Dead egg?

[chuiyl]

Hi everyone! First time time incubator here, already an obsessive candler!!

I've candles our 4 eggs and 1 looks odd compared to the others. I can't see many blood vessels and there seem to be blood spots. Unlike the other 3 where you can see the embryo moving around this one I can't see anything moving at all. Do you think it's a quitter?

Also the air sac looks abnormally large - almost half the egg itself!
Thanks for all your advice

 

[ali2211]

Hello, I'm a first time incubator too! I'm pretty sure your egg has what is called saddle air sac. Are your eggs shipped or local? Eggs that have been mailed or transferred typically has this issue. Unfortunately, this egg may not make it. With an irregular air sac, the chick will have problems getting in to hatching position. They also are unable to externally pip. If everything else looks okay with the egg, you should keep it incubated and candle again in a day or so. If you see a blood ring or any hairline cracks, remove it immediately! Sometimes dead eggs will explode and contaminate the rest of your clutch.

I understand your excitement! I'm so excited to see my baby chicks grow! However, it may be better to control our impulses to candle. Handling the eggs too much may lead to rupture of delicate blood vessels. I read somewhere else that candling should be limited to day 7, 12, and 17. But as long as we don't candle every day, I think it would be okay to check a few more times

 

[cmfarm]

How far along are the eggs?

 

[chuiyl]

The egg was 9 days old

You're right I should probably keep it and see how it goes. It just looks so different from the rest. Will try not to candle so much!!