Newbie help - candling day 7

[mcclucker]

I had intended for my broody to hatch these but she changed her mind so I rigged a diy bator - struggled with temp so switched them to an Amazon one-day shipping one - temp has been steady since Sunday at 99-100, humidity around 45-50%. These poor eggs have been through a lot. It’s day 7 and I have two that are growing and a third I can’t see into very well because it’s a dark Marans egg. I have a super bright led flashlight.

My CCL is doing great and I can see it wiggling around and the heart beating. This below is a lavender ameraucana. Is the way half of it is light normal? I had some issues with constant humidity the first 3 days too. It was up and down. It has good vascular development but I can’t see a visible embryo very well. The air cell also looks big - too big for end of day 7?

Also, any tips on the Marans egg? I can kind of see a dark area in it but no clue if it’s just the yolk or not.

 

[JaeG]

You're doing better with your Maran eggs than I am with some Button quail eggs. My new hen lays the thickest shelled eggs and it's a real challenge to even see the air cell, even when they are close to hatching!

Anyway, I've had eggs look just like your photos with veins on one side. They've gone on to develop and hatch just fine. The veins just haven't grown all the way round the membrane yet. The air cell does look rather big for 7 days though. The shell looks porous which leads to faster moisture loss. How do the other air cells look in comparison?

 

[mcclucker]

They all look pretty porous to me. Here’s the CCL and the Marans eggs. The CCL is a much bigger egg and I feel like the air cell is slightly smaller. If I keep the humidity up for the rest of the incubation can I slow down the moisture loss?

 

[JaeG]

Yes, I'd up it and just monitor them. Let the eggs tell you what they need and forget 'the rules'.

 

[mcclucker]

Day 11 and the three seem to be doing ok. Much darker inside so they are definitely growing. Air cells look about the same so that’s good. Also the Marans is definitely growing - can easily see air cell and large dark mass inside now. Yay!