How Do I Know Whats In My Egg

[LaneyAngel]

Because I wasn't entirely sure about the viability of my four hens eggs, I decided, after what is somewhere around the vicinity of 2 weeks, to candle the eggs.

There is one egg in particular, that when I candle it, it looks fairly dense, a rather large majority of the egg is dark and the light will not penetrate it. One end of the egg has that wonderfully glowy area where there is what, yolk, or air, or something weird?

And on the lower side of the egg when holding it above the light, I can see veins...

BUT... as I slowly rotate the egg...
and remember, I've never candled an egg before, so I don't know what I should be seeing... but its looks, to my inexperienced eyes, like there is fluid inside the egg, and as I slowly rotate it, the large dark mass always stays on top of the fluid as well.

Maybe I'm not describing it properly, but have you ever seen those little things people have on their work desktops? It's a small globe with coloured liquid inside, and on top of the liquid there will be a dolphin, or a boat, and no matter what you do, you can't make the boat sink? The boat, whether the globe is upside down or shaken all around, is always on the surface of the coloured liquid?
Thats vaguely what my egg reminds me of...

Is anything I'm saying making sense?

This is my first time with eggs as I said, so apologies if it sounds stupid...
The other eggs I candled, two of them had very clear porous dots inside, so I disposed of them. And the fourth egg I'm just not sure of at all.

I would love for some help!!!!

 

[horsejody]

sounds like an embryo.

 

[horsejody]

http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/Embryology/Movie11Days.shtml

 

[LaneyAngel]

that looks so cool!!!!

But I'm not sure thats entirely what I'm seeing... there is the air sac... there is the big dark blob.... there is veins....

I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

right now, I'm using the most pathetic method of incubation known to man, because my hen, Cosette (yes I name my chooks) suddenly decided after a time, that she was bored with sitting on the eggs, and she would spend 90% of the sunlit day outside...

The last batch of eggs, she sat on until the day before they were due to start hatching, and she went off and spent the entire night and all the next day away from the eggs... Lost the babies because of it!

 

[LaneyAngel]

Ok, so I went and candled it again...
it is possible the egg is not as far along as I thought... but I did sit the egg perfectly still over the light, and the little black blobbiness was moving in there on its own... not courtesy of me sloshing it around at all!
So... here is me, hoping my actual incubator gets here really soon so the egg will be safer than using my current method of .... being kept warm in the space above my computer....

there is a thermometer there, and strangely, the temperature above the computer is perfect... but I would rather the egg be safer, properly looked after inside a machine thats made for the job.

 

[horsejody]

Make sure your humidity is good too.

 

[CovenantCreek]

Don't candle too much (hard when it's your first hatch, I know, not so easy after that, either), you don't want to risk the chick getting a chill. It sounds like you have a beautiful little embryo growing just like it should be.

Keep your temp around 99-100, and your humidity in the right range for the stage of incubation and you should have some chicks pretty soon. Good luck!

 

[LaneyAngel]

the humidity is perfect just from our natural weather at the moment...

Australian summers.... totally killer.

I hate summer! But right now, its perfect for the little eggy til my incubator gets here.


I got something called a Covatutto 7 I think it is?
Shaped eggy like, holds 7 eggs inside. Still air incubator.
I'll be a good girl, turning the eggs as I should of course... No worries there!

 

[LaneyAngel]

Ok, well, looking at the egg, I think its not entirely as far along as I thought... somewhere more than a week, but not as long as two weeks.


The egg survived the first night of my makeshift incubation, and I will continue to check the eggs progress.... as I'm not sure of how good this method of mine is... I will keep monitoring the egg to make sure the embryo is still viable.
When my incubator arrives, I will put the egg in there, and diligently turn it as I should... some people have recommend 3-5 times a day? Odd numbers are better it seems?

And then what.... what happens when it hatches? As soon as its free of the egg and standing and able to walk around, I take it from the incubator and place it in the chick box?
I don't think either of my females will accept it, as its been too long since the last baby born... So of course, I will have to raise it in the box with the heat source and that stuff... which is fine... but will baby be okay to be all by itself? Or should I buy a second chick as a companion to help keep baby warm, or what is the best thing to do?

 

[horsejody]

good luck