Egg a dud or late bloomer?

[tricialemon]

Does your phone have a flashlight? Try that. Depending on how strong it is in comparison to your flashlight, it could make a big difference.
I do not use the float test.

I used the brightest flashlight (LED) I could find and a toilet paper tube covered in electrical tape. I worked very well candling before they got too far along, and I have used my phone flashlight as well to candle when they were in the early stages of embryo development. Right now it all looks so black and dark in there, no matter how bright the light, it seems.

 

[tricialemon]

In my opinion if it is that late to hatch and given what you said the embryo may have terminated early for unknown reasons . If you want to find out crack the egg and look for a moving embryo if it is alive . The best thing you can do is learn but learning most of the time comes with a price what ever it may be .

I’ll try that tomorrow if no sign of life. It’s definitely disheartening to lose some chicks but it is my first hatch and through this experience I can learn how to hopefully make the process smoother next time. I’m sure my hen will go broody again after this clutch hatches (or doesn’t). But maybe I’ll buy an incubator since I have to take them away from her anyways since she doesn’t have the best mothering instincts...

 

[Flockincrazy]

Hello! So as some background, this is my first hatch.

My Australorp is very broody so we finally got a rooster to give her some good eggs to lay on, and we started out with 5 viable eggs initially (candled around 3 days and could see embryos starting). Unfortunately, a few days later, she had moved too much straw from underneath the eggs and 2 of them broke on the bottom of her nesting box, so that same day I put 7 more eggs under her in hopes of getting at least a few chicks. (They are spaced out 4 days so the others should be hatching today and tomorrow if all goes well.)
I must say, I was pretty naive at first, thinking nearly all of them would turn out to be sweet fluffy chicks, but we lost the second of the original eggs and one of the second batch got cracked somehow.
Our first chick came right on time, 21 days, but it's now been 5 days since. There should still be 1 egg from the original 3 but it hasn't hatched yet. I tried the floater test yesterday because I was worried it was DIS, but it was a low floater and I took that to mean it might hatch in a day or so. I don't want to kill a chick that might just be a late bloomer and a little weak at birth, but am I being too optimistic? Is there a chance a viable egg can hatch at 26+ days?

Thank you!

So i have had a late hatcher at day 29 since they were set at different days i would wait i have silkie eggs that im in debate with right now cause they were set on different days so I just wait it out if you do crack an egg that you are not sure of its viability do it outside cause if its not viable it will pop like a firecracker and smell like a stink bomb trust me I just had it happen to me a month ago

 

[R2elk]

Thank you so much for all your advice! I love that adaptation, and will have to try it for sure.
I used the brightest flashlight I could find and a toilet paper tube covered in electrical tape, but it seemed like there was no air cell at all...does that mean it’s probably rotten?

No air cell at all is not a good sign.

 

[tricialemon]

So i have had a late hatcher at day 29 since they were set at different days i would wait i have silkie eggs that im in debate with right now cause they were set on different days so I just wait it out if you do crack an egg that you are not sure of its viability do it outside cause if its not viable it will pop like a firecracker and smell like a stink bomb trust me I just had it happen to me a month ago

Oh no, that's what I'm afraid of!!! I hate the thought of seeing a dead chick in there but I'm scared of it being rotten, too....maybe I'll just have my husband check for me and report back

 

[tricialemon]

No air cell at all is not a good sign.

Thank you again for all your help. I'll probably take it outside and crack it tomorrow if there's no signs of life by then.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Oh no! That’s good to know then. I read a sticky post on here talking about how to perform it so I had no idea it could potentially harm the chick. I feel badly that I tried it now...
And I must need to buy a “professional” candler or get a much brighter lightbulb because I tried candling it and since it’s so far along all I saw was a black mass.

A phone flashlight works fine. They're supposed to look like a black mass the last few days because the chick is too big

 

[Sonya9]

Do not use the float test to determine whether an incubated egg is viable. It is a worthless and harmful test. If you want to check an incubated egg for viability, learn how to candle eggs.

It is very likely that your egg is not viable if it was set the same day as the other eggs.

I have seen experts incubating exotic eggs use water candling LATE in incubation to check for signs of life/movement. Seems to me the main risk of harm is people discarding or even cracking open eggs prematurely after testing but not from the test itself.

Exactly how does floating a sealed egg in body temp water for 30 seconds harm the chick? I have done it myself with good results so if it carries a huge risk I would like to understand what it is.

 

[Flockincrazy]

Oh no, that's what I'm afraid of!!! I hate the thought of seeing a dead chick in there but I'm scared of it being rotten, too....maybe I'll just have my husband check for me and report back

I picked it up out of the incubater and it exploded in my hand and all over me and my daughter's desk where we have the incubater it was so nasty

 

[The Happster]

I have seen experts incubating exotic eggs use water candling LATE in incubation to check for signs of life/movement. Seems to me the main risk of harm is people discarding or even cracking open eggs prematurely after testing but not from the test itself.

Exactly how does floating a sealed egg in body temp water for 30 seconds harm the chick? I have done it myself with good results so if it carries a huge risk I would like to understand what it is.

Perhaps it's a matter of personal preference. I would not use the float test because there are better methods out there than dunking an egg in water.
And also because I can imagine it being a bit traumatic for any living chicks.
I know I am safe with candling, and I will continue to use that method over the float test.