Useless Shipped Eggs (: (: (:

[duckking]

So we were supposed to be hatching and I wasn't seeing any movement of the Maran eggs. I have just had a bad feeling about these eggs, becuz I was having trouble candling them, being so dark and me being inexperienced. Don't ask me why, but I just ended up taking them out of the bator and cracking them open. I left one in as it is the smallest, but felt heavier. I mean, who knows. Anyway, every single one was just white and yolk. Some of the yolks were even intact. That would mean unfertilized, right???? I got these form a VERY reputable egg hatching farm, shipped. I let them sit for 24 hours, got the bator going for 2 days in advance to ensure the conditions were optimum....Can the shipping just totally muck them up? Was it my bator? It's a Brinsea Mini Advanced and I followed the instructions to the 'T' including getting a special hygrometer, measuring the temp on the eggs, not just on top of the bator, etc. etc.

My son and I are so disappointed! BAH! I'm not sure if I should try again or get eggs locally from a breeder.....probably my best choice, so I can just pick them up. Or could it be the incubator? Did we do something wrong????

 

[Stacykins]

I'm sorry, that just really sucks. The heavier one might not be fertile either, since eggs lose weight slowly as they get closer to hatching. The aircell gets larger as water escapes the egg. So heavier might not have been better.

I doubt it was your bator. I know my first hatch in a Brinsea eco getting hand turned was great. So with a Brinsea advance, you have technology on your side! I am guessing the eggs just weren't fertile to begin with.

 

[youngbiddy]

If they were fertile you should see a little white bulls-eye on the yolk. There's a thread in here somewhere with pictures of what a fertile egg looks like.

Here's a link..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008&p=1

 

[chickengrl]

How long were they in the incubator? What did you have temp and humidity at? It does sound like they were not fertile with zero development.

 

[dickhorstman]

The American Poultry Assn. is holding their semi annual meeting and show in Stevenson,Wash. this weekend. A good place to meet some local breeders.

 

[duckking]

Quote:
They were in for 21 days, already in lockdown. Temp was at a constant 99.6F and humidity was between 40-50%RH during incubation and I had upped the humidity to 65-70% for lock down. But there was NO development at all! If they had been fertile, I should have expected some development? I know all the perils of shipping and really researched places that seemed to have a good reputation and success rate for shipped eggs.

Oh well.....I know it happens. I am just concerned that we did something wrong, but I can't imagine what. The place I got them from guarantee's fertility. I guess that is my question, were they even fertile?

Back to the chicken egg drawing board. I know someone locally who has Blue Orps, but no one who has Blue Splashed Marans. Those are the 2 breeds I would love to have.

 

[duckking]

Quote:
They were in for 21 days, already in lockdown. Temp was at a constant 99.6F and humidity was between 40-50%RH during incubation and I had upped the humidity to 65-70% for lock down. I even tried to keep track of their weight to judge the proper humidity. I mean I was fanatical about them

But there was NO development at all! If they had been fertile, I should have expected some development? I know all the perils of shipping and really researched places that seemed to have a good reputation and success rate for shipped eggs.

Oh well.....I know it happens. I am just concerned that we did something wrong, but I can't imagine what. The place I got them from guarantee's fertility. I guess that is my question, were they even fertile?

Back to the chicken egg drawing board. I know someone locally who has Blue Orps, but no one who has Blue Splashed Marans. Those are the 2 breeds I would love to have.

 

[duckking]

Quote:
Sorry for the double post. Thought I was just editing......

Thanks so much for the info. I will look into that!

 

[LeasureChix]

Quote:
They were in for 21 days, already in lockdown. Temp was at a constant 99.6F and humidity was between 40-50%RH during incubation and I had upped the humidity to 65-70% for lock down. But there was NO development at all! If they had been fertile, I should have expected some development? I know all the perils of shipping and really researched places that seemed to have a good reputation and success rate for shipped eggs.

Oh well.....I know it happens. I am just concerned that we did something wrong, but I can't imagine what. The place I got them from guarantee's fertility. I guess that is my question, were they even fertile?

Back to the chicken egg drawing board. I know someone locally who has Blue Orps, but no one who has Blue Splashed Marans. Those are the 2 breeds I would love to have.

I'm sorry you didn't have better luck with your eggs. I recently hatched Blue Splash Marans that I bought on an ebay auction. The auction was for 12+. I got extras and hatched out 8 chicks. So far there are a couple that look gorgeous. Others that are kinda so so. They are only a few weeks old and this is my first experience with the breed so I'm just going to wait and see how they turn out. I also won an ebay auction for golden cuckoo marans. Also 12+, also ended up with 8 chicks. Not very "golden", most look more like a regular cuckoo marans. On both breeds, about 50% were feather legged.

Good luck to you! Hope you get a better hatch next time.

 

[petunias212]

i'm really feeling for you...I had 18 shipped eggs...5 marans..none of my marans made it...all scrambled it seems...I'm currently down to just three surviving developing eggs on day 13..majority of my eggs seemed to have been scrambled....

rough shipping is what it amounts to in my case...