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

[MamaKitty913]

Couple questions mamakitty, you are incubating with them laying flat, correct? You are hand turning them about 5 times a day, making sure to not stop on the same side everyday on the last turn, right? When you are talking about the aircell when candling, you aren't seeing it on the side of the egg, correct? If so that is called a detached air cell. If your just wondering about candling you can hold them upright and place a flashlight against the fat end of the egg and you should see a small air cell. You will probably see some veining started in the eggs that are fertile, but sometimes waiting to candle until day 7 is easier to see the veins. Hope I've helped, good luck!

Thanks chicken lady, I am leaving them but was wondering if the air cell would be on the side since I was laying them on the side. I am indeed turning about every 5 or 6 hours. I'll be candling either later tonight or tomorrow wooot!

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Thanks chicken lady, I am leaving them but was wondering if the air cell would be on the side since I was laying them on the side. I am indeed turning about every 5 or 6 hours. I'll be candling either later tonight or tomorrow wooot!

Hi mamakitty, if the air cells are visible at the side of the egg you have a problem. The only time I've seen that is with shipped eggs. They get handled so roughly that the air cell can detach from the top of the fat end of the egg and when you tilt the egg on its side the detached air will move to the side of the egg instead of staying on the top. I'm hoping that is not the case for you. If you candle tonight hold the egg upright, fat end up and shine your light at the top of the egg. You should see the air cell. Very gently tilt egg while shining the light on it still. The air cell should not shift, if it does than you have a detached air cell. If you have a detached air cell you need to incubate the eggs upright in a cut down egg carton and don't turn the eggs for 2 days. Hopefully the air cell will re-attach. Make sure you cut out part of the bottom of the carton so humidity can still get to the eggs. These eggs will need to remain upright thru the whole hatch and after 2 full days resting you will need to very gently tilt the egg from one side to the other side of the egg carton hole. Do this 5 times a day. Just handle very gently. The gentle tilt from side to side will keep the chick from sticking on one side or other. Another name for detached air cell eggs is a wonky air cell egg. I sure hope your hatch goes smoothly. If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. If at all possible try to tilt or turn your eggs every 2 to 3 hours. Never stopping on the same side of the egh at the end of the day. Otherwise your chick would spend all the night hours on just one side of the egg. If you did that for 18 days the chick would probably end up malpositioned in the egg.

 

[Pretty Chickens]

Thanks to ZooMummzy, I am doing a test run of my little plywood bator and her little rooster! And I'll be sharing pics! These images are all taken using a point and shoot Canon Powershot 710IS, and the light from an eagle tac set on high output. Photos are in real colors unless otherwise noted.

Click thumbnails for larger image!

The incubator:



It's got a clear top for hatch day viewing and two lightbulbs covered in foil because I was too cheap to buy ceramic heat lamps. The reason behind two bulbs is in case one light bulb burns out the incubator won't go cold. It has a salvaged computer fan and uses a salvaged GQF thermostat. There are about 8 layers of spar urethane coating the little beast so it's water tight. Started making it when I was about 13, so if I were to do it again, it would be much larger and have space planned for a fan/thermostat.

Temperature is measured with a Fluke digital multimeter with thermometer attachment, and humidity is measured via wet/dry bulb methodology.



0 hrs Note that with a bight enough light you can see though brown and green eggs easily. Shell thickness and egg size will impact image quality, so note these are bantam eggs.




This is a great example of a porous egg, not ideal for hatching.




28hrs Not much to see though the egg at this point. If you were to open the egg and look at it under a dissection microscope, you'd see that the head/neural fold has formed, and up to 4 pairs of somites. (Somites are mesodermal cells which migrate and give rise to tissues such as muscle, bone, and cartilage. Note the number on the egg, it serves as tracking and to know which side is "up" as I am hand turning 3x a day.




52 hrs If you look closely, you can see the start of the blood island in the middle of the egg. The heart is actively beating by this time and has started to turn; the heart starts out as a tube during development.

May be easier to see after photoshop, it's that darker ring on top of the yolk shadow





76 hrs At this point, limb buds have not only formed but are enlarging and the eye is beginning to become pigmented.


Some photo editing and you can really see the veins!


Schematic




100 hrs The limbs are now starting to look like limbs and the embryo starts to look like what a common person would say is an embryo.


Enhanced to see veins




Day5 On this day, the beak has just become viable and the chick's limb buds are no longer buds and instead will have identifiable digits! The black dot is the eye.



Edited to enhance veins



A day 3 or so quitter



Profile view and you can see the veins in my finger too.




Day6 It gets harder to take clear vein pics, as there is enough vascularization that it gets a bit washed out.


Enhanced image.


Embryo Movement Clip


Day 7 If you were to open them up, you'd see little specks where future feathers would emerge!




Day 8





Day 9






Day 10





Day 11




Video



Day 12




Day 13 If you opened them up, you'd see claws forming!








Day 14 It's so dark there is pretty much nothing really to see! Just a bit of space left





Day 15




Video


Day 16 You can see toes in the second one!



Toes video

Day 17





Day 18 Lock down!!!! Since there is plenty of space in the bator, I made little paper cups to put each egg in. Hopefully this will catch the majority of the hatch junk left over from popping out so clean up is a bit easier.





HATCH DAY Note, there is no plan to open the bator for the next 48 hours. The top is clear so all the action can be seen without compromising the hatch!
Pips



First to hatch: About 14 hours after the first pip at 4am. Note the clean hatch and absence of any blood in the shell. It was ready!


Hatch Video

Second to hatch: About 17 hours after the pip at 4am. Could have piped any time between 11pm and 4 am though. Another clean hatch.


Note the first vid is part of the zipping. The pip to zip can literally be hours to days, but usually, once it starts to zip and sets out to get out, the shifting and cracking process is about 20-30 mintues.
Zipping

This one gets to the point more.
Hatching


30 hours after the first pip, the hatch is now complete! This is about my average time to hatch. I've had some take even longer so there really is no rushing the little guys.
There were 7 fertile eggs that made it to day 3. All 7 hatched on their own without opening the bator between day 18 though post hatch and fluff.


Post hatch shell interior. Note that all the vessels are gone and it's just pink. Not a single drop of blood. The little blob in the bottom is the chick wastes from development; think of it as embryo poo.


And now the best part! The chicks!!!



The chicks have learned how to drink from a hamster water bottle.

Great information. Thanks Lovely pictures

 

[jwells84]

My first try at incubation.. this has helped alot! I definitely know which ones didn't start but having trouble with some of the others I have couple of defenatly viable, but out of 18 that is 5.. not sure on most of them. Today is day 13. Will it hurt to leave the not sure ones till day 18?

 

[DesertChic]

My first try at incubation.. this has helped alot! I definitely know which ones didn't start but having trouble with some of the others

I have couple of defenatly viable, but out of 18 that is 5.. not sure on most of them. Today is day 13. Will it hurt to leave the not sure ones till day 18?

It they aren't cracked or otherwise damaged it shouldn't be a problem. I've done the same thing several times now...just in case.

 

[Chris 007]

Thank you for the tips one the candle egg story. I have implemented it and i will let you know on the progress of the eggs.

 

[jwells84]

Thanks for the advice. so far all the ones I've tossed needed tossed. Hoping day 18proves the ones I have left are good.. I have a question on my incubator it is a little giant an does not have a visible humidity.just the wells in the bottom.how do I measure humidity?? It seems very important to have humidity right.

 

[Williamschooks]

 

[Williamschooks]

Amazing photos! Thanks for sharing you time and skills.

My chicken story at top, current question at bottom:

We've had birds n the family since about 1970, when my older brother,with my veterinarian Dad's collaboration, ordered 100 "leftover, various breeds" chicks from Murray McMurray.
20-some different breeds, and Dave and Dad started selecting for a new COLD WEATHER breed.
By hatching 150-300 eggs a year, eating and selling the culls, in about 12 years they had developed and registered STAKOTA chickens breeding true to type. An all purpose bird with Polish topknot, Cochin feather legs and disposition, they didn't mind 40 (sometimes 50) below zero in an unheated barn.
They are, unfortunately, extinct as far as we can tell. The 3 flocks we left with friends in North Dakota fell to mink and weasels mostly. Those we left in Utah a year after Dad died in 1993 also perished, as neither Mom nor any siblings could keep them...
Now setting 44 eggs from our big Nagoya Cochin rooster, and from after and son CHABO (mixed-flock Japanese bantam ) roosters in a homemade styrofoam still-air incubator.
Steady temp (38 degrees C +\- 1 degree) have been ok, but despite a full cake pan of water in the bottom below the screen and adding sponge and rag to it, couldn't get humidity up after I put the paper carton egg holder in.
Wet rags BESIDE the eggs, and closer to the 25-watt bulb, raised it to the 50-60 % range! but the egg holder is damp now.



My question: Is having eggs in contact with a damp carton detrimental?
if so, how else can I keep humidity up ?


Thanks. Joe-in-Japan

 

[Peeper 14]

Ok so I am trying this dry hatch method but somewhat confused on day 7, I see the yoke in there but don't see any vein like stuff, also only 2 of my 26 are showing an air bubble on top. My room humidity is around 40-50 % and in the bater is showing 32 %...Is this sounding good or bad at this point?