Confused about bantam egg hatch dates

[NaomiSarah]

Okay... I'm trying to find pictures of bantam chicks candled. I have two bantam eggs that I THOUGHT were only at day 7 of development, but on the candle, I can see it's little wings and feet and everything!!! It's WAY more clear (and seemingly bigger in the shell) than I would expect - it can't have fourteen days left in the egg!!! Can anyone share how early bantams CAN hatch? It's been in really steady 97-100 degrees, 42% humidity right now (which hasn't been STEADY but I'm home all day so I correct it quickly). Anyone have candling pics of a bantam at different stages?

 

[Oven Ready]

No pictures sorry, but the earliest our Japanese Bantams have hatched is 16 days, and that's only a few chicks not entire broods.
We mark each egg and keep careful note of when the hen starts sitting.
Normal is 18-19 days, late is 20-24 days - late is more common than early.

Our temperatures are between 42C (107F) daytime and 34C(92F) nighttime with 70-90% humidity. I would say we have shorter hatch times now (in the summer) than we do in the winter by about 1 day possibly 2. Winter is 36C daytime 26C nighttime humidity only slightly less.

 

[NaomiSarah]

I collected the eggs from the hen the day she laid them, but she had sat on them until dark that day. they stayed in the kitchen (which I THOUGHT wasn't getting too hot) for a day and then I put some in the incubator and some in the fridge. I suppose maybe it was developing during that time, which makes it... day 9 or 10. Sixteen days? WOW that's early. These aren't super tiny bantam eggs (not pullet either) so I doubt they'll come that early... but maybe I only have ten days left instead of 14, if I'm wrong about the time when it started to develop and wrong about the temperature in the house that day.

Yeesh guess I'd better not give away any bantam eggs from the fridge til I'm sure I used that set up... LMAO that would be embarassing, my SIL (who I give lots of eggs to) would probably puke if she cracked open a partially developed egg.... some people have weak stomachs lol

 

[NaomiSarah]

PS I mark mine too, and keep a spreadsheet... that's why this surprised me so much. Gosh I didn't think it would have developed after half a day under the hen and the cool night in the house.

 

[Oven Ready]

We don't get many at sixteen days, but those that did hatch early all survived. We have a lower survival rate for the late hatchers, though we have more of them so I guess that makes sense.

There are a few wild birds here that only incubate during the night, some thrush sized birds called Bulbuls. That suggests to me that high day time temperatures are sufficient to keep the embryo growing without incubation but our chickens all incubate 24x7 getting off about twice a day for food & water for 30 minutes or so.

Partially developed eggs are a delicacy here, especially if they are only a few days from hatching. Not a delicacy I like though - Yeeeuk.

It's a good idea to record your dates and mark your eggs - sometimes a sneaky hen will lay in anothers nest while she's out feeding and that's a wasted egg.

 

[NaomiSarah]

Well I segregate my brooders so that I can keep collecting eggs without possibly disturbing some that the hens are sitting on (or accidentally collecting them!) so that I don't collect any developed eggs, but all the eggs ARE fertile - I built them a "trailer park" which is a small coop with a tiny shelter just for raising the chicks - but it's attached to my main run so all the other hens are getting jealous and broody over the new little peeps.

Thanks for the information - after a little more candling I'm gonna guess my little chicks in those bantam eggs are day 10 instead of seven. Now, when do I lock them down? Earlier, since they're bantams? What if they still need turning after I lock em down? Ugh I thought I had planned this so well lol!!! So glad I have BYC to help me work out all the kinks.