Concave Eggs! Is that a bad thing?

[Crimson Catharsis]

Concave Eggs and Frail shells. Help! =(

My female corn just layed her eggs a few days ago, and we now have them in an incubator, being misted twice or so a day. But I've noticed that some are getting these little 'dips' in them. Is that a bad thing? Any suggestions? Here's a picture of what it looks like.

Help?

 

[Crimson Catharsis]

Wow... This is really dispiriting. We just moved the eggs gently onto a moist towel as substrate in the incubator, and the eggshells seem thin and frail to the touch. Are they done for..?

 

[oreo1700]

what are the temps in the incubator? humidity? there is a chance that you might have lost them

 

[Crimson Catharsis]

what are the temps in the incubator? humidity? there is a chance that you might have lost them

The temp in the incubator right now is 85 degrees, and is kept fairly constant. There's pools of water under the mesh that keep it humid, but we didn't think to put a substrate in till a half hour ago... We've been misting like crazy lately, though.

 

[Amanda E]

You may have lost them already, but if not...

You need to get them into some sort of substrate, preferably vermiculite, sphagnum moss, or perilite. Get it damp, but not wet, and put the eggs half way into the substrate.

And quit misting them. You don't want to get them too wet. As long as they are in a moist substrate they should be okay... if they aren't already dead.

 

[Robertk]

Amanda`s right you need to get them into a substrate to have any chance.Whatever substrate your using,wet it and squeeze of the excess water so that it drips water only if it`s squeezed tightly -you want the substrate to be a source of moisture not wetness.With regard temp i try keep mine between 82 and 84 but 85 is fine you just don`t want it to approach too close to 90 and certainly not over that, slightly lower temps are also ok but will prolong your incubation times i`d try keep them above 78 or so or you could be waiting a little longer.Hope your not too late and good luck.

 

[cka]

looks kinda like the incubator (an old hovabator) we have here...what worked for us was to place the eggs on a bed of damp moss, and just add a little water to the "rings" under the wire as necessary, every few days or so...i incubated about 81-82 degrees...in hindsight i was a little overly concerned about humidity, and i started going an extra two to three days before checking; those foam chicken hatchers hold humidity pretty good

 

[Crimson Catharsis]

Thanks so much for your advice, you guys. We've got our eggs into a moist substrate now, and a moist paper towel over them to keep the moisture in. Hopefully they're not goners... But we're new to this, so I guess it's only natural for a little trial and error.
Once again, thanks for all the advice. =)

Cka- We're hoping the chicken egg incubator will work well. A local breeder suggested it. Thank goodness it's good with the humidity.

 

[cka]

Thanks so much for your advice, you guys. We've got our eggs into a moist substrate now, and a moist paper towel over them to keep the moisture in. Hopefully they're not goners... But we're new to this, so I guess it's only natural for a little trial and error.
Once again, thanks for all the advice. =)

if you learn something from it, it's a good lesson :*)

Cka- We're hoping the chicken egg incubator will work well. A local breeder suggested it. Thank goodness it's good with the humidity.

Ours worked great the first time we used it, and I bought it off Ebay in "very well used condition" lol...this year it will hatch a clutch of hypo corns and maybe a clutch of black rats...I have heard the heating elements can rust out over time, but mine doesnt show any...Peace, and welcome to the forums, too...

 

[gardenmum]

Hi and welcome to the forums. Sorry it is under a disappointing situation though.

As was said by the others, definitely put them in some moist medium but they look like they may be a bit far gone now. But it never hurts to try, I know I would.

You don't use the incubator in the same way you would for chicken eggs. cka uses it with the medium on the wire, kept moist, and open. That is one way it can be done. I use a different method that I find works real well and I do not have to worry about medium drying out or anything. I put perlite in small "sandwich" type plastic containers (WITH NO HOLES in the containers) about 2/3 full, fill with warm water and tip out all loose water but do not squeeze out the medium. I make little depressions in the perlite and place each egg in it careful to keep the eggs top side up as laid. I then cover the container and put it into the incubator set to maintain the heat at 82 degrees. I check the eggs once a week but otherwise leave them alone. The medium retains the moisture with no problems and the eggs stay plump. I check them irregardless because I like to make sure all it going well and if one egg happens to go bad, I remove it immediately.

There is no reason to put water into the incubator as the moisture is in each container and the incubator is only serving as a constaint, steady heat source since I live up North and cannot shelf incubate.

Here is a picture of my incubator with the containers, all marked with the female's name and lay date. I opened one container to show what it looks like. But I also took a picture of one container and put that picture on too.

Hope this is of some help. And I wish you the best with these eggs and with your future ones.

 

[cka]

Dianne, thanks much for the detailed info and pics...wish my incubator was that big...and square lol...

CC, thats about the best way going to utilize your incubator...Hope some of the eggs make it thru, but again take it as a lesson learned and see ya round the forum :*)

 

[Crimson Catharsis]

Wow, thanks for all that info garden! =) it never occured to me to put the eggs in a container, and then into the incubator. maybe we'll do that next time

And good news! They seem to be doing ok with the paper towel on top and substrate beneath, with added moisture. They're even plumping back up, and aren't near as fragile as before.

never coulda done it without you guys. Thanks a million! ^__^

 

[princess]

Great to hear they're coming back to life! It's amazing how tolerant they are. Hopefully they'll pop out some nice babies in 9 weeks or so. Keep us informed.

 

[Crimson Catharsis]

Great to hear they're coming back to life! It's amazing how tolerant they are. Hopefully they'll pop out some nice babies in 9 weeks or so. Keep us informed.

They really are amazing. And there will definetly be pics of the babies posted once they're born. If they make it through.
I'm sure hoping! =)
So keep an eye out

 

[Robertk]

That`s great news well done i really hope you get some of them to hatch.I use a similar method to gardenmum except i put my containers into little plastic bags instead of using lids - easy to slide them in and out for the regular checks that i can`t resist,works well for me .You could still set up a little container and transfer your eggs to it making sure not to turn them, either way good luck.

 

[dberes]

Speaking of eggs dimpling. What do you do about the sporadic egg on top? Will the paper towel help (I don't want to over moisture the eggs). Because my corn laid her eggs in a pile and i couldn't seperate them in time. The ones on the top of the pile on the left hand side are nice and puffed out, but the 2 on top and to the right are dimpling. I don't really understand how the left hand side is getting moisture and the right isn't getting enough. The eggs on top aren't really touching the substrate either.

Thanks.
Drenton