What happens when you refrigerate a developing egg? I decided to remove the old Barnevelder eggs with TAC from my incubator after 3 days. I had candled them and couldn't see anything beyond the air cell moving around. I stuck them in refrigerator (was going to cook them and give them to the dogs). Today I broke three open and one had what looked like a blood ring. Would that have formed before I refrigerated them? I hope, I hope, I hope. I feel like a murderer--but with TAC it probably wouldn't have developed anyway. Right? Some of these eggs were over 23 days old before I started incubating them. Others as little as 11. They are dark brown so hard to candle.
Refrigerator egg.
the blood ring is bacteria forming from a BAD egg. i wouldn't even feed it to the dogs... it may have even been there before you incubated it, since they haven't exactly been properly stored since they were laid [or handled!] goo dthing you culled it early!
so, i am saying it WASN'T developing, it was rotting..!
if any others had been devleoping, you could tell i think. refigerating them just stops it dead in it's track so to speak [sorry!]
i was told that clear eggs can be eaten even after being in the incubator for 7 days. i fed them to the cats and chickens...
Thanks, TamraFaye--Has anyone given this link before? It is helpful and the pictures are clear---I especially appreciate seeing how well developed the blood vessels are at 41/2 days.
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs32.htm
I don't feel like opening the remaining 5 refrigerated eggs--but I probably will just to learn from. Two of the three I opened were definitely clear.
This message was edited Apr 9, 2008 11:14 PM
yes, go ahead & learn. there are some candling threads with good links...
Oops gave the wrong link--just changed it. But here it is again http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs32.htm
I know, TamaraFaye. I have to just take it and learn from it--otherwise there is no progress and all the future potential lives are sacrificed to my sqeamishness:-l
.
When we had a hen sit last year we had one egg that never hatched and when candled looked like a dud. My husband decided to crack it open to see if the chick ever started to develop. EEWW yuck, it stunk and was gooey and black. I doubt it ever started to grow from the looks of the inside ingredients.
Not a fun thing to do, but a learning experience indeed.
I had two+ broody silkie gals, I marked four silkie/sebright eggs and four marans eggs for them to hatch. Just in the past maybe 4 days four have disappeared. Yesterday I had my on-vacation/slave-for-the-week DH build me a couple more nestboxes. So I moved out the original one and behind was the eggs! Too many gals must have jammed in trying to incubate something (I have seen three silkies in one box) and pushed them over the back slat. I had behind it stuffed with hay but it had settled. I had him add more slats of wood to the back so they can't get eggs out the back. I don't like to look at "dead" eggs so I had my DH toss them into the woods, he cracked them open (YUCK) and all had chickies in them. So I learned a something new, double check that your DH makes the nestbox to specs, he didn't add what they had in the back so the eggs cannot be pushed or rolled over the edge.
Fortunately for us, our nest boxes are flush against the wall. That way they can only push them over the divider to another nest on the side. Then some of the girls go there and set on them. ^-^ ♥
Our nest boxes are not even boxes. My DH took 5 gallon buckets, layed them on the side and put them into a frame he made He put hay in them and the hens like them just fine.
smedgekles are they fastened to anything to hold them in place?
MollyD
They arn't fasntened but they are fitted in snug so they can't move.
I see what you mean. Check out a thread I did on other nest options. One of those links a fellow used buckets but he kept them upright!
MollyD