I received 20 hatching eggs in the mail today. Only one of them was cracked. Some of the rest are quite dirty, blobs of poo. Should I try to clean them, and if so, how? I know that you can remove the coating on eggs by cleaning them so I don't want to damage them. Here they are in cartons, adjusting to room temp before being put in the bator. Thanks for your help.
Becky
Here's a pic of the bator they will go in. This was before I put it on the autoturn cradle. I was amazed at how quiet this thing is, even with the autoturn running.
I did not clean mine at all. I did not want to risk anything going wrong. Someone told me you can use a fine grain sandpaper, but I wouldnt. I put them in as they were when they arrived. Congrats on the eggs. Sorry one was cracked. :( What kind are they??
They are mutt Wyandottes. Blue-laced red and blue roosters, with blue hens and I guess other hens. That's what the pic showed. She only said they were in a mixed pen and what the roosters were.
That's really good for mailed eggs. I have had over half cracked before. I generally don't wash them. If one is really icky, I put it further away from the other eggs. I have also used a small stiff-bristle brush, dry, to remove any larger bits of poo.
Thanks, I'll not mess with them. Still a few more hours at room temp before I put them in. I am so excited or should I say eggcited... DH thinks I'm completely nuts, but he's getting ideas for a brooder that are better than the box/lamp I was going to use. He even said I could put the brooder in his workshop if they got too messy inside. What a guy! My sons (32 & 29) just roll their eyes at mom's latest project. The bator was my 40th anniversary present. DH got a roomba. And the anniversary isn't until the end of April. But I couldn't wait. I've been watching hatches on this forum for months and just had to get in on the fun.
I think I have the same mutt Wyandottes. The viability wasn't very good. Only about 7 out of 18 started developing and I am now down to 5. But the price was great!:0)
I have heard that if you sand them you run the risk of producing very fine particles of ick that can go into the pores and contaminate the eggs. I sometimes put a really nasty egg into a little piece of paper towel, sort of lining the egg holder. I have one developing like that now.
This message was edited Mar 30, 2009 4:38 PM
Yes, the price was great. I didn't want to buy expensive eggs and find I was lousy at running the bator. I was going to candle (try to candle) them before putting them in, but DGD has run off with my maglite and I can't find it. I may try a regular flashlight, but they aren't very bright. Some of them are very round and I can't tell which is the pointy end.
Congrats on the new venture! It's addicting!!
I'd candle first if I were you.. the ones with multiple air bubbles can start to leak.. also, you can see cracks that you can't see from the outside.. Saves a mess in the bator later..
Have fun!!
Catscan, that is good to know about the sanding. I have not done it myself. I just put them in as is.
Best of luck on your hatch. I hope you get a bunch of little peeps. Catscan, is that whats hatching right now? I know you are having a hatch now. weeeeee! Come on little babies, pip and zip!!!
Well, I couldn't find a flashlight that worked, so they are in the bator uncandled. I'll go buy one of those LED ones and try it on day 7. I put the eggs in and watched them until after midnight last night. Just to make sure the turner didn't dump any of them. LOL It turns so slow you can't even see it move! Thanks so much for all the encouragement. You guys are great.
They are more fun to candle on day 7 anyway. You can see veins and the wiggly dot! hehehe Thats how our chicken got the name swimmy. My daughter saw it swimming in the egg. The unfortunate thing is chickens dont like water...other than a drink every now and then. Cant wait for 21 days now!!! Good luck.,
that mailed egg dosnt look overly carcked i would have still put it in with the others but i am weird lke that so maybe its just me
I threw out the egg. Not only was it cracked, it was seeping goo. Had stuck to some of the packing material.
Day 2 and looking good so far.
Luckycharm, you're back!
I've put cracked eggs in and had them develop too. I put one in that had hardened egg white coming out a crack. It didn't develop, but it didn't go bad either.
But if stuff starts oozing out of pores or cracks--throw it out!
yeah im back ......again....... my subscription is up to date so i think i am abck full time now
oh i didnt know it was leaking to lol woops yeah well then you were probably right throwin it out then hehehe
I don't keep the questionable ones.. After having to clean a full bator of eggs, no way.. it's hard to get the stuck ones out. I even had one explode... now that was Nasty!!! It contaminates the whole incubator for one egg? Not worth it to me.. Stinky stinky stinky!!
lol, i hate exploders, nasty!! as long as they r not leaking i use wax to cover the cracks and drip hot wax over the crack. another way is elmers glue thin layer over crack and tp or tissue paper over it. it works if they r hairline or not bad cracks i've hatched many that way but if they r cracked to much or in wrong place then it doesn't work. it's worth a try though cause ya never know.
as far as washing them goes i've done it but there is a trick to it. usually i just use my nails to scrape off anything i can. if they r really bad like crud covered duck eggs i toss them usually i won't even set them. some dirt, blood, poop won't hurt them but if caked on it ya gotta watch it doesn't pull it in cause it will cause bacterial growth and rot. that's when ya got to worry about them exploders,lol. zz is right i've had em explode and it does contaminate whole hatch. when that happens now i wrap eggs in a hot towel from the dryer and sterilize the bator before i put them back in so it doesn't mess up the other eggs.
i had my son nock 3 dz eggs from my girls on the floor last year i was gonna wrap to ship for an order and 10 guinea eggs i had shipped in. he's legally blind so he didn't see them on the table. they smashed on the kitchen floor eggs and goop everywhere!! i took them and through all broke they were demolished i put ones i could in a carton took them to the sink and cleaned up the rest of the mess. when i was done went back and ran HOT water over them one at a time and wiped em dry with a paper towel FAST and put them in a new dry carton. after i was done i let them sit for 24 hours before i put them in the bator. 10 guinea eggs not cracked(haha armour plated) had 8 guineas hatch out. had 5 silkie/showgirl eggs not broke and 1 showgirl and 2 silkies hatched. u can wash em as long as it is done right, right before they r to be incubated. must be hot water to keep the pores from sucking in the bacteria and water and dry fast so water doesn't cool to allow bacteria in either. my eggs were nothing but slime on everyone of them. i've also washed ones that came in smashed all over others and had good hatches also so it can be done if needed. i don't recommend it if not really needed though cause if done wrong it will remove the protective coating on them. i never wash any eggs i ship i leave that up to buyers to do if they feel needed.
Great info Silkie! WOW did not know that bacteria getting through the shell would cause exploders. It makes sense. Thanks. :D
I'm glad to hear that worked Silkie, because I just had a broody go ballistic for whatever reason and start to eat the eggs she was sitting on. I rescued 6 of them and they were totally covered in goop and straw bits so I did a quick hot-water wash and stuck them in the bator. I hope they will make it, or at least that some of them will.
I don't know what made her snap, she had been sitting for a good 10 days or so.
Thanks silkie, good info. BTW I went to Clarion when it was still a state college LOL.
Moxon - sorry about your broody. Did something get into the nest? Sounds really weird.
Hi Beclu: That Brinsea bator you showed is a beauty. They are by far the best for hands off Incubation. I hope your hatch goes well for you. Haystack
awesome that is only about a half hour from me!
I just need an FIY...
When you are collecting eggs to put in the incubator, how do you handle them before you have enough to start. Or do you just put them in the incubator as you collect them and have them hatch at different times? Holding them at room temperature for 24 hours was mentioned. Does that mean you refrigerate them until you're ready?
Robin
The room temp thing for 24 hours is for shipped eggs.
For home grown.. I put mine in a closed Styrofoam carton in a cool/humid room and turn them once or twice a day.. I read that ideal conditions are around 50degrees/humidity 70..
I haven't had enough patience to gather for much more than a week.. just cause I get too anxious. :)
I've hatched for a friend that gathered for a month before incubating! The book says fertility starts to drop off after 7 days..
It is hard to build up a flock when you have chicks of all different ages... In hindsight, I rather take my chances on the eggs not developing and gather more at a time.
Thanks! This is something I'm interested in, but had too many other things going on to try it.
I saw where some of you ordered eggs....private party or hatchery? A couple of years ago the McMurray catalog had eggs, as well as day old chicks for sale.
Well, we went out to eat and when we came back the power had been off for 1.5 hours. The temp was down to 93 and the humidity was up to 80% since the fan wasn't running. It has almost recovered back to normal temp and humidity in an hour. I'm hoping no damage was done. Of course, we are under tornado watch, so who knows if the power will stay on. The desktop computer won't come back on, but my laptop is working fine. We didn't get any rain, so not sure why the power was out.
Beclu --we lost power for two hours about 3 weeks back due to ice storm damaged trees finally dropping limbs.
Hi Grow, The winds have been pretty strong, so maybe that's what happened. The storm is all around us, but not over us. Its weird.
WOW becula. It is true. I have heard of power outages and the babies were fine. I will be hoping you will be another success story! That is spooky when the storm is around but you cant see it. Twilight zone. dododododododododod...
well I had a song for sewin' and her twilight zone obsession, but the sound was disabled....
LOL Aww man! figures. I am a sci fi junky. ;)
I like that song!!! Have not heard it in a LONG time though!! Thanks. :D
Its day 20 and an egg hatched overnight!. I was sitting here at my computer next to the bator and heard chirping that was not coming from outside! A sweet little blackish chick, cheeping and stretching his wings. I'll start a new thread with pics when I open the bator later. Giving him a chance to dry first.
CONGRATS!!!! woooohooo! I hope many more to follow!!! :D
Hooray! I hope you have more pipped eggs today!
