My Rotten Luck continues

I'm so close to throwing in the towel on all breeding plans and hopes.

My het Caramels nerd pair that laid 7 normal eggs in 07 did not lay again this year. 0 eggs in 06, 0 eggs in 08 and 0 eggs in 09. 4 years on this project and no caramels yet. You don't want to know how much I paid for the pair in 06.

100% het axanthic x 100% het axanthic 08, all normal eggs. 0 eggs in 09

100% het axanthic x 50% het axanthic 09, all normal eggs

3 of 10 eggs of Mojo x normal, came out Mojo. The only high point of the year.

And of 4 eggs of a Mojo x Mojo, 1 egg died late. 3 eggs cut at 60 days at 89 degrees and none of them have absorbed any yolk. 1 mojo, 2 lucy's and I don't think they are going to make it. Very small and weak.

drat drat drat!!!

My heat must be low, I have Big apple thermo and use pro temp gun to check temps.

crap crap crap!

I was soooooo wishing for a lucy to keep as my own.

Good luck with the mojo and leucistics. With stretches of poor luck you can usually look forward to prosperity at some point. Atleast that's what you gotta tell yourself.

Sorry about your bad luck! Nature has a funny way of playing unfair...and I guess you got the bad end of it! Hopefully, you'll have much better luck on your next attempt

If my freakin luck doesn't turn around, there's gonna be a throwdown between me and Mother Nature. lol

And no, it won't involve jello or mud. Naughty naughty boys.

They all died and are in the freezer for kingsnake food.

A few thoughts since I was so upset I could not sleep all night.

I let this clutch be a bit drier than the other clutchs in the incubator, which I felt were too wet. I believe this led to prematurely dimpling and me assuming they would hatch ontime. Had they been plump, I would have let them go for another week or so before cutting.

4 different thermometers were saying different temps by as much as 4 degrees. My Big apple thermostat said about 4 degrees cooler than what the hottest thermo said. After having clutchs regularly go 65-70 days, next season I will go by what the Big Apple thermostat and my pro temp. I will not rely on any other thermo's.

so in a nutshell, too cool, too dry and all my fault. Expensive lessons learned.

I've wanted a Lucy since I first saw them and their $72K price tag four years ago. I will have one someday.

Very sorry for your losses Melinda. Chock it up to lessons learned, and I'm sure you'll have success this coming season. Chin up!!

Thanks for the kind words. I feel guilty since it was my fault and if I even think about cutting on day 60 next season, somebody slap my hands!

Originally Posted by Melinda

If my freakin luck doesn't turn around, there's gonna be a throwdown between me and Mother Nature. lol

And no, it won't involve jello or mud. Naughty naughty boys.

Oil then?

They say good things come to those who wait. What they don't say is that by the time you get it it ain't worth a crap.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck but remember it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature (she's one bad ass bitch).

I am sorry to hear of the cruddy luck..

And I had the same temp issue LAST year.. lost 60% of the babies, because the thermometer I was trusting.. was wrong..

I never thought I would have to TEST a thermometer, before using it.. ya know??

I'm sorry to hear you lost the babies! But don't beat yourself up over it. It's easy to find ways it is our fault~ especially when we are looking for them. But you know how many people routinely cut eggs much earlier than you did. You know if the babies were strong enough to hatch and survive then 4 degrees, a little less humidity and an early snip and peak would have made no difference at all. I do think it's best to do our best to keep them at a steady temp, humidity and let them pip on their own................

But Melinda~ you have got to know that if those babies did not survive then they were not strong babies to start with. We've all had our temps or humidity off or snipped eggs a bit early and they were fine. Don't beat yourself up over losing them~ they were not strong enough if your few small mistakes did them in.