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

[silkiechicken]

I'm on day 4 in 2 of the eggs I candled ther is a short red line what is this ? Is it a vien ?

Veins are web-like. A red line around the egg is usually a blood ring resulting from a dead embryo. That said, day 4 is way early for anyone new to candling/hatching to toss eggs. Check again at day 10 and don't toss till day 14.

 

[silkiechicken]

I have a question. I candled on day 10 and you can see something floating around inside. Is that the heart? Also, if the other eggs don't show the same movement, should I toss them? Thank you guys.

By day 10, anything moving on it's own power would be the embryo. The heart of a chick is well inside the body by day 10. You can only see the heart itself outside before day 3 or so if you crack open the egg and look at the chick (this will kill the chick). Candle on day 14 and decide then which to toss, by then, developing eggs will be distinctly different than ones which were infertile or died early on. That said, if you are not sure, no smell leave them till day 23/24.

 

[CaudeteSpain]

I have a question, since you were probably the first thing your chicks saw (like living breathing not other chick thing), are they really tame around you? I've never hatched chicks before except under a hen, so I've always had to tame them myself

Just an update on my goslings, they still follow me around when I go into the pen, but mum and dad are certainly the boss when it comes to the babies. I try not to interact too much with goslings as parents are teaching them more than I can. They now stand up to my "bossy ducks" and give as much as they get.
Now waiting for Monday as day 21 for my chicks in my homemade bator Mk11 complete with fan and thermostat (fingers crossed this works) my still air coolerbox bator worked well but hope the new one has a better percentage hatch rate.
Thought my geese were going to have another go at mating the other day as the male was getting a bit fruity with the female, not sure if they will have 2 hatchings a year or not???

 

[CaudeteSpain]

I have a question, since you were probably the first thing your chicks saw (like living breathing not other chick thing), are they really tame around you? I've never hatched chicks before except under a hen, so I've always had to tame them myself

Just an update on my goslings, they still follow me around when I go into the pen, but mum and dad are certainly the boss when it comes to the babies. I try not to interact too much with goslings as parents are teaching them more than I can. They now stand up to my "bossy ducks" and give as much as they get.
Now waiting for Monday as day 21 for my chicks in my homemade bator Mk11 complete with fan and thermostat (fingers crossed this works) my still air coolerbox bator worked well but hope the new one has a better percentage hatch rate.
Thought my geese were going to have another go at mating the other day as the male was getting a bit fruity with the female, not sure if they will have 2 hatchings a year or not???

 

[CaudeteSpain]

prob not the correct thread to ask this, but I have 2 drakes and one female duck, they are now over a year old and not had a single egg from the female, would this be due to having 2 drakes with one duck? should I just make one drake into pekin duck so I only have one of each or do ducks sometimes not lay until over a year old? They are a domestic form of mallards

 

[PekinMad]

Love this thread its so informative!
Please can I ask how you turn your eggs in your home made incubator?
Also you say that you 'lockdown' on day 18 and dont open again till hatch complete. I use a Brinsea octogan 20 and 40 incubator and they say day 19 to fill water trays then leave until hatch. Which would you recommend?
Cheers

 

[silkiechicken]

I don't know anything about ducks...


As for turning eggs, I turn them by hand about 3 times a day. I don't really keep track. Stop turning day 18 or 19... I doubt it'll make a difference. I just do my last turn at night on the 18th and call it good. I've missed a few days and they've been fine.

 

[Jillian12]

Hi guys. Just had my first egg hatch. It's a wc polish...I'm so excited. How long can chicks be in the incubator without food or water while others are still hatching?

 

[DeerFangRanch]

Working with shipped eggs (3 broken during shipping - not a great packing job) and the candling when I received them was depressing. Lots of moving air cells, some looked scrambled.

It's day 5 and after reading this thread (again), I candled.
Out of 21 that made it to incubation had 7 that are obviously alive & growing.
Some, I still can't tell and still saw moving air cells in others.
Made me feel much better about this group.

 

[silkiechicken]

24-48 hrs is fine

Hi guys. Just had my first egg hatch. It's a wc polish...I'm so excited. How long can chicks be in the incubator without food or water while others are still hatching?