Embryo Movement

[TheSmallestEgg]

I have kind of a weird question.
So in short, I'm incubating 15 chicken eggs for the first time (woo). I can't help but candle them at every stage at this point, because I just...need to know whats going on. Today is day 5- as in, at 8 pm today, they'd have been in the incubator for 5 days. They look awesome so far, and I could see a heart beat on day three. I candled today and they're really... moving in there. I mean, it's incredible, but it seems a bit early, and I can't seem to find anything about movement, and if I do, its around day 6-7.

So, will someone with more experience please tell me, does it seem like my babes are on track? I know this might seem silly, but I need to know.
TIA!

 

[oregonkat]

The babies are fine. Let them be till day 14. I know, I know. It's very hard to let them alone when its your first time but just about everybody here will tell you that handling them too often is not good for them and you will be heartbroken if all that activity that you are seeing now, stops. Be patient, all will be well as long as your temp and humidity are on track. Day 14 candling will BLOW your MIND!!!

 

[TheSmallestEgg]

The babies are fine. Let them be till day 14. I know, I know. It's very hard to let them alone when its your first time but just about everybody here will tell you that handling them too often is not good for them and you will be heartbroken if all that activity that you are seeing now, stops. Be patient, all will be well as long as your temp and humidity are on track. Day 14 candling will BLOW your MIND!!!

The babies are fine. Let them be till day 14. I know, I know. It's very hard to let them alone when its your first time but just about everybody here will tell you that handling them too often is not good for them and you will be heartbroken if all that activity that you are seeing now, stops. Be patient, all will be well as long as your temp and humidity are on track. Day 14 candling will BLOW y

I know you’re right. And I know I need to hear it. It’s also that I want to see a lot of this stuff for myself because in a few weeks I’ll be incubating eggs with my preschool students. I just want to know what I’m SUPPOSED to be seeing. I also don’t candle every egg, just one or two out of 15. But no, you’re right of course, I would be devestated if something happened to them now, especially because I disturbed them.

 

[SuperMyke]

You are fine to look at them till "LOCKDOWN" that is day 18. You should be just fine. Sound like you are in of a real treat! Patients. I just hatched and some did not hatch till day 26 the runt and I call him/her. Only time will tell just a bit smaller than the rest but just as feisty. Have fun!

 

[Alaskan]

don't worry... rolling eggs about will not hurt them.... but I am a clutz, if I candle too much I am bound to drop one.

If you want a reason to mess with them every day.... you could start to weigh them every day to track weight loss. It is fun to watch, and will give you a much better idea of how well you are doing humidity wise.

It is not something to do every time that you incubate, but is IS nice to do the first 1 or 2 times to help you fine tune what works best for your environment and incubator.

http://avianaquamiser.com/posts/how_to_weigh_eggs_and_calculate_weight_loss/

 

[oregonkat]

I am sure you have already seen the articles here but there are several excellent articles with beautiful pics of the process of incubation. Enjoy!

 

[Jetblack2004]

Don't worry about your eggs too much! They sound just fine. It's best not to candle them lots as handling isn't particuarly good for them-- I knoe its very tempting though. Candle them again on days 10 - 12. You can remove any infertile/dead eggs them. After that you can candle them again on day 18 for final checks before lockdown!!

This thread is very interesting. It follows every stage of embryo growth: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/development-of-a-chicken-embryo-day-by-day.72537/

Good luck with your eggs!

 

[TheSmallestEgg]

Thank you everyone for your replies!!

Has anyone found anything specific to movement in the eggs online? That’s what I’m really interested in and that’s what my preschoolers are most interested in too. How and when the embryo starts to move in the egg and why. When it actually starts to respond to sound. Things like that. I definitely wouldn’t touch Em as much if I found some info on movement specifically so I could see that elsewhere.