First time hatching - Chicks under-developed?

[Miizki]

So I put the eggs under my hen on April 19th. This is my first time hatching eggs and candling. I looked at a chicken egg development chart (where it shows the embryo growing at each day), but the embryos in my eggs look like they are only about a week old. Am I doing something wrong? Maybe it just looks a little different because I can't actually see what it looks like and I'm just looking through the shell with a light. How can I tell better what they look like and how they are doing? Also do the 21 days start on the day I put them under my hen? Maybe if someone can please post some pics of what it should look like when candling? Thanks

 

[dipence71]

Do a search on incubation/development of chicks and you will find allot better answers than I can give. And there are lots and lots of pictures and there are video and pict. on youtube. Hope that helps

 

[TXmom]

The pics are posted in a sticky at the top of this "Incubating and Hatching Eggs" forum:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876

What you see depends on how bright your light is, and what color eggs you are candling. When I candle white eggs, I can see great, but I hardly see anything in my blue eggs. The good thing about having a broody hen is that she does all the work and you don't need to worry about temps and humidity

Day 1 starts on the day you set them if you set them early in the day...but if you set them in the evening, then the next day is Day 1. Also, most eggs under a broody hatch in 20 days instead of 21, but that's not ALWAYS the case, depends somewhat on weather conditions and how often and how long she gets off the nest to eat.

 

[Miizki]

Well I have no idea what's wrong with my eggs. I have a very bright light and my chicks maybe look like they are at day seven or eight, maybe nine. But they should be about on day 12 or 13 right? They move around just fine though, so I know they are alive. Maybe the fact that they are mixed breeds has to do something with that? They are large eggs but they were taken from a flock of mixed breeds and bantams. So I have no idea, but at least they are alive.

thanks

 

[bantyshanty]

I've had eggs like that --where the embryos kept looking underdeveloped the whole time. They were a breed I wasn't used to incubating, but they popped out on Day 20 totally formed & perfect! I had another batch that kept looking like formless shapeless moving goo until Day 15 or so, and those all hatched fine too. --No clue what made them look different, it just worked. Hope this helps?

 

[elmo]

I wouldn't worry about it...in fact, I had similar questions after candling but so long as you see something (the egg isn't clear) pop it back under the hen and see what happens. You probably shouldn't be holding the eggs over a candling light repeatedly for too long a time, anyway.

I just spotted two little chicks peeking out from under one of our hen's breast feathers, all dry already. So something worked out right!

 

[Cluck-a-Doodle-Doo]

In our last hatch at day 12 all of out EE's were completely dark, our silkies were coming along nicely but our Polish eggs had just veins and an embryo in them. It didn't look good to me, it looked more like day 5 or 6. But 7 out of the 8 Polish hatched and are doing well. I thought they were underdeveloped but didn't want to give up on them. Just give it time and see what happens.