What Happened???

[weaversfarm]

I made a one hour trip to pick up 3 dozen hatching eggs from a farm rather than have them shipped. They are barred rocks, wyandottes, and copper marans. When I went there to pick them up she told me they might have gotten too cold, but they should be ok. When she opened the egg cartons for me to see the eggs, they are really dirty, or at least by my standards they are dirty. She told me to just take a paper towel and wipe off what I could get but don't wash them. I got them home, wiped off some of the dirt with a dry paper towel and let them set in the egg cartons until they were warmer, maybe 2 hours. I set them on December 6th in the incubator with a turner. I have noticed an awful odor coming from the incubator and on day 18 when it was time to take them out of the turner I did notice one egg had cracked open so we took that one out. They were supposed to hatch out today and not one egg has hatched yet. I can usually hear pipping or cheeping in the egg on day 21, but hear nothing. I don't have a light bright enough to candle, so none are candled. (That is my next purchase). I have hatched eggs out 5 or 6 times, including duck eggs with a 90% hatch rate, so I am just not understanding what happened. I have posted a picture of the eggs and maybe you can tell me if the eggs being so dirty has caused them not to hatch. This is the first time I have ever had a stench before. When getting ready to take this picture I noticed another egg oozing, so I took that one out. The temp. was at 99.5-100 degrees for the whole 21 days and water was kept in the incubator. Any insight would be appreciated. I have never had a hatch where not one single egg hatched out.

 

[groundpecker]

It looks like you got some eggs that were hidden and were later found. I would not have accepted such dirty eggs. Any eggs that i find that are that dirty, i will throw them away. There is nothing you can do now, but in the future, you should not accept such dirty eggs.

 

[justin24]

Wait alittle while and notify the famer asap srry to hear that

 

[Roxannemc]

I have had hatches with dirty eggs Dont think that is it.Funny none hatched.I wonder it they were too cold when set.2 hours seems pretty minimal for cold eggs or they all had frozen before you got them but Even non shipped i would have let them set for 12 hours to let the air cells settle Without candling as the incubation went on its hard to say if they were infertile in the beginning or what.I would call the lady and tell her not one hatched.She might give you some for lower cost or freeAnd.How were your temps during incubation?Did they spike high for a length of time.I would think guessing though the eggs were still not room temp inside or air cells wonky from the drive when set.Sorry for your bad hatch.

 

[weaversfarm]

My incubator was at a steady 99.5-100 degrees the whole time. She had them setting out when I got there, then the hour ride home in the car, and the 2 hours after that I thought would be enough time to get up to temp before setting them. I have always hatched out my own eggs, never bought them before, so didn't know to let them set 12 hours before incubating them. When I got there, the eggs were still pretty cold, so I am thinking these are they got too cold in the coop. I am also wondering if these aren't floor eggs, as dirty as they are. I have never set eggs so dirty, so I wasn't sure if that could have something to do with it or not. I will contact the lady tomorrow and see what she says. Thank you for the responses.

 

[djstrickland]

I do not wipe or clean any of my hatching eggs (no matter how dirty they are). The eggs have a natural coating that keeps oils and such out; the dirt shouldn't hurt them. Since you have hatched many times before, you obviously have an idea of what you are doing. It sounds like the problem is with the supplier...

But do give them a few extra days. Since you haven’t been able to candle them, I would also crack a few of them open and have a look inside if you decide to pull the plug. Who knows, it could be age, the weather, or they may not be fertile at all.

Good luck on the next round!

 

[Roxannemc]

My hens if the eggs are in with them a length of time after laying .... a day or more they get dirtyMore dirty the longer usually .
.FRESH they are clean unless its muddy out so they may have been ones she found around as the other post said and not just collected within hours of the laying.
Dirt i dont think in itself hurts them as the hen puts a "bloom" on the outside that blocks bacteria from entering. why you dont want to washs them. befpore setting ..but laying around for days might cause freezing in very cold weather or just lower viablity.

I had one of my best hatches with some pretty dirty eggs and so have others on here

But WHEN they were laid..... WOULD affect hatch
.
So Deduction... the fact all the breeds you bought ALL didnt hatch ...leads me to believe it was some other thing though... Something that affected ALL of the eggs you had .
Every breed every egg.
I think if she gathered eggs even some hidden ones all wouldnt be old SOME would be fresher so you would maybe get 2 to hatch or 3..... So unless they sold you old eggs on purpose ...or ones they had gathered a long time before like 3-4 weeks none just gathered ...then all i can think of would be not letting the air cell settle or too cold inside the egg still and the heat i have read if the eggs are still cold will kill them.
I have only bought local eggs once rest were shipped and like you I drove home 3 hours with the local on a coat on my car seat...
The breeder told me to let them set in the room temp for 12 hours before setting in the bator
I may have put mine in way sooner too unless he told me that.
.I didnt do 12 but did do 10 hours and got 4 out of 6 eggs hatch.One was clear.
My shipped i always let them set 12-24 hours big end up when they arrive to give them a chance to settle
I had read you get a bigger % of hatch on shipped when you do let them settle.

BUT again.... She did SAY they were cold which must have lead her to believe it could affect hatch...or why would sne even mention that at all.?.

That is a lot of eggs you bought and the gas you used adds upt o $$$ so i think i would contact her and just say none NOT ONE hatched and you have used your bator on your own eggs before with good sucess rate . Can she do anything to help you out.?
See what she says
Most ppl would give you some or sell them cheaper if they are more rare with that bad of a hatch and were picked up not shipped if they are good business ppl



Again sorry for your dissapointment and good luck on future eggs!

 

[weaversfarm]

It was very cold the day we went up to get them and I could tell the eggs were also wet, so I will call her to see what she says. Even the hatcheries give you and extra egg or two, she didn't give me any, which is probably a good thing cause they wouldn't have made it either. I just hatched out ducks this summer. This is the first time I haven't had a single egg hatch..and out of 36 eggs! I am glad for the input here, although I have hatched eggs out before, I wanted to make sure I didn't do anything to cause such a huge loss.
I didn't let them "rest" because they went from the barn to her house, to my car, so not a lot of rattling around for them. I did leave them out to warm up though before I put them in the incubator, maybe not long enough. Thanks for the help all.

 

[FenDruadin]

It doesn't sound like the seller was very careful with the eggs. From collecting dirty eggs (my chicken eggs are never that dirty--the duck eggs, SURE, but not chickens), to leaving them out in too-cold weather... I just think there are too many signs here that you've got an irresponsible seller... I'd definitely contact her and ask for a refund at minimum. And I'd probably not do business with her again. Kind of a shame, but there it is.

Sorry about your poor hatch.

 

[weaversfarm]

I just contacted her and she has agreed to give me more eggs. I have to make the trip up there again, but at least she is offering to give them to me. So, I should let them set out at room temp for 12-24 hours before I set them or do I put them at 50 degrees while they settle?