egg rescue mission successful - now what?

[ownedbyparrots]

I saved two fertilized eggs from dissection during my general biology lab today - they're both 5 days old (had I cracked the eggs open, you could have seen a beating heart and developing eyes).

Is there any hope of keeping the embryos alive, and hatching them? I don't have an incubator, but hopefully tomorrow one will be available for me to use. Would the embryos survive a day with improvised incubation?

 

[ebonykawai]

Are the shells cracked open?

 

[justusnak]

The eggs will need to be kept warm, about 100 degrees. Put them in a box....with a damp towel next to them. do NOT wrap them in the towel...put a lamp over it..and keep them warm untill you can get them in the bator. They MIGHT make it! Just will be a late hatch, if they survive the cool down.
Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[ownedbyparrots]

The shells aren't cracked, at least.

Thanks for the advice - I have them nested in paper towels in an empty aquarium with a cover and heat lamp, with a bowl of hot water next to it. Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[hinkjc]

Put a thermometer in there to see how warm it is. You want it around 102 F in the aquarium to keep the incubation process going. Good luck.

Jody

 

[silkiechicken]

Well... really you shouldn't be taking eggs like that from a school lab... but there is still a chance at hatching them. The sooner in an incubator the better. My guess is that they will be white leghorns of the commercial hatchery strains if this is a university class.

 

[ownedbyparrots]

It's at 99 degrees fahrenheit right now. I don't know if I should put the lamp directly over the eggs. It would be warmer, but does direct light affect them?

And yes, this is a college class, but don't worry - my lab instructor let me keep my egg, and actually gave me a second one leftover from the previous lab section.

 

[silkiechicken]

Light won't bother them. I actually use lights to heat my incubator for the full 21 days. Hope they make it!