Welsh Harlequin eggs shipped to hatch

[Everose]

It’s my first time with shipped eggs so Ive been worrying, especially cause my kids have their hearts set on some welsh harlequins. But candling today made me feel better. Did all yours hatch?

Two were infertile, one lost too much weight, and two didn't lose enough weight, while the sixth just quit towards the end.

 

[Everose]

None of them quit because of air cells tho!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Just a little update....

I’ve still got them going vertical, I was gonna lay them down so I could use the auto turner but forgot I’ve got 8 eggs in there and my turner will only do 7. So I am still turning by hand every few hours and can’t help myself and did some candling and I can see very faint small veins and a heartbeat on one of the eggs!

I know it’s still early and anything can happen but knowing atleast one is on it’s way is getting me excited. I’ve been reading so many horror stories about shipped eggs so I’ve kinda had a glass half empty attitude. I’m hoping tomorrow has lots of veins and heartbeats!!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Today’s update....

Day 6
#1 infertile

#2 fertile, strong veins and heartbeat!

#3 infertile

#4 based on yolk color I believe it was fertile but didn’t make it very far, no veins that I can see

#5 infertile

#6 fertile, but doesn’t look far enough along for day 6 and I believe I see the start of a blood ring

#7 fertile, but doesn’t look far enough along for day 6. Possible early quitter?

#8 fertile, but doesn’t look far enough along for day 6. Possible early quitter?

So not looking good, I’m gonna keep them all in there for a few more days and check again. But I’m thinking so far I’ve only got one but I’ve got my fingers crossed for #7 & #8

So here’s egg #2, the one that looks great. I do have a question though. All my eggs from my own flock that I’ve hatched the embryo was more in the middle of the egg. This shipped one is super close to the air cell, is that ok or gonna be a problem?

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

Not really sure about the embryo, but don't dispose of any eggs until day 10 if you are certain about them. Fingers crossed for more developments!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I’m gonna keep them all for a few more days but I candled again today and they don’t seem to be progressing and even the one good egg no longer has a heartbeat. But I’m gonna see what the next few days bring. Fingers crossed!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Eggs 2, 6, 7 and 8 all are alive and have movement! I still do think they look behind to be on day 9. Could that be a temp issue? I have a thermometer in there but I haven’t really looked at the temp cause I use it for humidity.

Also when I thought there was only 1 viable egg I ordered ducklings to arrive the week these hatch so it wouldn’t be a singleton.... now I may have more than I bargained for lol

 

[BabyGotQuack]

I did!

Sure.
First I weigh and number each individual egg upon arrival, then I candle and record any jiggly or saddled air cells, if you see watery liquid at the top of the egg then the air cell is broken and there's no way it'll survive.
I would normally let them rest for 24hrs, but my eggs sat in the post office over the weekend so I just popped them in the waiting incubator. I candled on day 10 (once or twice before but I won't remove any until day 10) and record weight. They tend to lose more weight towards the end of incubation, but if you notice a lot, or hardly any weight loss, you'll want to adjust your humidity.

So I reweighed today and realized I have no idea what it means

I’ve been trying to read up on it but haven’t found any solid info. They’ve all lost weight, some not as much as others. Today is day 12, about how much should they have lost and if they are “over weight” or “underweight” does that mean raise or lower the humidity?

 

[Everose]

So I reweighed today and realized I have no idea what it means

I’ve been trying to read up on it but haven’t found any solid info. They’ve all lost weight, some not as much as others. Today is day 12, about how much should they have lost and if they are “over weight” or “underweight” does that mean raise or lower the humidity?

They should lose 10-14% of their starting weight before hatch if I remember right. I'd say if they've lost significant weight at only day 12 the humidity should be raised a bit more. I usually only see close to 10-14% at about 20 days since they lose most of the weight at the end. I like to see ideal weight loss at day 26 and then I bump up the humidity for the rest of the hatch. The reason to weigh and closely watch is so that you can avoid shrink-wrapped ducklings and sticky goopy stuck ducklings.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

So we are on day 24 and are down to 2 eggs but they both look good and one is a rockin and rollin around! Gonna check again tonight for internal pips to make sure we don’t need to lockdown early.

Also my metzer ducklings shipped today so they should arrive really close to hatch!