*CHICKS are HERE!!!* Egg Candling Pics: Progression Though Incubation

[Chookchook5050]

How's the hatch going? Congratulation and how is the one chick that hatched? I sure hope its doing well and thriving.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that more have hatched.



Lisa

Thanks Marcy! No signs of anything from the other eggs - we're at day 24... I think they're a no go which is really sad for the lone chick. He/she is doing really well though - very healthy!! I have chicks 3 weeks older I'm hoping will be OK with it once this newbie gets bigger (like pullet size bigger), but I might hunt down a couple chicks around the same age to keep it company.
I'm trying to get my head around doing an eggtaupsy on the others that didn't hatch. Not sure if I can go there, but it'd be nice to know what went wrong... they seemed fine... My first hatch and I've learned a lot already - like set more eggs than what I did!!!

 

[Edwards24]

Probably one of the best threads there is as far as the candeling technique and what to look for. I am hoping to get a hen to go broody in the next 2-3 months and will order some eggs to try and hatch. Thanks again for the vital info

 

[bigbike4]

Since I am new to raising chickens and recently added a rooster to my 6 hens, I figured I needed a good tutorial as to exactly WHAT I am supposed to be looking for or at when "candleing" an egg. IF I understand correctly a fresh from the henhouse egg will not look like much even if it is fertilized. So am I suppossed to leave them out for 3 days or so before refridgerating them? I also understand from another source that eatting fertiziled eggs will not harm you, just cuts down on the potential chicks

 

[silkiechicken]

Since I am new to raising chickens and recently added a rooster to my 6 hens, I figured I needed a good tutorial as to exactly WHAT I am supposed to be looking for or at when "candleing" an egg. IF I understand correctly a fresh from the henhouse egg will not look like much even if it is fertilized. So am I suppossed to leave them out for 3 days or so before refridgerating them? I also understand from another source that eatting fertiziled eggs will not harm you, just cuts down on the potential chicks

If you do not incubate eggs to hatch them, no need to candle. Just eat. If they sit at room temp for three days, nothing will happen unless your room temp is about 90F or higher. Development will not start in a fertilized egg if it hasn't gotten close to that ideal 99-101 degree temp. Now if you are intending to make more chickens, then you will see what the photo series show if you have a strong enough light. Otherwise, all you will see in an eating egg is a yolk shadow and air sac.

The difference in what is in a fertilized egg and a non fertilized egg is insignificant when you don't incubate them.

 

[jennyworley35]

Thanks for the time and effort you have put into this post to teach all of us. You took awsome pics.

 

[Silattahoe]

These photos helped me to understand how old the embryos in the eggs are that I found under my broody hen today. thanks.

 

[Candyman]

Awesome thread! AWESOME pictures

thank you for educating us.

 

[rarebear]

Thanks to ZooMummzy, I am doing a test run of my little plywood bator and her little rooster! And I'll be sharing pics! These images are all taken using a point and shoot Canon Powershot 710IS, and the light from an eagle tac set on high output. Photos are in real colors unless otherwise noted.

Click thumbnails for larger image!

The incubator:



It's got a clear top for hatch day viewing and two lightbulbs covered in foil because I was too cheap to buy ceramic heat lamps. The reason behind two bulbs is in case one light bulb burns out the incubator won't go cold. It has a salvaged computer fan and uses a salvaged GQF thermostat. There are about 8 layers of spar urethane coating the little beast so it's water tight. Started making it when I was about 13, so if I were to do it again, it would be much larger and have space planned for a fan/thermostat.

Temperature is measured with a Fluke digital multimeter with thermometer attachment, and humidity is measured via wet/dry bulb methodology.



0 hrs Note that with a bight enough light you can see though brown and green eggs easily. Shell thickness and egg size will impact image quality, so note these are bantam eggs.




This is a great example of a porous egg, not ideal for hatching.




28hrs Not much to see though the egg at this point. If you were to open the egg and look at it under a dissection microscope, you'd see that the head/neural fold has formed, and up to 4 pairs of somites. (Somites are mesodermal cells which migrate and give rise to tissues such as muscle, bone, and cartilage. Note the number on the egg, it serves as tracking and to know which side is "up" as I am hand turning 3x a day.




52 hrs If you look closely, you can see the start of the blood island in the middle of the egg. The heart is actively beating by this time and has started to turn; the heart starts out as a tube during development.

May be easier to see after photoshop, it's that darker ring on top of the yolk shadow





76 hrs At this point, limb buds have not only formed but are enlarging and the eye is beginning to become pigmented.


Some photo editing and you can really see the veins!


Schematic




100 hrs The limbs are now starting to look like limbs and the embryo starts to look like what a common person would say is an embryo.


Enhanced to see veins




Day5 On this day, the beak has just become viable and the chick's limb buds are no longer buds and instead will have identifiable digits! The black dot is the eye.



Edited to enhance veins



A day 3 or so quitter



Profile view and you can see the veins in my finger too.




Day6 It gets harder to take clear vein pics, as there is enough vascularization that it gets a bit washed out.


Enhanced image.


Embryo Movement Clip


Day 7 If you were to open them up, you'd see little specks where future feathers would emerge!




Day 8





Day 9






Day 10





Day 11




Video



Day 12




Day 13 If you opened them up, you'd see claws forming!








Day 14 It's so dark there is pretty much nothing really to see! Just a bit of space left





Day 15




Video


Day 16 You can see toes in the second one!



Toes video

Day 17





Day 18 Lock down!!!! Since there is plenty of space in the bator, I made little paper cups to put each egg in. Hopefully this will catch the majority of the hatch junk left over from popping out so clean up is a bit easier.





HATCH DAY Note, there is no plan to open the bator for the next 48 hours. The top is clear so all the action can be seen without compromising the hatch!
Pips



First to hatch: About 14 hours after the first pip at 4am. Note the clean hatch and absence of any blood in the shell. It was ready!


Hatch Video

Second to hatch: About 17 hours after the pip at 4am. Could have piped any time between 11pm and 4 am though. Another clean hatch.


Note the first vid is part of the zipping. The pip to zip can literally be hours to days, but usually, once it starts to zip and sets out to get out, the shifting and cracking process is about 20-30 mintues.
Zipping

This one gets to the point more.
Hatching


30 hours after the first pip, the hatch is now complete! This is about my average time to hatch. I've had some take even longer so there really is no rushing the little guys.
There were 7 fertile eggs that made it to day 3. All 7 hatched on their own without opening the bator between day 18 though post hatch and fluff.


Post hatch shell interior. Note that all the vessels are gone and it's just pink. Not a single drop of blood. The little blob in the bottom is the chick wastes from development; think of it as embryo poo.


And now the best part! The chicks!!!



The chicks have learned how to drink from a hamster water bottle.

WOW......GREAT PHOTOS AND VIDEOS!!!!

 

[ChucktheChick]

This was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it! Very very very neat!!! Im a hatcher and it is such an awesome experience. Thanks for the great work!

 

[HoneyNutmeg]

Great post, full of information! Thank you for posting this, helpful for all!