What is the best way to hatch shipped eggs????

[RubyNala97]

My shipped eggs are on day 7.  The four that had detached air cells still seem detached to me (I'm new to this), but two of them seem to have something developing.  There is just a dark area in the egg, I'm guessing this is a good thing.  Of the 6 that had what I thought were good air cells, only 2 appear to have anything developing.

I'm bummed.  Like, really bummed.  I know I shouldn't have had such high hopes for shipped eggs on my first incubation, but I couldn't help it.  I really wanted Blue Laced Red Wyandottes.  I've posted a question in my state thread (Vermont) but I don't think there are very many people in my area.  Hoping that I might find someone remotely close to me who has chicks or eggs   In the meantime I'll keep crossing my fingers for these little eggs to do something.

How many did you start with? Only 2 appear to be developing? Are they white shells? I know how you feel. I started with 7 and only have 3 in lockdown right now. I said the same thing, I knew shipped eggs were risky but I read about people that get really good hatch rates with shipped but technically it's about a 30% hatch rate. Keep your hopes up!! I left all the eggs in the incubator till day 14 just incase.

 

[CrzyChknLady81]

Sorry for being MIA guys, family emergency. . But had another hatch of shipped eggs hatch..this was a start of about 25 eggs, but this time, when I moved them from the incu to the hatcher, I set them upright in cartons with the bottoms cut out. 14 went into lock down, 11 hatched. The other 3 never internally pipped and 2 of those 3 looked like they quit around Day 19.. Those that had air cells with the big U on one side hatched just fine upright, maybe even easier than those from earlier hatches that I laid on their sides during hatching.
So I guess, from my experience I'm definitely going to be hatching upright in cartons from now on
Hope this helps..also have 6..yes 6 now, lost 2 more..of the Tolbunts in lock down.. tomorrow is Day 20.. they've are also upright..so here's hoping for 2 good hatches in a row.

 

[CrzyChknLady81]

Great info here!

I just set 12 silky eggs this morning that were shipped from KY to WI. I let them sit out about 36 hours upright in egg cartons before I put them in the incubator. I have them on their sides though, and I do the turning. Is that not good? How long should I wait until I start turning them?

This will be my first experience with silkies also. Sounds like they might be a little tougher to hatch than others?

I used to let all shipped eggs sit out to rest for 18-24 hours before setting them. Now, I set them in the turner in the incubator as soon as I get them unpacked and then I just leave them alone for 3 days. No turning, nothing.. I figure that considering they may not be the freshest, I want to start them asap. Sitting upright inside or outside of the bator, they're still resting, why not get a head start on the growing
I think it depends on the Silkie when it comes to difficulty in hatching. For example, I bought 18 eggs from x breeder last year, had great development, air cells were perfect and hatched 11, only 1 vaulted skull. This year I ordered 18 more from the same breeder, the same breeder birds, the same time of year..the air cells were all over the place, I ended up with 4 live chicks and 2 have vaulted skulls and I think vaulted skulls was the major factor in the other 4 that made it to lockdown not hatching.
In my experience, Silkies usually hatch a day early, and if they have trouble, it will be during hatch at pipping and zipping. IF they have vaulted skulls and can pip, they may still not be able to zip at all or if they do get started they can't turn fully. Again, this is just my experience. .

 

[RubyNala97]

I used to let all shipped eggs sit out to rest for 18-24 hours before setting them. Now, I set them in the turner in the incubator as soon as I get them unpacked and then I just leave them alone for 3 days. No turning, nothing.. I figure that considering they may not be the freshest, I want to start them asap. Sitting upright inside or outside of the bator, they're still resting, why not get a head start on the growing
I think it depends on the Silkie when it comes to difficulty in hatching. For example, I bought 18 eggs from x breeder last year, had great development, air cells were perfect and hatched 11, only 1 vaulted skull. This year I ordered 18 more from the same breeder, the same breeder birds, the same time of year..the air cells were all over the place, I ended up with 4 live chicks and 2 have vaulted skulls and I think vaulted skulls was the major factor in the other 4 that made it to lockdown not hatching.
In my experience, Silkies usually hatch a day early, and if they have trouble, it will be during hatch at pipping and zipping. IF they have vaulted skulls and can pip, they may still not be able to zip at all or if they do get started they can't turn fully. Again, this is just my experience. .

I've read that the eggs should sit out until they reach room temperature. That you shouldn't put a cool egg into the incubator because they can get thermal shock. I let mine sit for 12 hours and then stuck then in the incubator before going to bed. I agree that the sooner you can start them the better, because we really don't know exactly how old they are. My 3 silkie eggs hit day 20 at 9 pm tonite. I hope I wake up with some pips. Cross your fingers for me!!

 

[CrzyChknLady81]

If they are cold, I will let them sit til they reach room temp, but usually it only takes about an hour so by the time I get the eggs unpacked and everything ready, they're as close to room temp as they'll get. It's about 80° degrees here during the days, so I worry more about them starting on their own or other ill effects from the high temps.
I think the main thing to avoid when setting is to make sure that your eggs aren't so cold that they 'sweat' when placed in the incubator.
Share pics of your babies ♡♡ There is nothing cuter than a Silkie chick

 

[amanda802]

How many did you start with? Only 2 appear to be developing? Are they white shells? I know how you feel. I started with 7 and only have 3 in lockdown right now. I said the same thing, I knew shipped eggs were risky but I read about people that get really good hatch rates with shipped but technically it's about a 30% hatch rate. Keep your hopes up!! I left all the eggs in the incubator till day 14 just incase.

I started with 10. As far as I can tell, 4 are developing; 2 that looked good to start and 2 that looked terrible to start. They're brown eggs, and one of them is quite dark so I may be missing something on that one. I'll give them another week before getting rid of any, as long as they don't start to stink. Good luck with yours, hopefully you'll have some chicks in a few days

 

[RubyNala97]

I woke up to a pip!!! So eggcited!!! It's gonna be a long day!!

 

[CrzyChknLady81]

I woke up to a pip!!! So eggcited!!! It's gonna be a long day!!

YAY!!!!
I was up about 60 times last night checking my Tolbunts.. mainly to check for pips, but also bc our temps dropped down to the 30s last night when our low has been 50+ for the last 2 weeks and I was worried about it affecting my incu and hatcher..still no pips here..but all but 3 of my paint eggs are developing...woohoo. .I can not wait til the 'end' of hatching season to have all my future breeders and yard candy ♡♡
Best of luck with your babies, I'll be checking in for updates

 

[RubyNala97]

The second egg got stuck 3/4 the way through his zip! After 2 hours, I ever so slightly pulled the last bit of egg apart and he did the rest. Major vaulted skull, like we talked about before! So I have 2 out of 3 so far. Hoping the last one pips tonight. This is awesome! So worth the 21 day wait!!

 

[CrzyChknLady81]

The second egg got stuck 3/4 the way through his zip! After 2 hours, I ever so slightly pulled the last bit of egg apart and he did the rest. Major vaulted skull, like we talked about before! So I have 2 out of 3 so far. Hoping the last one pips tonight. This is awesome! So worth the 21 day wait!!

Welcome to the club ♡♡ I will freely admit that I'm a rule breaker when it comes to hatching..but there are several happy healthy adults running around that otherwise wouldn't be here..they say helping leads to weak chicks, etc..but I feel if they've don't most of the work on their own AND the reason they're having trouble is from something we humans bred into them, the least I can do is help ..