Bunch of candling development pics!

[Kiraeh]

Haha yeah I tend to get excited and not really explain things. So, hmm this really needs a good visual, once the chick is in position and ready to start the hatching process, the first sign of it is that the air cell will change a LOT. The chick is getting ready to pip, and needs the air cell to be far enough down that it can be reached by the chick's beak, which is tucked under its wing and not really at the top of the egg at all. If you ever have to assist a hatch, you'll see right away what I mean- there's not as much air in that egg as it looks like, the chick is just filling up more of the middle to push the air cell down to where it needs it. For a while you can still see blood vessels around the edge, but once the chick pips even those will go away as it absorbs the blood back into its body, and the edge of the air cell will get lumpy as the chick presses against the shell in different places along the edge.
I know this because I candle way too much haha, it'll probably bite me eventually.

I guess a saddled air cell could look like that, what you're really looking for is the change from where the air cell was on day 14/18. I've never hatched shipped eggs, I'm curious to see how those behave eventually.

 

[Lorax]

Great thank you. Two more Qs (sorry).

What is a saddled air cell and what is a shipped egg? (One which whose 'ship has sailed?')

 

[Kiraeh]

Haha some would say so. Shipped means just that, eggs that have been mailed to you. I'm sure you can imagine, it tends to be hard on the eggs. Often the air cells are damaged in some way- detached, wobbly, or saddled. Search the forums for 'shipped eggs' and you'll find loads of threads with better info than I can give you and some bitter arguments about how to get the best hatch from them.

 

[Lorax]

Haha some would say so. Shipped means just that, eggs that have been mailed to you. I'm sure you can imagine, it tends to be hard on the eggs. Often the air cells are damaged in some way- detached, wobbly, or saddled. Search the forums for 'shipped eggs' and you'll find loads of threads with better info than I can give you and some bitter arguments about how to get the best hatch from them.

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer, thank you!

 

[chelseachook]

Any more chicks yet?

 

[Kiraeh]

Noooot yeeeet! I have an external pip but baby's taking their sweet time haha. I do have a couple of pictures from last night before it pipped.

The pipped one. Moving but not talking much, and the blood vessels are still pretty full(as of 8pm last night, idk now). Real chill chick. Pipped externally around ten last night, it's been about eight hours now.

My singleton spent the day yesterday being entertained by my husband and mother; visiting the garden, intrigiung the other chickens, getting a name(Neo), eating inappropriate treats. It's doing well, and seems not too distressed about being alone. It can see and talk to the four week olds who are also brooding in the porch.

 

[chelseachook]

Noooot yeeeet! I have an external pip but baby's taking their sweet time haha. I do have a couple of pictures from last night before it pipped.
View attachment 2253376

The pipped one. Moving but not talking much, and the blood vessels are still pretty full(as of 8pm last night, idk now). Real chill chick. Pipped externally around ten last night, it's been about eight hours now.

My singleton spent the day yesterday being entertained by my husband and mother; visiting the garden, intrigiung the other chickens, getting a name(Neo), eating inappropriate treats. It's doing well, and seems not too distressed about being alone. It can see and talk to the four week olds who are also brooding in the porch.
View attachment 2253384

Does he/she have a name yet? I hope the pipped one hatches soon!

 

[Kiraeh]

That last pic in my previous post is the next furthest along egg, I haven't checked on it this morning but it might be doing something today. Then I think the rest will be coming in tomorrow, and the orpingtons maybe not until Wednesday, they're big eggs. These silkie-polish hatched early last time too.

And the quitter:

Note the murkiness, clumpiness, lack of veins. Quit sometime between day 14 and yesterday. My suspicion is contamination, since this egg is one of the batch that came washed, and the other batch was not washed so it would have been fairly easy to pick something up from those eggs. Hopefully it's the only one I lose to that,fingers crossed. With sixteen eggs left I'll probably still lose one or two more at least.

Singleton chick is named Neo.

 

[Kiraeh]

Neo has a buddy! #5 hatched while I was at work.

I have a bunch more pips, internal and external. I'm pretty free about opening the incubator but I'm not gonna do it just to candle when I have external pips. I will take pictures if I assist tho.

 

[Lorax]

Ooh congrats!!