Quick Question for experienced hatchers...

[ChrystalGail]

I had an egg that I thought had gone bad. It had an embryo and pretty good veins, but they weren't anchored to the shell, like my others have are. I candled it and could see the little 1 week embryo, but now movement. Also, it had a pip (small circle hole) in the top of the egg already (not sure how it happened). I thought for sure that it was a gonner, since everything was loosly moving around in the egg. Well, I cracked it open and the little embryo was still alive!

I could see it's poor little heart beating. Now for my question(s) Would it have made it with everything slushy like? Did I make a mistake taking it out, or would it have died anyway? This is my first time hatching eggs and I'm a little edgie and worried.

I'm sure a lot of you can sympathize!

Thanks

 

[silkiechicken]

Hard to say if it would have made it but if you can see veins, the chick is alive. If the chick dies, all the blood sinks to the bottom because there is no pressure keeping the vessels taught and filled with blood. If it was behind the others in development though, it may have had some defect you couldn't see. Good luck with the rest!

 

[ChrystalGail]

Thanks! I will let things go a lot further before I take another egg out. I just have this huge fear of an egg exploding in the bator! I know I've been reading too many posts! HeHe...

Am I right that the veins attach to the shell and the embryo float loosly attached to the veins with the umbilical cord (or what ever that is)? Or does it all move around in the egg?

 

[jimnjay]

I think you made the right decidion. It is never worth having an egg explode. You also learned something about what you are seeing when you candle. I have tried to develop the nerve to open questionable eggs and I have gotten to where I can do it. There is so much to learn about the development of you chicks when you examine an egg. Sometimes there are live embryos but you will never know if it would have made it to hatch. I personally doubt it from what you describe. People have patched egg shells sucessfully but I personally would never take that chance. There are always more eggs and more hatches as far as I am concerned.

I can tell you that lots of eggs that show development early on do not continue to develop. I don't know all the reasons but I most always have some quitters in my hatches. There are even quitters in eggs incubated by the hens. That is why it is important to try and learn as much as you can about what you are seeing when you candle.

Good luck with the rest of your eggs.