water candling - is this chick dead?

[Silkiechicmom]

Hi All-

MY broody hen was sitting on two fertile eggs. One hatched on day 19 and she abandon the nest shortly thereafter with the chick. I put the egg in an incubator and it is now day 24 with no movement. I tried candling the eggs and I can not detect movement. I tried water candling and this is what I have (see photo). Is the chick dead? I don't want to open the egg and I would feel terrible unplugging if there is any chance it's alive. Thanks!!

 

[FuzzyOwlFeet]

Is it wiggling when it's in the water or just floating? From my understanding wiggling means it's alive.

 

[Silkiechicmom]

Is it wiggling when it's in the water or just floating? From my understanding wiggling means it's alive.

no movement or wiggling in the light or water, is it normal for it to be on the side?

 

[Kellyjenny]

I think it should be floating at the air sack. Facing upward I think.

 

[nuthatched]

You really shouldn't water candle live eggs but have you calibrated your hygrometer and thermometer?

 

[Sierra G]

The point of "water candling" is that it's easier to see movement when it's floating. How it floats may not tell you much. The downside of this method is that if there are undetected cracks or a pip that you didn't notice your chick could easily drown. Also, unless the water is the same temperature as your incubator you could dangerously chill the egg. It's not a technique I'd recommend.

I'd dry it off with a towel and put it back in the incubator for about an hour. Then set it out for a few minutes and see if it cools off noticeably. If the chick's alive it will still be producing body heat and the egg won't cool down as rapidly as a dead egg. If you need a dead egg for comparison, just put one from your refrigerator in the incubator when you put this one back in. Heating it to 100 degrees for an hour won't make it inedible, but don't mix them up

 

[Silkiechicmom]

The point of "water candling" is that it's easier to see movement when it's floating. How it floats may not tell you much. The downside of this method is that if there are undetected cracks or a pip that you didn't notice your chick could easily drown. Also, unless the water is the same temperature as your incubator you could dangerously chill the egg. It's not a technique I'd recommend.

I'd dry it off with a towel and put it back in the incubator for about an hour. Then set it out for a few minutes and see if it cools off noticeably. If the chick's alive it will still be producing body heta and the egg won't cool down as rapidly as a dead egg. If you need a dead egg for comparison, just put one from your refrigerator in when you put this one back in. Heating it to 100 degrees for an hour won't make it inedible, but don't mix them up

Thank you so much! I used water that was 100 degrees and before I candled it with a candling flashlight and there was no movement at all in the egg and no cracks or pips. This was done a last resort before unplugging the incubator. That is great advice about the egg temperature. I will try that before making a decision! Thanks!!

 

[Silkiechicmom]

You really shouldn't water candle live eggs but have you calibrated your hygrometer and thermometer?

This egg was in with my broody for 21 days and then she abandon it to care for the hatched chicks. I only took it out and put in the incubator as a last ditch effort to help. The temp and humidity on the incubator is doubled checked and working. I've never water candled before because I typically use a light candler but I saw no movement two days in a row with the light.

 

[nuthatched]

This egg was in with my broody for 21 days and then she abandon it to care for the hatched chicks. I only took it out and put in the incubator as a last ditch effort to help. The temp and humidity on the incubator is doubled checked and working. I've never water candled before because I typically use a light candler but I saw no movement two days in a row with the light.

Ahhhh, ok, well, if you see no movement or internal pip or hear nothing, it's probably a quite right, I'm sorry. Can you post pictures of the flashlight candling?

 

[Silkiechicmom]

Ahhhh, ok, well, if you see no movement or internal pip or hear nothing, it's probably a quite right, I'm sorry. Can you post pictures of the flashlight candling?

What do you think based on these photos? When I candled on day 18 the air sac was on the bottom and the chick was moving quite a bit.