This could be....e-musing

[Caroluna]

I weighed the two remaining eggs today and they are still on target within a few percent.
3 to 4 weeks to go!

And the little digression, the Society finches. When I tried to candle their eggs yesterday, I couldn't see any structure inside. Just a solid dark mass. Today the parents are sitting very tight. Normally when I put my hand near the nest they fly out. Today they would. not. budge. I wanted to see if there were chicks yet and had to reach in and push them sideways. They still didn't move -- just glared at me

Society finches, btw, are one of the most domesticated species of pet birds. They find ways to amuse themselves in even relatively small cages. If they were humans, they would be cheerful and easy-going to the point of being annoying They love raising chicks, and can be pests in group aviaries because they try to feed the chicks in other birds' nests.

[Caroluna]

Things are not looking good for the Emu eggs

As a recap, Egg # 1 dried out too fast



and when I broke it open, it was infertile.

Yesterday morning, Egg # 2 started to weep



I was hoping it could be repaired, but when I looked in the afternoon I saw this



I took it to the kitchen sink and lightly tapped. Inside it had started to ferment a little and it broke open very easily. If I had waited much longer it might have exploded in the incubator. Again, the contents showed that the egg was infertile.

What about Egg # 3 ?
It looks fine...but is anybody home? ...It's too soon to tell.



It's a little depressing, since I've been learning a lot about emus and I've really been looking forward to a chick.

But, in the meantime, the Society Finch eggs are scheduled to hatch today. I took the eggs out to look this morning. Talk about instant gratification!!!

[Caroluna]

Warmer is no doubt better! Houston, we have some evidence of metabolism. . .

Bob

Day 42. Two weeks to go.
When I take the egg out of the incubator to weigh it, it cools down a bit. There are now 3 distinct temperature zones. The end with the air cell feels almost cold. The opposite end feels warm. And there's one spot, close to the place marked with tape, that feels hot.

I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but...???

Because 2 out of the 3 local eggs turned out to be duds --I found someone on ebay with 2 very, very late season eggs. From California. (I must be crazy ) Those arrived about a week ago. One arrived damaged -- not a crunch mark (like you'd expect from shipping) but a small gash (from an emu toenail?). I'm discussing this with the lady who sold the eggs. Meanwhile -- someone else on the Emu forum got eggs from the same lady; we might be the last 2 people on the "hatch-a-long" thread to get hatchlings this spring. The expected hatch date would be the first week of June.

Here's the Emu People
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/72949 ... -long-2012
Still cracks me up that this is part of the "Backyard Chickens Forum"

[Caroluna]

Here's the Emu Update --

ALL THREE of the Maryland eggs turned out to be duds. Even the third one, which I thought had "evidence of metabolism" because of a distinctly warmer zone. After a week or so the zone disappeared. Once the egg ran past its hatch date, I drilled a tiny hole in the air cell end to take a look. I was fully expecting to find a dead chick. Nope! Nuttin'! Just scrambled eggs.

So I am down to ONE remaining egg -- this one is from California and is due to hatch around the 1st week of June.

The title of this thread is "this could be e-musing". I'm not sure that emusing is quite the right word to describe this experience. Lots of suspense... and disappointment.

OTOH, building the incubator was a blast, and I've really enjoyed keeping track of the weight and humidity readings on a graph. I received a dead emu chick in the mail and dissected it. All very interesting

The most emusing thing about it has been meeting the crazy people over at the emu forum. Right now there is a discussion of emu droppings. Bird poo is always a good indicator of a bird's health. Does it have parasites? bacterial infection? etc. So they are trying to establish "what is healthy emu stool".

I suggested this

[Caroluna]

I'm learning how to do designs on emu egg shells! They are great for artwork because the shell has a dark outer layer and a lighter inner layer.

Here's my first attempt.







The tool I'm using is like a very strong needle mounted in a wooden handle. It's working pretty well except that it's hard to get a clean line. The dark green layer has a bumpy texture to it, so sometimes when you try to make a line, a whole lump of color comes off.



I'm going to ask the other Emu People for their tips and tricks.

[MeMyselfandI]

Okay, that is cool!

[trill]

Caroluna,

Have you heard of the "moto-tool" ? It's a small hand-held grinder.

You can get tips made of abrasive stone (grinders), metal (dentist-type), and diamond. They're great for small, delicate jobs. Original brand was Dremel. Now there are knockoffs for $30 at many major retailers.

Lovely designs !

trill

[fearfaoin]

Sorry about the duds. But I'm glad something artistic came of it.
I rather like your designs.

It reminded me of one of my favorite artistic juxtapositions:


http://www.aon-celtic.com/cgallerystone4.html

A dragon in copper leaf on petrified dinosaur bone.