Chick Development inside the Egg:
From Egg to Parrot
Incubators ... Brooders & Intensive Care Units
Useful Information: Breeders' Resources ... Egg Incubation - pdf format ... Incubation Information (html)
The development of a chick inside the egg can be viewed with the help of an egg candler: Candling Devices
The fertility / hatchability of the eggs are affected by the following:
- Age and experience of birds (fertility in aging birds goes gradually down; young birds may still be too young to produce fertile eggs or they lack "technique"
- Overall health of parents. Poor health will result in reduced fertility or dying of chicks inside the egg
- Normal functioning reproductive system (can only be assessed surgically)
- Access to, or lack of, true mate (two females may mate, but the chicks will not be fertile)
Hatchability ...
- The Time Factor: Hatchability of eggs decreases over time. The sooner incubation commences after the laying, the better the chance of hatching chicks.
- Contamination: Hatchability will decrease if eggs are contaminated (for example through contact with dirty hands)
- Shaking / Vibrations in the early stages will kill any chick inside the egg; at the later stage, it can result in crippled chicks
- Hatchability requires certain humidity and temperature levels. Please follow the instructions of the incubator that you are working with.
Provided the eggs are fertile and nothing interrupted the incubation process, you should be able to see the below changes through candling:
The Parrot Society of United Kingdom was so kind to allow us to publish these really interesting illustrations that show the development of the chick inside the egg -- at its different stages of development.
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