Incubating Eggs from Road-side Stall?

[DemeterAD9]

Seeing as my last hatch from shipped eggs was only 8/17 of those that made it to lock down I kind of want to compare to non-shipped eggs. I've been contemplating incubating eggs from roadside stalls for a while now after noticing the fertility was pretty good in the last few dozen my dad brought home. Well, as fate would have it 3 dozen fresh eggs were sitting on top of the fridge (not inside) when I got home from work. After inspecting and candling I set aside a baker's dozen of the best looking ones. I am still on the fence about starting them as I had other plans kicking around in my head. I wanted to buy some eggs a state away that are from a mixed flock of large breeds like Jersey giants, bresse, brahma etc. and start them to hatch on or very near the arrival date of my Meyer order which should arrive ~May 21-22. But now that these much cheaper, and far less scrambled eggs have appeared I kind of want to use them instead...

Anyone else ever try this? I am unsure what breeds they come from so if anyone can possibly make a best guess based on egg color that would be nice. I chose based on egg size/shape and then color (dark browns, 2 green EE/OE, a white and a few light brown ones so I can be sure of development). The 4 on the top left are experimental, eggs kept in the fridge from the last dozen. Not concerned about them but would be eggstatic if they hatched because they are beautiful.

Here are some photos of the samples I cracked open to check fertility. Do at least some look fertile or am I just seeing things?

I'm thinking I'll wait a few days before starting incubation so if they do hatch they will only be a week older than the Meyer chicks.

 

[Sally PB]

Can you stop at that location (I'm assuming it's someone's house?) and ask questions about what breeds they have and if the eggs might be fertile?

If the eggs were from my chickens, I'd be flattered if someone wanted to hatch them.

 

[DemeterAD9]

Can you stop at that location (I'm assuming it's someone's house?) and ask questions about what breeds they have and if the eggs might be fertile?

If the eggs were from my chickens, I'd be flattered if someone wanted to hatch them.

I'll probably buy another dozen on Monday and leave a note in their money box with my # and some questions. Less uncomfortable than knocking on their door

After chatting with a friend who said she would likely take any extra chicks, I've made plans to use the full capacity of my incubator (about 24 eggs). 10 eggs will be the barnyard mix of large breeds I mentioned in the first post, and the rest will be these roadside eggs. Shipped eggs should arrive by Wednesday, they just shipped today. If all goes as planned I'll set the eggs the day after the shipped eggs arrive. I'll keep updating this thread as things progress.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I hatched these chicks from a feed store fridge. I buy them the same day they get put in the fridge. The air cells are small. The bad- She does wash them. She also stores them point up boo!. Some are clear. But in the end they are only $5 each carton. And I don't have to bother with a rooster. I also like the surprise chicks. Some are black. (dark eggs) some are Gray, (tan or blue eggs) and some are white or yellow, (blue eggs) and some are black and white or just white (white eggs.)

 

[DemeterAD9]

Well, I just set 34 eggs down in the incubator! 10 of the large breed mix and 24 from a roadside stall (some had been in the fridge for a while).



I decided to dry incubate them vertically which also allowed me to fit several more than if I did it horizontally. They will be turned simply by tilting the entire incubator this way or that, rotating at a 3/6/9/12 clockwise order. They are in there pretty snuggly so they shouldn't get jostled around much at all. I do not expect a huge fertility rate so I'll be checking them at day 7. Depending on how many are developing I may or may not switch them to horizontal with the automatic turner going.

 

[DemeterAD9]

So far 3 pips (one on the wrong end) and one chick pipped and hatched within the 6hrs I was away from home.

 

[DemeterAD9]

Morning update, 3 have hatched and there are 5 others who have pipped. I had to help one chick that got stuck zippering, come to find out the membrane got dry and stuck to it's little wing/back feathers. It seems fine so far, just needs to fluff up. The other two got moved to the brooder.

2 pips on the wrong end, thought for sure with them being incubated fat end up the entire time that it wouldn't happen. Oh well, just means it's a good thing I actually handled them all and noticed otherwise they would of had a hard time hatching in the egg carton. I simply flipped them to face pointed end up, hope that works okay.

Of the shipped eggs two have pipped now, one has a white beak and I'm thinking it will be a light chick, as I'm typing this it is zipping like mad and will likely pop out in a few minutes! The egg with a huge air cell is still kicking. I cannot get it to chip but I do believe it is internally pipped as I can hear what I assume is the "chewing" they do, pretty sure I can hear the heart beat too! The other egg is still doing nothing.

For the road side eggs 2 of the medium browns and a tan egg have hatched, the first black chick has feathered legs. One green egg is pipped, still unsure what's going on with the one I cannot see through.

Will add photos soon!

 

[DemeterAD9]

2 more added to the brooder this morning! The green egg hatched as did one of the wrong end pips (a light cream egg). I heard the distress peeping at night and had to wake up both times to give them a hand, one was wedged just right between the egg cartons and the other was just sitting in the bottom half of the egg shell and apparently couldn't get out (think getting your butt stuck in a bucket lol). Both are super cute, one in particular makes me think it could be sex linked. It's black with a perfect dot on its head, another chick may very well be the same but it has more yellow on it's body and the dot is not as apparent.

I did the not-so-accurate wing sexing with the pin feathers and it suggests the possible sex linked chicks may indeed be male. So far 3/7 could be male, which would be nice as I plan to give a handful to a friend who has been supplying me with free eggs. She only wants hens. I'm just happy if they all come out happy and healthy!

6 eggs remaining, one that is pipped (and looks to be starting to zip), 2 talking inside the egg (I added safety holes last night) and still 3 not doing much. If the three are still making no progress by tonight I may break away the shell at the air cell end and see what's going on.

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

They appear fertile, I’m going to bed so I will be offline until tomorrow afternoon possibly, bye everyone

 

[16 and me]

Hard to tell on the first 2 pics. #2 doesn't look like it. #'s 3-5 do look fertile though. I've considered doing the same in the past, but I was leery, not knowing the health or history of the hens that laid them. I have a few friends with chickens, so if I want to add some fresh DNA to my flock, I'll probably just get eggs from them