At what stage can you do the float test?

[Pollmadoll]

As I am dealing with quite a challenge . A dark thick shelled egg with a detatched aircell. The only way I can see if the chick is still alive is by the aircell as we are on day 18. Does the aircell change shape in any way if it is a successful hatch..?

 

[Kiki]

The only time you put a hatching egg in water is when you want to make sure it dies.

 

[Pollmadoll]

I have read this does not hurt the chick. It is to know if the chick is alive?

 

[Pollmadoll]

As it is so dark inside the egg at the moment and I am not sure if there is movement I read this is the next step?

 

[NatJ]

This is a chicken egg, right?

Just leave the egg in the incubator. If the chick is alive, it should hatch around day 21 (plus or minus about two days.)

If there is no chick by day 23, and no sign of life, then start thinking about ways to check.

 

[R2elk]

I have read this does not hurt the chick. It is to know if the chick is alive?

There are lots of lies posted on the Internet.

 

[Kiki]

I have read this does not hurt the chick. It is to know if the chick is alive?

Don't believe everything you read.

 

[Pollmadoll]

I have hatched many chicks succesfully over three year plus a peachick . So have never done this. It is quite alarming there is such misleading advice about this Quite a few videos on how to do this reassuring the watcher there is no dange to the chick of drowninga s long as it has not pipped ot there is a crack in the shell. I shall just have to wait and see. I have always hatched easy to candle eggs!.

 

[R2elk]

I have hatched many chicks succesfully over three year plus a peachick . So have never done this. It is quite alarming there is such misleading advice about this Quite a few videos on how to do this reassuring the watcher there is no dange to the chick of drowninga s long as it has not pipped ot there is a crack in the shell. I shall just have to wait and see. I have always hatched easy to candle eggs!.

Youtube is one of the worst sources of information there is. There is even one idiot that has a Youtube video of his Naked Neck rooster crowing and claiming that it is half turkey. Anyone knowledgeable about chickens knows that a Naked Neck chicken is 100% chicken and is not a cross of a chicken and a turkey.

Way back before I knew any better, I was dumb enough to fall for the phony advice about the float test. I tried it once. I will never try it again. It does not work and it can be very harmful to the chick. Egg shells are porous. There does not have to be a pip for things to be able to enter the egg through its shell.

 

[NatJ]

I would assume an egg should be given the usual number of days to hatch, and then a few more just in case.

Then I'd look for wiggles, listen for chirps, try candling again.

Only after all that would I look for other tests, like putting it in water. So I would only try putting it in water if I was already fairly sure it was dead, but I wanted re-assurance before throwing it away or cracking it open to look inside.