterday and they all looked good so I'm just going to leave them alone, until they hatch.

I never had quail before and am a little apprehensive.
I have a week to figure out what I'm going to do with so many birds.

 

[heksa]

Quote:
I've hatched two batches of chicken eggs so far, and never did the float test.
Acctually I may have, but only after a bunch already hatched and I wanted to check if the unhatched ones had anything living in them. Is that the purpose of a float test?

 

[BrownSheep]

I have a batch of EEs due the 17th!...so far my incubation has been pretty cruddy, but it is probably because I use shipped eggs. 0/12 from my first batch of BCM, 2/12 from welsummers, and 3/16 BCM. I'm hoping the issue is the eggs and no my incubator.

I'm interested on how the dry meathod will work for you.

 

[BrownSheep]

I candles my eggs last night I had two diffinate wigglers 3 clear ones, and ten that I have no clue about. I leave ALL my eggs in the incubator just in case I'm wrong.

 

[WillowWoodsFarm]

OMGosh...Im so sorry I didnt get a chance to write back on my own thread, lol, I have been so busy these last couple of days that I havent even been able to think about the internet, lol. I only did the float test on my eggs that didnt hatch, like 5 days after my other ones got down hatching. I also candled them, first, before I did the float test. I didnt want to throw them away if God forgbid there was a chick still alive! WOW, possibly 43 quails! I have only hatched chickens so far but maybe in the future, I will try another type of bird...that would be cool! Im excited to find out what happens are your end with the quails and seeing pics!

BrownSheep....Thats the way I was with my first batch of eggs, I had no clue how to even candle them properly and didnt even know what I was looking for, but as soon as I figured it out, I wanted to candle them all the time, lolololol...but I was able to resist temptation, lol. I did however have 2 that I thought I saw something moving in them but when my children and I did eggtopsies on them, they were completely NOTHING! All yolk and egg whites, nothing else, lol. I was hard to see through some of them because they were brown, some darker than others. But, I learned alot during my first hatch! Now, EEs are easter eggers, right? I want some of those chickens so bad! I am excited to see what I get out of this hatch, being that they are from a farm with many different types of chickens!

 

[KalikoFarms]

I have silkies and golden crested due on the 14th. Candled tonight and out of 13 shipped silkie eggs only had 5 maybe six that is a possibility.....sooooo disappointed. Oh well I guess that just means I need to order MORE. I think I am going to wait (if I can) until it cools off a bit. dont know if that has anything to do with it but thats what I am thinking.

 

[WillowWoodsFarm]

I have never ordered eggs but almost everything I read about eggs that get shipped, dont have a very good hatch rate :0( Have you ever looked into getting them more locally? I went on craigs list and found someone selling buff orpington hatching eggs. I think I paid 4/dozen and he actually gave me 16 just incase his rooster didnt make all of his rounds, lol. Luckily, my husband's boss has a farm so I can get eggs anytime from him! Look into it, if you havent already.
Cant wait till one of us goes into labor

lol

 

[BrownSheep]

yep shipped eggs are a bummer most of the time, but I'm to lazy to hunt down local fertile eggs. EE does stand for easter eggers. I have a few already and cant wait for them to start laying.