I just candled it, and it appears like there at least were two that developed, but one was moving the other one I didn't see any movement, but the dark space was the same size as the other side. If it is a dead embryo - I don't imagine the live one will do so well once the other one starts to decompose.
Does Double-yolker = Twins?
I know this is kind of off the subject but it's equally as strange. I had a pigeon egg that got "caved in" on one side where it hit he other egg at some point. Everyone told me to throw it away becuse there was no way it would hatch, and it did. He was just fine.
yes my neighbour did hatch 2 out of one egg but if one is dead i dont know but there is no proof it is dead maybe he/she was just tired
I don't see how there would be enough room in one egg for two chicks to fully develop healthy
it was not a normal egg if you hav seen one u would know it could happen and i have seen some pretty small chickens i am sure they will be fine lol hope all goes well fingers crossed
Scott, isn't this day 14?
you should be seeing lots of veins and two good sized blobs, if you can see around the two yolks...
can you take a pic of your candling and post it?
make sure you have some very small syringes on hand, in case you have to help them eat/drink...
what else is in the incubator?
In the bator are 14 Seramas, 2 Light Brahma bantams, 4 Silver-pencilled Rock bantams, and the big double. They are going into the hatcher tomorrow. The empty slots will be filled with the 24 ameraucana eggs I got today. I also have 15 Buff Orp eggs for my sister (replacing the four that died from MMH), which are at day 6. I am candling later tonight and will try to get some photos. I have the syringes on hand and ready to go.
I'm sorry, I can't get photos. I just candled and it is so dark in there that nothing would show. I can't smell anything bad, and there is less clear space than 4 days ago, so I have to imagine that something is still growing in there. There does appear to be clear space more on one side of the egg, but that could also be interpreted as the middle if I turn the egg 90 degrees too. I will now on Thursday what happened.
I also looked, and there are only 12 serama eggs, 11 are fine, 1 is possibly dead but not sure enough to take it out yet. The 15 BO eggs appear to be 100 % fertile! One egg is marginal but the other 14 are definitely growing. Got them from those people that have the ebay and eggbid auctions that say "from our Christian farm". They are supposed to be SQ birds.
cool, goo dto know. i am sure tempted to get some more self blue eggs. they said show quality. out of seven they shipped, i got four fertile/non-TAC, but only one made it to the hatcher. he needs some mates his size! so i will have to visit egg bid again soon.
i must be ill with bator fever. this has to stop...
I am really wondering how much the shipping process affects the integrity of the air cell. The 15 BO eggs were all in perfect shape, and not packaged any differently than other eggs I have rec'd. I'll wager that the nutrition of the hen may have a significant role.
i thought so too. but since i considered it also could be the handling/storage of the egg prioor to shipping as well... wait & see if 2-3 develop the TACs...
Here's the result - I candled the 2x from the hatcher, as it should've pipped or peeped today - There was no movement, so I opened up the egg, and yes it was twins. Hard to say what day they made it to, but both were the same size, maybe day 16 or 17? There seemed to be plenty of room for them to go full term. I am having a terrible hatch right now - started with 27 serama eggs, 5 are alive now and pipping. Had 24 bantam rock eggs, 4 are alive. And then of course the 2X egg. I do have 1 BO egg in the incubator now that I got in the mail which may be a 2x also, not sure about that yet.
Guess you don't have to be "from a land down-under" to make it work.
Hi Scott, have you considered using a Silkie or Nankin as a broody for your Serama eggs? I was just reading that "several breeders (of Serama) say that they have the best luck with hatching eggs when they have had them brooded naturally by other breeds, such as Silkies," From "Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds."
Good excuse for more breeds!
oh bad luck with the twins and dont worry i had 27 eggs and only one hatched and that one jump out of my hands(my fault should of held it tighter) and hurt its leg so i am nursing it into good health .me and you r just having a bad season lol
Yes Cat, Silkies fit into my overall plan for just that purpose. Those Serama eggs seem to be pretty sensitive. I had two hatch this am, and have one other pipped. The other two are alive but no pips from them. Today is day 20 for them which so far has been the magic day for the serama hatches. It is interesting because I have other breeds in the incubator at the same time which take a day longer (21) to hatch. My theory is that because serama moms are so small, there is less body heat transferred to the egg, so when they are incubated at the "normal" chicken temp, it is actually warmer than it is supposed to be for the seramas to hatch right. My next batch of seramas are going to be by themselves at 98 degrees and see what happens. I'll never know if I don't try.
Hi, Scott.
Sorry to hear about the twins and the low hatch rate. Not
to question your method one bit, but are you using a
styrofoam bator? I also am using a styro one, and have read
from one source that successive hatches in them can
get progressively worse. I will start round 2 of incubation
on about Tuesday, and it has been 'resting' after a thorough
scrub and disinfect for almost 7 weeks.
I just wanted to compare experience, as Mel's second
round didn't go very well, and she was attentive to it's cleaning.
I am hoping the extended period will let any remaining
bacteria dissipate or die from lack of 'stuff' it needs.
Yes - as it happens my incubator and hatcher are both styro.......
I bleach in between hatches but there could be something to your theory. I am going to make the plunge this next winter and ante up for a sportsman or similar large 'bator.
good idea, truest, mine have been cleaned and sitting too.
Sorry scott, but so proud there were two in there!
My theory is that the eggs are so small, it takes less time for them to warm up and soak up humidity... my tiny OEG came from a small egg, but not as small as Scott's, and he was 20 days...
That's the ticket! I wonder if there is a way to coat
the inside of the styro- I think if they can make a 'to form'
water tray for the bottom, they could make something
similar for the inside. Like a throw away something. hmm.
Or- buy the incubator parts package, and build a bator
out of plexiglass with the styro on the outside. hmm.
Or! Anti-up, and spend the bucks like you're going to do.
Oh, idea about the size of the eggs. My instructions
about certain quail eggs are for a lower RH. My coturnix
did fine at the chicken egg settings, but for the mountain
quail, which eggs are similar in size to the other quail, they
recommend a 50% RH to inc. and up to 60% to hatch.
They will be here about Tuesday.gulp. Wish me luck.
That's a good theory, TF. It is very possible, and makes
sense.
here is another thought i had, but havne't looke dinto it yet. it should be realtively inexpensive to buy ne bottoms for the hovabators. and that is the part that gets contaminated.
i ran my trays through the dishwasher and forgot to ski pthe high temp scour and sani rinse. so they are warped and i need new ones of those too.
i can't see the top and certainly not the heating elements really holding any germs.
and if i could manage to NEVER overfill those trays, then that nasty water would never gett in to the lower styrofoam to begin with...
As far as sterilization goes---I think I mentioned somewhere that the Stromberg book on improving hatches (its from a commercial hatchery) goes into detail about fumigating absolutely everything with Formaldehyde, including the eggs. Now formaldehyde is a known carcinogin, so I know I won't be doing it. But it does suggest how important getting every nook and cranny clean is. Makes sense when you consider you have been incubating not only the eggs, but every mold and bacteria present, in a nice warm, humid environment. It seems like moving the eggs into a hatcher would help to keep the main incubator cleaner. But what are we all going to do with our contaminated styrofoam incubators?
I like truest's idea about somehow coating the inside--maybe with some sort of spray polymer that would seal the microscopic holes without giving off fumes?
I experimented with fiberglass resin and it melted the styrofoam (I used a test piece of styro, not the incubator itself). It all comes back to one thing, remember the thread that I suggested the self-adhesive roofing product (product name is grace ice and water shield or bituthene (bitch - a - thane))? It sticks to anything and is impermeable to any fluids. It may be worth a try.
My thoughts about the upper areas of the bator getting
contaminated are that if you use a fan, stuff gets blown
all over the place. I wonder if you could just run a smooth
hot something all over the styro surface to intentionally
melt it to seal it, but a controlled melt. I also think the trays
are a good place to hide bacteria, as well as the untold
number of small surfaces on the screen tray. After 1 hatch
and with my hard water, I already have residue on my tray.
Wish I had ordered extra.
The fogging method is probably very effective. Does the
roofing smear stuff dry to a smooth surface?
How about that plastic /rubber coat spray paint?
Do they still make it?
(It might make it melt),but it leaves a rubbery coating on like tool handles and stuff
I use tektrol spray on my incubators,sometimes even with eggs in there
I also use Oxine or bleach in the humitidy water
(just a few drops......)
Truest- The roofing stuff is a sheet of rubber with self adhesive backing.
I like the idea of the rubberized spray. Hadn't thought of that. Yes they still make it. Autoparts stores sell it, and no, it shouldn't melt foam.
I have a can to dip parts in.. like the handles of plyers... would you like me to dip a piece of solid syrofoam into it..., actually, I will pour it on and try to roll it to see if I can "work" it to seal the styro surface... will let you know what happens.
I've decided to boil my humidity water. We are on a well,
and while no one has become sick, it could still have stuff
in it. I am trying Brinsea's disinfectant spray from concentrate.
It can be used on everything but the electrical, of course,
including eggs as a wash before incubating or storing as
eating eggs.
The rubberized spray sounds interesting. Does it dry like
the stuff you can dip tool handles in?
Maine, any pips yet?
Let us know, Frans. I would like to find out how that works
for you.
Now you guys remember.. I don't have an incubator.. I want one... but this experiement is for you.. and in the end.. for me too.. I just happen to have some extra stuff... and besides.. maineac always gets to have all the fun...hehe
good idea on the water truest. call me weird, my incubator & my chicks only get DI water from the store. i load up on it when it is half price once a week. outside the chickens get DI water when i keep them closed up, otherwise they prefer the well or rain water...
got my hatcher at the right temp and humidity. moving my own hens eggs in tonight. will see what happens. my nose tells me that i cleaned it well enough. i was boiling some other stuff last night and decided to pour boiling water into the bottom part before setting it up. what could it hurt? a littl eadded sterilization...
tf
Have had my incubator cleaned for many weeks, but
disinfected it and the turner today, again, and set
it up for the mountian quail eggs due mon or tue.
Still blocking off parts of the water channel to get the
RH down where I need it. The MQ take 25 days!
wow, so long?
have my 13 eggs ou tof 24 originally set in the hatcher with fan. keeping the rH and temp lower than last time. hope to have 13 hcicks Monday!
i have not mentioned quail to DH. but if at any point he thinks i don't need these bators anymore, that would be good timing, so be sure and post pictures of the dear little things...
tf
My coturnix quail are due wed-thurs. I am ready for
them, and ready for my MQ eggs, too. Looks as if I
may have 3 brooders going at once, again. I am
amazed at how long they take, as the coturnix only take
17 days to hatch.
I'm keeping the MQ separated by bloodline, and will
make hatching baskets for them. I have color coded
some twisty ties to coincide with each family, and plan
to be very careful with as much of their info as I can.
I looked into banding and am just not ready for that
quantity yet. Yeah, it could sit in a drawer til I need it,
but I'm going with what I have on hand, where I can.
After all- want to know what wokls and what doesn't.
how eggciting, will look for pics later int he week!
Waiting for that call that the baby quail have shipped. Very
anxious. Recd the MQ eggs today- wow! In the bator, and
he sent an extra egg! None broken. Lots of foam pop-outs
were packed on top and under the cylinder egg holder. I sent
him anote, asking where he got this stuff. Worked great.
holy cow! i bet he made these... let us know how they candle and hold up. my DH could make some for my XL & Jumbo eggs....
This stuff is neat. It is thicker than the eggs are tall, so
when fitted in the cylinders, there's room at the top and
bottom. It's dense, but very soft- not crispy. Spongey.
At the bottom, was a layer of the pop-outs, then 2 of the
3/4" squares, then the cylinder foam then 2 more squares
and on top was another layer of the knock-outs. I have seen
large grey rectangles for quail egg shipping, but don't know
if it's spongey. The eggs fit snug in the cylinders, and I had
to be careful when pushinig/pulling them out. I suppose
I could make sponge cake, and ship in that! LOL
And it has the advantage of being very light and so cutting down on shipping costs. Brillliant!
Yeah! as opposed to the 'pound' cake shipping method!
And! It would be airy and moist= proper shipping humidity?
Then, you could eat it...while you watch your eggs.
This message was edited Apr 8, 2008 2:10 PM