How do twin eggs work? [Please help]

[TinyTotsSeramas]

I have an egg that was set in the incubator on September 12th that was confirmed to be thriving with twins on September 16th.. On day 4 I candled the egg an I could see where "Twin A" was on one side of the egg and where "Twin B" was on the other side of the egg. now that its almost day 7 of incubation, I can only find one twin (or so I believe).. Is it just the twins are getting bigger an they will start coming closer together as they get farther along an they have so much egg space now that one is just hidding or i am actually seeing both twins moving when I candle or is it something happened to one twin and only one twin is still alive? but if that was the case, wouldnt the other twin die also because of bacteria from the dead twin? please help me!

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

Any help on this please...
I would be nice..

 

[mstricer]

I'm going to post because usually when I post I can bump it or kill the thread

but any who, I'm no expert but, I really don't think at day 4 you can tell if it is twins. They usually don't make it. Supposedly a few have. I won't do it. Sorry I'm no help. But others will probably post now. Have a happy hatch. Good luck Michele

 

[nurse_turtle]

If there are 2 chicks in there and 1 had expired, the other will not hatch either and the egg will be a "quitter". Time will tell.

 

[mstricer]

Told you they would come
Michele

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

I know it was twins because I usually start to candle at day 3 because I am a chick heartbeat addict (I love seeing the little hearbeats)
and well there were 2 hearbeats in this egg one on the larg end of the egg and one on the small end of the egg.

Turtle - So if the one twin died, the other twin would have died by now also? DH and I are both seeing movement in the egg from the eyeball(s)

 

[nurse_turtle]

I don't think it would necessarily be dead yet and it could be that they have moved closer together and you can't see both clearly. Also, could you tell if there was 1 yolk or 2. If the twins share a yolk sac, that may diminish their chances and would almost certainly lead to death of one or both chicks. This is gonna be a interesting ordeal. As long as you see the good viable vessels, you know there's life in there somewhere. If those vessels disappear, then you know death has occurred.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

Quote:
I believe I seen 2 yolks when I candled it before I set it. there was 2 blobs in the middle of it. Its one of those monster eggs you get from hens just starting to lay and when you crack it open its a double yolk.. the vessels definitely keep growing with each day! So I am assuming thats a good thing!

 

[nurse_turtle]

More vessels mean there's a demand for more blood supply, so yay! that's good. When things get a little farther along, you may wanna draw on the egg with pencil where the chicks or yolks are, once they get big enough that they're not moving around much.

 

[Imp]

Don't have any experience, but here's a very long fascinating thread about a successful twin hatch.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=104245

Imp