Need Incubating Facts For Project

[Valhalla Acres]

Hello! I am making a 4-H project on hatching healthy chicks, and I am looking for ways to see if the egg is unhealthy or not fertile. I have a lot, but not enough. I was wondering how fellow farmers can tell if their eggs are unwell during the incubation process. Thank you!

 

[Pyxis]

Unhealthy in what way? As in they have died and won't hatch? In those cases you can tell when you candle because the veins will disintegrate, the embryo will look like a black blob, and of course growth will stop. If they die in the early stages you may also see a blood ring, which is a ring of blood around the egg.

 

[Kiki]

Can you share a list of what you already have?

 

[Kiki]

If the eggs starts to turn gray/dark, it likely means it's no good.
If a hen kicks an egg out of her broody nest, it likely means something is wrong with said egg.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Hello! I am making a 4-H project on hatching healthy chicks, and I am looking for ways to see if the egg is unhealthy or not fertile. I have a lot, but not enough. I was wondering how fellow farmers can tell if their eggs are unwell during the incubation process. Thank you!

uh.... first thing to check would be shell quality, for cracks, or how porous it is. a porous egg when a light is shone into it, has lots of lighter spots in the shell. the problem with a porous egg is it will loose humidity faster than a non-porous one. and also it is easier for the egg to be contaminated with bacteria.

the only real way to tell if an egg is fertile is either by cracking it open (which means no longer hatchable) or set it and wait for something to happen. usually around day 5 you can see something growing inside if it's fertile depending on how dark your eggs are. most people wait until day 10 before they decide if an egg is fertile or not. if there's nothing growing by day 10 there isn't going to be.

if at any point while incubating the blood veins vanish and there is a red shape (a blood ring) though it doesn't have to be circular. then that egg has died and needs to be removed to prevent contaminating the other eggs.

any eggs that give off a bad smell should also be removed. (all healthy eggs I've incubated smell as fresh as the first day they were put in.)

any eggs that have liquid coming out of them should be removed as soon as possible.

dirty eggs shouldn't be set, though I have set them myself. It's just more likely that those eggs could become contaminated.

air cell size should be monitored either by candling or by weight.

some eggs can have their aircell damaged, detached, or misshapen which could cause problems with hatching. these problems can be seen with candling.

all through incubation once you've seen movement, any eggs that no longer have a moving chick inside (usually accompanied with the blood veins disappearing and possibly a blood ring) are dead. if it's hard to see, so long as there is not an external pip you could "water candle" an egg. by putting it in a bowl of warm still water and seeing if there is any movement, that the egg makes on its own.


I don't know if I've covered everything. obviously doing as little to the eggs as possible is best, this is just stuff I've come across while learning how to incubate myself. this is in no way an incubation how to.

 

[Valhalla Acres]

Unhealthy in what way? As in they have died and won't hatch? In those cases you can tell when you candle because the veins will disintegrate, the embryo will look like a black blob, and of course growth will stop. If they die in the early stages you may also see a blood ring, which is a ring of blood around the egg.

Thank you for the feedback that is awesome information

 

[Valhalla Acres]

If the eggs starts to turn gray/dark, it likely means it's no good.
If a hen kicks an egg out of her broody nest, it likely means something is wrong with said egg.

Very interesting! Thank you for the information!

 

[Valhalla Acres]

uh.... first thing to check would be shell quality, for cracks, or how porous it is. a porous egg when a light is shone into it, has lots of lighter spots in the shell. the problem with a porous egg is it will loose humidity faster than a non-porous one. and also it is easier for the egg to be contaminated with bacteria.

the only real way to tell if an egg is fertile is either by cracking it open (which means no longer hatchable) or set it and wait for something to happen. usually around day 5 you can see something growing inside if it's fertile depending on how dark your eggs are. most people wait until day 10 before they decide if an egg is fertile or not. if there's nothing growing by day 10 there isn't going to be.

if at any point while incubating the blood veins vanish and there is a red shape (a blood ring) though it doesn't have to be circular. then that egg has died and needs to be removed to prevent contaminating the other eggs.

any eggs that give off a bad smell should also be removed. (all healthy eggs I've incubated smell as fresh as the first day they were put in.)

any eggs that have liquid coming out of them should be removed as soon as possible.

dirty eggs shouldn't be set, though I have set them myself. It's just more likely that those eggs could become contaminated.

air cell size should be monitored either by candling or by weight.

some eggs can have their aircell damaged, detached, or misshapen which could cause problems with hatching. these problems can be seen with candling.

all through incubation once you've seen movement, any eggs that no longer have a moving chick inside (usually accompanied with the blood veins disappearing and possibly a blood ring) are dead. if it's hard to see, so long as there is not an external pip you could "water candle" an egg. by putting it in a bowl of warm still water and seeing if there is any movement, that the egg makes on its own.


I don't know if I've covered everything. obviously doing as little to the eggs as possible is best, this is just stuff I've come across while learning how to incubate myself. this is in no way an incubation how to.

Thank you for all this information! I will be sure to give you credit in my project! I can not thank you enough!

 

[Valhalla Acres]

To be h

Can you share a list of what you already have?

To be honest I didn't have any. I was trying to make it sound like I made some progress.

 

[Kiki]

To be h

To be honest I didn't have any. I was trying to make it sound like I made some progress.

Next time you need help just say so...
we all don't mind helping.