[HesterF]

I know this has come up before so sorry for the repetition. I've got eggs due tomorrow so I took them off the cradle on Wednesday and turned a few times manually yesterday. When I put thm into proper damp shut down last night, none had pipped internally. I was surprised to see one had pipped externally this morning but then realised it's at the wrong (pointy) end. I'll leave it a while but I'm guessing I'll need to help it out - doh!

What can cause them to go the wrong way? I had quite a few duck eggs do it last year too. They're all incubated lying on their sides in a Brinsea cradle which takes them through over 90deg side to side.

H

[Marches Farmer]

How do you store them prior to setting them in the incubator?  I store mine round end up, in clean egg boxes, and tip them from side to side by wedging something under one end or the other.  I do this every time I pass by, which is generally at least six times a day.

[chrismahon]

The air sac starts to develop during storage HesterF. So the egg might have been in the tray upside down. We store ours in an egg carton and don't move them at all before incubation -never caused a problem. We have had air sacs at both ends, but the important thing is that the chick has room to manoeuvre and that's what the air sac gives it. I read once that it gives them a gasp of air, but I don't believe that at all. They can breath through the pipped hole. It may need help, because that's the strong end. But it will work around the side to create a large hole so it may not matter.


After we started breeding from our own eggs our only hatching failures were due to high humidity in the first 18 days (weather changed), bacterial infection due to running batches through the incubator without cleaning in-between and infertile eggs. We don't hatch eggs over 7 days old.

[HesterF]

The duck and chicken eggs are all stored in egg boxes pointy end down. Goose eggs are different but not got so far as hatching with any of them yet. It's peeping away so hopefully still strong.

H

[HesterF]

  He's out with one little crack added by me. Mostly all his own doing so I reckon he didn't even need that. I say 'he' because within a minute of getting out, he'd knocked every other egg flying trying to get detached from the shell. Not conclusive proof of gender but very reminiscent of my two sons. Only one other pip so far but they're now getting strong encouragement!

[MKay]

I'm soft when it comes to babies, I pip for them with a .5mm bit set at 1mm depth in to the air sack once the beak is into it. I believe this extra oxygen is invigorating and is what improves my hatching rate. Hen would do the same I figure.