Checking fertility after incubating for 7 days...

[Riven]

I was wondering if you can check fertility on eggs that don't develop after 7 days.

I took some eggs that didn't develop and cracked them open, some started and had a little "meat" and few blood vessels, but only one or two veins.

Others had nothing and did not appear fertile. Would eggs that had been in the incubator still show that they were fertile? I'm curious as these where eggs I bought and had shipped. This particular batch wasn't an expensive batch, but I thought it was be nice to know this for future batches for more expensive eggs.

Thanks!

 

[MandyH]

The ones with a little meat and a few veins were good.

 

[Riven]

I'm not saying a know a lot about candling, but I know that the ones that had meat in them showed no signs of development during candling, usually by 7 days there is extensive veining spidering with a visible embryo.

If they were good eggs then why did they show much less development, as if they were less than day 3 according to the UNL embryo chart ( http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/Embryology/EmbryoPhotos.shtml )

 

[Germaine_11.20]

the ones with a little meat and veins were good or at least it was. That is how the egg looks when it is developing.
If there are veins then it has or had a chance.
It might have just stopped developing for some reason. Or maybe your incubator temperature is running low. Maybe not.
By day 7 I can usually see the eye of the chick through the shell. A large black spot and I can usually see it move around a bit.
I think it is a good idea to wait until day 10 before I toss or open any up. And then I pick one and do one at a time while I gain confidence. I am always thinking I am opening an egg and it might have been viable. However, I have not been wrong yet. I Just worry.

 

[Riven]

I agree with you! I hate taking eggs out and usually wait past the 7 day mark, I must've been feeling frisky with these ones!

I don't understand if they were still good, why the difference in development? Some species say something like... 24-28 days or something like that, but chickens always say 21...

 

[Riven]

I just wanted to bump this up to see if anyone knows...

A fresh fertile egg has the "bullseye" sign of being fertile. Is this present still after being incubated for 7 days?

 

[Germaine_11.20]

The bullseye is gone and the red veining replaces it. Did you see any formation of a chick at all?

 

[Germaine_11.20]

How do you bump a page. I still don't know how to do that

 

[Riven]

To bump all you have to do is post something on the thread, even just "bump!" the list is compiled according to the more recent addition, so which ever thread is at the top is the one that has the most recent post in it.

Two out of the 5 or 6 I broke open had meat and one or two very small strands of vein maybe 1/2" long, the rest had nothing. One had a broken yolk.

I did not see any sign of development or any bullseye as is found with fresh fertile eggs ( not put in the incubator ) so I was wondering if they bullseye is only good with fresh eggs, or is a way to check fertility on eggs that had been in the incubator as well.

Thanks!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Well the bullseye in the fresh eggs turns into the chick in the incubated egg.
So after it has been in the incubator the bullseye should not be there, but a growing and developing chick should, with strong red veining showing.
The stronger the veining the stronger the chick is what I have found. Those weak little veins usually don't get you anything. They just die in the shell.