Eggs develop even in mild temp?

[suzannaski]

I had a weird thing happen. My Ameraucana made a new nest, and she laid five eggs in it before I found the nest. She did not stay on the nest, and it was mild spring weather (40F at night, 60F-70F in day) so I brought the eggs inside because I figured they'd still be good to eat. I checked them with the water/float test, of course.
So, one of the eggs was fertile and started to develop.
Is that possible? Everything I've read says you need 99F and 50% humidity.
Obviously I'm going to more diligent about keeping track of eggs.
I don't plan to incubate, but I am SO curious as to how I got a developing egg!
Thanks for any insight

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are you sure it was developing and that it was not a meat spot or blood spot? Egss can develop a little at below incubating temperatures, but not that much below.

You might want to look at this link to see what some of the internal defects look like.

Egg Quality Handbook
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! I don't think you can tell if a possibly 5-or-so-day old egg is developing or not developing by a water/float test. What did it *do* to make you think it was developing?
You would need to candle to be able to tell (unless you cracked it to check, of course) it is developing.
If it behaved differently in your float test, it might have been because it was the oldest egg.
It is curious.

Lisa

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[suzannaski]

Oh, sorry! I wasn't clear. When I brought them in the house, I made sure none of them floated.
Then the next day I was cooking, cracked one open, and there was a bloody embryo. Could make out the eye. Whole thing was about the size of large pill. Based on the images from cobb-vantress, I would say it looked like day 5.

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! That really is bizarre (not to mention the yuck-factor) and the reason most eggs get candled when I bring them in.
Maybe your Ameraucana girl was spending enough time on the nest to get an egg started developing? But the rest from the nest looked good?
Your temperatures aren't hot enough, unless maybe the nest was in direct sun all day, for a fertile egg to start developing without some 'help'.
Other than that, I don't know. Was it still... alive?

Lisa

 

[suzannaski]

How do you candle tinted eggs? I can't see anything except that the shell is sometimes kinda porous when I candle. Thankfully it was not still alive. It had spent enough time in the fridge, I think. I hope that was the only one- they are all mixed in with the other eggs! (OMG, I hope I didn't sell one like that!) I have one Araucana roo and one Araucana/Ameraucana roo, so hopfully either the remaining eggs were not fertilized or were not warm enough to develop. I'm not sure how much time she sat on the eggs besides when she was laying another. She was broody back in March for about 2 weeks (read: just long enough for me to try a few eggs under her to my great disappointment). The nest was in a bag of hay strings in the barn, always in shade, and I round everyone up at night and shut them in the coop, so all I can figure is the bag & strings were enough insulation against the rather cool nights. We're talking New England spring, where it was getting pretty chilly at night. Maybe one of the cats slept in the bag at night with the eggs. I'm baffled, but curious to almost want to experiment with temps to see what hatches.