Candling questions. First time attempting to hatch. Updated w/ pics

[upcdayz]

On the 20th of this month my Silkie Serama hen decided to set on her eggs. There were three in her nest at the time, then on the 21st I took three more of her eggs out of the refrigerator, warmed them to room temperature then placed them by her nest. She accepted the eggs right away and has been sitting on all six ever since.

Today while she was off the nest to eat I decided to candle eggs, mostly out of curiosity since I've never tried to hatch eggs before and because I really wasn't even sure the eggs were fertile. Both she and her boyfriend, a Silkie Serama rooster, are under a year old. I've read several threads here and on the internet, looked at YouTube videos and viewed the photos and videos post on the Incubating and Hatching eggs thread here on BYC. Not all of the hen's eggs look like the photos and videos I've seen, so here are a few questions for those who are experienced in candling eggs.

1. One egg has some blob in it but I can't tell if it's growing. I can't really see an air sac at the top, but I'm not sure if that's because of the coloring of the shell, or maybe my flashlight isn't bright enough, or if it is an infertile egg. How well defined should the air sac be at this point (Day 6?)

2. Three of the eggs look a lot like the photos I've seen with veins visible and a dark spot that moves around on the inside, so I'm assuming those are doing OK at this point.

3. One looks like an overgrown yolk blob and has a well defined air sac but no visible veining and no dark spot. When I turn the egg over, the blob moves along with it. I can clearly see the outline of the blob. It looks a lot like an overgrown yolk. Is this a sign of an early death? At what point should I take the egg away from the hen? Or will she kick the egg out herself?

4. One egg has good veining but no visible dark spot and I can't tell if there is anything moving on the inside or not. Any ideas on whether or not this egg is still developing?

With several of the eggs I've described, it looks like the embryo is mainly on one side of the egg, meaning when I turn the egg over, there is less definition of what's going on in the egg, and most of the activity is going on - on one side of the egg. Is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any help with these questions. I'm so excited to have a broody hen that I want to be sure that I do the right things for the baby chicks-to-be while learning all I can at the same time!

 

[Mr. Nappy]

If you have doubts at day 6, wait until day 10, candle again (with a bright flashlight), you should see definite differences then.

 

[cmom]

Mr. Nappy :

If you have doubts at day 6, wait until day 10, candle again (with a bright flashlight), you should see definite differences then.

I agree.​

 

[upcdayz]

Thank you for the responses.

It's clear that this egg-hatching process will be a lesson in patience for me. Even though the temptation to look at them more often is there, I'll wait until day 10 to candle them again.

 

[cmom]

The first time I put eggs in the incubator were from my flock as an experiment in breeding. I candled nearly every day. Now I do it on day 10 and when I put them in the hatchers on day 18, but now I do staggered hatches and I have something hatching out almost every week.

 

[upcdayz]

Quote:
This is sort of an experiment too. The hen went broody and I didn't try to stop her thinking it would be nice to have a few more Seramas around. Plus watching them grow inside the egg would be an interesting learning experience.

Now that the eggs are on day 10, I candled again. One had definitely died early on. It showed a distinct blood ring and the embryo had not gotten bigger. I opened that one and photographed the embryo as best as I could. Photos below.

A few of the eggs are questionable as to whether or not the embryo is still growing but the rest of them are growing and moving around inside the eggs. It's so neat to watch!

Here's the one that died:

The blood ring is clearly visible as is the embryo.

This is a close-up shot of the embryo. Several anatomical features are clearly visible. You can even see the little wing buds.

 

[Wyogirl]

Quote:
This is sort of an experiment too. The hen went broody and I didn't try to stop her thinking it would be nice to have a few more Seramas around. Plus watching them grow inside the egg would be an interesting learning experience.

Now that the eggs are on day 10, I candled again. One had definitely died early on. It showed a distinct blood ring and the embryo had not gotten bigger. I opened that one and photographed the embryo as best as I could. Photos below.

A few of the eggs are questionable as to whether or not the embryo is still growing but the rest of them are growing and moving around inside the eggs. It's so neat to watch!

Here's the one that died:

The blood ring is clearly visible as is the embryo.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/49372_egg_with_bloodring_and_embryo_1.jpg


This is a close-up shot of the embryo. Several anatomical features are clearly visible. You can even see the little wing buds.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/49372_chick_embryo_with_identifiable_features.jpg

Cool pictures, thanks for sharing
Ayda