Candling Chicken Eggs on Day 4 (VIDEO)

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Welcome back to my hatchery, friends! And by hatchery, I mean my kitchen. ; )

Tonight, we’re candling a chicken egg on DAY 4 of incubation. It’s hard to believe much has changed in just 24 hours, but when it only takes 21 days to build a chicken start to finish – things happen quickly! Tonight, you can very clearly see the bright network of veins, and small jelly-bean shaped embryo. Embryo development in this egg looks perfect for this stage of incubation, and you can see that it still moves freely with rotation of the egg. Here’s a bit more of what’s happening inside the egg on day #4:

• The amniotic cavity is developing. Filled with amniotic fluid, this will help protect the developing chick and allows it to move.
• Tiny “buds” appear where each wing and both legs will be.
• The eye is developing!
• The amazing allantois is developing – this is what will allow the embryo to receive oxygen, eliminate waste, receive nutrition from the albumen, and even absorb calcium from the shell to help in building the chicken’s bones.

For even more fun facts about today’s developments for this little chick, I really recommend this website, put together by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Hope you enjoy tonight’s video! If you missed Day 3, you can find it here! I’ll see you tomorrow night with Day #6!

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