OPERATION: Chicken Hatch- Water Candling Week 2

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     It is almost that time! The magic of watching eggs hatch before your eyes! Our Amazingly, Awesome Neighbor Bree had shown me a video on 'Water Candling Eggs' and we decided it was something we were going to do when our eggs were close to hatching time. This is not something you want to try earlier in the egg development. 1. They might not be big enough to move the egg. 2. You do not want to remove the 'bloom' before it is time.
      'Bloom' is a natural coating on the outside of a fresh laid egg. Egg shells are porous. The bloom keeps bacteria from getting into the egg and helps lock the egg's moisture in. Eggs you eat that have not been washed until time to eat are fresher and the bloom also allows for your eggs to be stored for longer. 
     In an incubator, the bloom is naturally removed with the humidity. This allows air to enter into the egg and provides some of the air the chicks breathe before hatching. Our eggs are due to hatch in 3 days. They no longer need the bloom coating and they are large enough to wobble their egg. 

     Here are the photos from our first water candling. To water candle, you get a short glass of warm water and gently place the egg inside. It will float based on the size of the air sack inside of the egg. After the water settles, you should be able to see the egg move in the water as the baby chick moves in the egg. My phone did not take a good video so we waited a few days and re-candled the eggs using Zoey's tablet. 

     These eggs did not wobble. We candled them using an LED flashlight. Thanks to The Chicken Chick, we recognized the eggs had blood rings in them. It is a clear indicator that the embryo died. We were very sad to see that we would not be having a baby chick from our beloved Prissy in this batch. We also lost one of our Jersey Giant chicks and one from our Amazingly Awesome Neighbor, Bree. With this batch, we only have one egg left to hatch. Bree has four. 


     Here is our new eggs into incubator on 1/30. Unfortunately, our Amazingly Awesome Neighbor, Bree, could not bring her eggs over until the next day. She only brought 5, because, she decided she was not sure she wanted too many of half standard/half Bantam chickens. The only rooster she has is a Bantie. 

Homeschooling The Well Prepared Child Presents:

Water Candling Eggs!

     Now that it is day 18, our incubator will be on lock down. Tonight we will remove them from the turner, add a little more water and wait for the magic to happen! We hope to catch the chicks hatching on video. Wish us luck! 

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