Day 18 candling

[kiweed]

Should I see a lot of movement on day 18?The other than the air cell the rest of the shell is so dark. How do I know the chick
Is still alive?

 

[krista74]

As a first time chicken owner, I am on Day 18 of my first batch of eggs too! My broody is a RIR hen, and I never would have thought she would be one to go broody, but I guess she didn't read the instruction manual!

All I can tell you is that I candled my eggs today too, and all I could see was a sliver (maybe 1/8th) of the egg which was clear - ie: the air bubble, and the rest of the egg was black, which I couldn't see through at all. I could not detect any movement, and couldn't see any veins either. Nothing but blackness.

I am hoping this is a good sign! My eggs are all brown, and I have heard they are harder to see through. Perhaps this is why I can't see the veins anymore, whereas I could a little at the start.

I guess all we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best at this point! At least we are both in the same boat. Please keep me posted on how you go in 3 days time! By the way, how many eggs do you have, and are you incubating or using a broody?

- Krista

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=230. Hope this link helps with your candling question. By day 18 in the egg there is very little to see as the chick is taking up so much space so seeing that's it's very dark is a good sign. Good luck to both of you with your imminent hatch.