I'm half way through day 18 and approaching lockdown. I candled the eggs this morning as the incubator was running at 37.8 (due to the heatwave - I can't keep the temperature down in the house) so I've turned the inc. temp down and it's back to 37.5 and wanted to see if any eggs were affected. All look Ok apart from one. Unfortunately it's a dark marans egg so can't see a whole lot anyway. It looks a little lighter inside than the others - maybe - so hard to see anything. It's also not an ideal shape it's long and thin. Air sac looks oK. It smells OK too, but this is only my third go at hatching eggs so don't know if I'd be able to smell it going bad through the shell? What do i do - remove it or keep it in for lockdown? Would appreciate some wise words from you experienced folks out there! The thought of exploding eggs is stressing me out.
Day 18 and not sure whether to remove an egg
- Thread starter chick
- Start date
The incubator is locked down now. After a final candling I decided not to go ahead with the suspect egg and when I broke it into a bowl there was a tiny embryo and a blood ring, it probably died about day 3 to 4. These marans are tricky little suckers I just can't see anything apart from the air sac. The only difference with this one is that although it was the darkest shell it wasn't totally black inside like the others at day 18. Hopefully over time I'll get more experienced at candling, I'm still finding it hard going.
But fingers crossed for the remaining 5 eggs, 2 wheaten marans and 3 light sussex. Phew! Does anyone else find the incubation period stressful?
But fingers crossed for the remaining 5 eggs, 2 wheaten marans and 3 light sussex. Phew! Does anyone else find the incubation period stressful?
MrsBiscuit
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Sorry nobody was about to respond to your original query, you weren't being ignored, although many of us do not hatch our own, and even if we do, then some people prefer to use a broody. Personally I use an incubator, but by some miracle I have never had a rotten egg so I can't answer about whether you could smell it or not. I think candling experience just comes with practice, although now there are lots of very helpful sites/videos online. If in doubt I keep the egg going, but if after say 10 days I am not happy then I throw it out. I run my incy dry, which has taken away a lot of the stress, and actually I don't worry overmuch about temp/humidity either although I do check it, but this is a result of having done it a few times, with the same old incy, in the same room indoors, so by now I know my own conditions. I am also all too aware that hens successfully hatch in far from ideal conditions! I also usually set 12 eggs as a minimum, so its not the end of the world if I lose a few, but only having 6 means they are more precious, I can really empathise with that. Anyway, fingers crossed for you and a successful outcome, you have chosen a lovely combination of breeds!
Thanks for your reply MrsBiscuit. I did think it was a bit of a long-shot, asking on a Sunday evening, but I had nothing to lose by asking. I tried setting some of my own eggs earlier in the year, but they all turned out to be infertile, so although I see our cockerel with the ladies, he's obviously not doing a good enough job. Some of them do look like they are fertile, so maybe I was unlucky with the ones I saved. So the ones in the incubator now are bought eggs, and seem all the more precious because of it.
Hen-Gen
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Yes chick, I find it stressful despite having hatched a lot of chicks. We have power cuts here, often at night so I have a device next to my bed that sounds an alarm if there’s a power cut. And, as you say you’re always unsure about the fertility of a young cockerel until he proves himself. Finally bought in eggs are always an unknown factor.
I never set eggs until March 21st, the spring equinox. This is because fertility can be low during the short winter days.
I never set eggs until March 21st, the spring equinox. This is because fertility can be low during the short winter days.
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If your alarm goes off in the night to wake you up and tell you about a power cut, what do you do then, HenGen?
I have visions of you taking the eggs back to bed with you and cuddling them to keep them warm!
I have visions of you taking the eggs back to bed with you and cuddling them to keep them warm!
Margaid
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Marigold said:
Me too Marigold!
Hen-Gen
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Oh chortle chortle ???!
I wrap the incubator in a duvet and crank up the heating to max. If it lasts then I have a generator. Planning though to get one of those Li/Fe battery packs which last for 24 hours then recharge from the mains. They’re portable so would be great for the electric hens if there was a later outage.
I wrap the incubator in a duvet and crank up the heating to max. If it lasts then I have a generator. Planning though to get one of those Li/Fe battery packs which last for 24 hours then recharge from the mains. They’re portable so would be great for the electric hens if there was a later outage.