Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Poultry FAQs and other Information => Topic started by: Casey76 on March 27, 2011, 21:26
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I hope that this thread will be interesting and useful to everyone :)
On Saturday 26th March I set 8 porcelain Sabelpoot eggs from my pair of porceialin sabelpoots. The eggs were laid over 11 days, and they are all dated on the egg. So far I have 100% fertility in my other Sabelpoot eggs I've set so far.
The eggs are very nice (even if I do say so myself ;) ), they are even in shape and size. The shell is not overly porus, the shells do not have wrinkles, or calcium deposits.
Day 1:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day1b.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day1.jpg)
Nothing to see yet, and the air cell is still very small, near the light. In the second pic, the slightly darker shadow which can be seen is the egg yolk.
Day 2
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day2b.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day2.jpg)
Again, not much to see at this stage. The aircell is still too small to be seen (though as they are sabelpoot eggs, it will remain small :)
Day 3:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day3.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day3b.jpg)
and in case you can't make it out very well...
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day3benhanced.jpg)
We have life!
How big is the difference between day 2 and day 3? Already the embryo is starting to grow a visible network of veins :)
Day 4
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day4.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day4b.jpg)
and again with the outline on:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day4benhanced.jpg)
Things are really cooking now ;) you can see how much the network of veins has grown in 24 hours, and how much bigger the actual embryo is (this is the circle in the middle of the spiderweb of veins).
What I think is especially amazing, that even though these are two different eggs, the pattern of veins is almost identical!
Day 5:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day5.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day5b.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day5benhanced.jpg)
By now the embryo has completely surrounded itself in a blood island. If you look closely you can see the heart beating, and the black dot of the eye is clearly visible.
Day 6
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day6.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day6b.jpg)
Day 7
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day7.jpg)
Video of heart beat (click!)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/th_P4020317.jpg) (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/?action=view¤t=P4020317.mp4)
Many people do a preliminary candle at day 7 to test for fertility... all my eggs are fertile ;)
We have now gone past the spider of veins and now the embroy is forming at a very rapid rate. In the video you can see it swishig about as the force of the heart beat makes the whole embryo move.
Day 8
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day8.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day8enhanced.jpg)
Day 9
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day9.jpg)
Day 10
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day10.jpg)
I recommend candling on day 10. At this point is it usually very clear if the egg is fertile and growing. If the egg was not fertile, it would look like a day 1 egg, perhaps with a bigger air cell.
Day 11
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day11.jpg)
So here we are at the half way point. You can see how big the embryo is getting. From here to day 18, it becomes more and more difficult to see more than a dark area iin the egg.
Sorry for the delay, photobucket was being very tempremental for me :(
Day 12
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day12.jpg)
With a bit of adjustment you can see a little more - just
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day12enhanced.jpg)
Day 13, and things get very dark from now on...
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day13.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day13enhanced.jpg)
Day 14
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day14.jpg)
Even enhancing doesn't have too much of effect...
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day14enhanced.jpg)
Day 15
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day15.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day15enhanced.jpg)
Day 16 - thes eggs are just sooo full now... not long till lock down!
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day16.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day16enhanced.jpg)
Day 17
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day17.jpg)
Day 18
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day18.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day18lockdown.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day18lockdownb.jpg)
Day 20:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/day20.jpg)
1 out, 7 to go... hopefully!
Day 21
8/8 hatched
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/Day21.jpg)
video of chick hatching (http://youtu.be/14rtx5fjGm8?hd=1)
video of chicks in incubator (http://youtu.be/WwLpspRnDB8?hd=1)
last one :)
video of chick number 7 hatching (http://youtu.be/UpWpf6gzbvY?hd=1)
I hope everyone has enjoyed the past 21 days, and I'll try to up date this thread every now and again as they grow :)
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This is going to be fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to show us what happens. :D
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Thank you Casey, as Jinty says it's going to be fascinating.
Although, it does rather make me hungry for boiled eggs...!!!
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Brilliant photo's Casey. This will be very interesting for people trying to hatch for the first time.
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Should be a useful post.
HF
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Fantastic pictures. Casey, in what you have outlined, am I right in thinking that is the shape of the chick developing i.e. head, abdomen & wings?
Its really interesting and only going to get more so!
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Thanks Casey brilliant photo's and more to come :D
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fascinating photos Casey, as I always use a broody hen and never candle eggs (very difficult with blue eggs) this is lovely to see - even more so as it is for new poots. Can I adopt them :D
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Sure Joy, you can have all of my cockerels ;) They are all porcelain so very very pwetty!
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noooooooooooo got 2 lemon cockerels already, just need some girlies for them :D
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Amazing :D :D
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Absolutely amazing :)
Do you use a proper candling torch or what?
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I use a hi lume torch from ebay (cost about £8) and a rubber "hood" which is from a proper candler (but the candler is so poor you can't see very much at all)
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Amazing :)
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I've never seen pictures like that before, thanks for taking the trouble to post them. Very interesting, I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
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Here's how to make a candler using a hi power torch (Maglite). The trick is to seal the light arround the shell so NO light creeps round the outside of the shell and obscures the interior. I used some black inner tube rubber to make the light seal and snipped little 2mm cuts around it very carefully using nail sissors so it was veryflexible. The light must light up the interior through the shell, don't make the hole too big.
(http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m491/hillfooter/Candler.jpg)
(http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m491/hillfooter/Candlerfront.jpg)
(http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m491/hillfooter/candlerrear.jpg)
HF
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It is amazing to see the development day by day and how quickly the embryo forms - thanks Casey :D
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Sorry about the delay in the next couple of days. Photobucket is being a pain in the behind at the moment... I do have days 9 and 10 though :)
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Sorry about the delay in the next couple of days. Photobucket is being a pain in the behind at the moment... I do have days 9 and 10 though :)
The photo's are great Casey. I've many times thought to myself I must do exactly what you are now doing but I haven't had the presence of mind to remember my camera so it's very good to see your photos in daily detail. I only candled at such regular intervals during my first couple of incubations to get a feel for now they develop. I only now candle twice after 7 days, to reject infertile ones, and 14 days to weed out any which haven't developed. After that I just let them run to hatch. It's amazing to see how much they can swirl about in the shell after around 7 days.
This post will be a great help to beginners to give them a feel for how their eggs are developing. Well done.
HF
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Sorry about the delay in the next couple of days. Photobucket is being a pain in the behind at the moment... I do have days 9 and 10 though :)
I only now candle twice after 7 days, to reject infertile ones, and 14 days to weed out any which haven't developed. HF
Hi HF, Normally I would only candle at day 10 and day 18, so this is something of an education to me too. I'm just amazed at how quickly the embryo grows!
I hope that everyone will be able to see on the day 10 pics (when photobucket decides to co-operate again) the legs, and even beak on the embryo!
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Thanks for the rubber seal idea on the torch HF! I always get a chink of light when I do mine!
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Thanks for the rubber seal idea on the torch HF! I always get a chink of light when I do mine!
snipping about 1 mm slits or so very carefully around the edge of the light seal with a sharp pair of nail sissors (i used my swiss army knife sissors) makes the edge very flexible so cutting out the light creep. The black carpet tape helps too.
HF
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love the video Casey :D
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Is it only me or did your incubation period fly by, when I let my broody sit the 21 days seemed to last forever, following this thread daily it has flew by. :)
Well done on the photo's and can't wait to see more chicks. :D
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lovely a pretty little chick - fingers crossed that when I wake up tomorrow there will be lots more for me to oooh and arrgh over :D
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Never mind the chickens getting broody, I'm starting to think that I really should get some day old chicks or hatch some...!
This has been absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this and share with us.
:D
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Really enjoyed that. Thanks for taking the time. Another 8 chicks to add to your collection. :lol:
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WOW What biology lesson!! Those photos were fantastic. Could you post a piccie of what they are going to look like fully grown please?
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Pullet 12 weeks old:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202010/Bimblepoot309Aug2010.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202010/Bimblepoot09Aug2010.jpg)
Pullet POL:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/poot324Jan2011.jpg)
Cockerel
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/oconnka4/Chickens/Chook%202011/sabelpoot206Feb2011.jpg)
:D
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I thought I'd just wandered across the Vogue web site for chickens! Lovely birds who seem to be living in a rather up market coop. Great photos too.
You obviously know all about f stops and field of focus etc to get such good egg and bird shots.
HF
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Absolutely fascinating! :)
Many thanks Casey. How may pullets did you have from your original hatching?
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Which do you mean by "original hatching"?
Last year out of 6 bought eggs I hatched two pullets, both seen on the photo on the last page. I bought the cockerel in.
This year I've had three hatchings, all about a week apart, with the oldest being 4 weeks old now. They are still too young for me to be able to tell... however I'm guessing they are both pullets (now comb development yet) :D
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Well good luck with them and thank you for the pics and video. :)
It is lovely to see them start to interact even straight from the egg when the others give a curious peck.
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i am waiting for your future uploads.
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Have just found time to follow the whole process and watch your videos - amazing!! Thank you so much for taking the trouble to record it in such detail.
Would this topic be sufficiently informative to earn promotion to Poultry FAQs?
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This post is fantastic. So helpful that I now know what to look for when I have a go at candeling for the first time.
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Awwww i dont know about hens being broody but it sure is making me ha ha ha my babies have been in 7 days now i am having them hatched for me them photos are amazing and make me understand what is going on Thankyou so much x
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Very informative - and lovely looking birds. Tell me, have they got feet or do they glide on castors under all that feather?? :lol:
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That was amazing, thank you so much, loved seeing the progress :D
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Thanks for the pics & info.
Since I have had my Bantams, from three months, I have been watching my rooster go about his business, & hopefully he will add to the flock, I have been candelling some of the eggs, in the hope.
Over this weekend, one of my hens has been on the nest more than usual,which has led me to think that she is about to produce, offspring. This morning, she came out with the rest, apparently very hungry, I took the opportunity to candle the egg she had laid, I am pretty sure, it has the required tell tale signs of growth , as I rotated the egg, a darker spot appeared, and moved inside the egg.
After reading all the advice on incubating eggs I quickly returned the egg to the coop, she was already back on the nest, I gently placed the egg back beneath her. If she stays on the nest, I am reasonably certain that she will produce,
Should I put any food or water in the coop, to help her ??????.
any advice would be very helpful, Thanks
Rocker
any advice would help please
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No need for food and water in the coop, she will come out for a feed drink and poo. You don't want her to soil her nest or spill water which will make it damp.
If she is sharing a coop you would be better putting her on her own in a broody coop. I have 2 broody bantams at the moment. Each has 6 eggs and I have separated them, one in a coop with run attached and the other I have bought a large secondhand rabbit hutch. This stops them trying to steal each others eggs which can result in breakages.
Good luck with your hatching. :)
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This is great !! You should send it too someone that makes books about poultry and hatching
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Great informative thread!
I now know how to make my own candler! I shall commence work tonight!!
Paul.
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Our eggs went into the incubator today :D
We have had chicks hatch before but never by incubating them ourselves so should be fun!
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This evening one of the eggs had like bubbles of hard stuff on the shell, i had a quick look in the egg by candling and it looks like it is full of crystals. I had to wash the eggs off using the disinfectant (as they were heavily soiled) that came with the incubator and the instructions said that you had to fill one of the pots up with the disinfectant and not water. I wonder if this has affected the aggs?
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Brilliant information and pictures. 11/10 ;)
Thanks you
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I came across this site recently and thought it might be of interest to the forum members.
Chicken Embryo Development
www.ogpbb.com/chicken-embryo-development/index.html
The second page is really interesting.
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I always use this one for reference.
http://www.cobb-vantress.com/contactus/brochures/EmbryoFlipChart.pdf
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That is a really clear one. Candled some eggs yesterday and one had stopped developing so I opened it to see what stage it got to, about day 14. Don't know what went wrong but the broody had pushed the egg to the edge of the nest and it was cold. She still has 2 that I am hopeful for but not sure what date she started sitting. Will leave her to decide for herself if they are viable or not.