ameraucana eggs

[Kknight3]

I have 3 ameraucana eggs in my incubator that were scheduled to hatch yesterday but havent yet. This is my first time trying to hatch eggs so im learning.The eggs are blue and I can see light pass through them very well during the first week of development but after that i cant see much. For the 3 that were supposed to hatch yesterday, absolutley no light passes throught them at all so I cant see what is inside the egg. As a result I have no clue if there is a developing chick inside. At what point can I assume the egg is not going to hatch?

 

[Twistedfeather]

Dark Embryos normally mean they're dead. Kneel down by the incubator and listen for peeping. Sometimes membranes dry over and the chick can't get out. Next time you hatch test a couple of eggs to see if they're fertile

 

[Kknight3]

How do you test to see if they are fertile?

 

[Joshw]

To check if an egg is fertile, you have to crack it open. You will see a white circle on the yoke. I don't think that is your problem though. I have ameraucanas and they are my least favorite egg to candle. If they weren't fertile, they would look just like they did the first time you candled them. It sounds like you have chicks the question is are they alive or not. 21 days is normally the hatch day, but I would give them a few days longer just in case. Check for peck holes and listen for peeping. If after 23 days nothing, you might want to crack one open and see what happened. It could be your humidity was too low and they couldn't get through the membrane.

 

[Kknight3]

I cracked one open because I have plenty more and an embryo had started to form but died early on...

 

[Joshw]

You might double check your temp and humidity. Have you had any thunderstorms over the last couple of weeks? Sometimes loud thunder will bust the small blood vessels in young embryos.

 

[Kknight3]

We havent had any bad thunderstorms that i can remember. Have you ever heard of the "float test"? Its another way of candling. I just tryed it on my a few of my eggs and there seems to be living chicks in the eggs.

 

[LeoneB]

We havent had any bad thunderstorms that i can remember. Have you ever heard of the "float test"? Its another way of candling. I just tryed it on my a few of my eggs and there seems to be living chicks in the eggs.

can you please explain the "float test"

 

[Kknight3]

You fill a glass with water and set your egg in it. Once the water settles, if the is a living chick inside, you can see the egg wiggle and move around. It is actually really neat. Some float and some sink. Some people say that if it sinks than it is a bad egg and some say if it floats it is a bad egg. Im not sure which is true but the ones of mine that floated, wiggled. The ones that sank didnt wiggle at all. This is a youtube video that shows how its done. Watch "Water Candling again " on YouTube
Water Candling again :