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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Anna Chesley
Anna Chesley is a freelance writer living a homestead lifestyle, with a special love for family travel, old books, vintage skills, and seaside living. In addition to founding Salt In My Coffee, she runs the website, New England Family Life, as well as The 1800's Housewife, a website devoted to re-creating authentic 1800's recipes.
Ellyn says
Looking for more Blacksmith information
Anna says
Hi Ellyn! I love hearing that you're enjoying the blacksmithing posts! I have it on good authority the next post is in the works right now. ; ) I always LOVE hearing what readers are looking for, so if you have any particular aspects of blacksmithing that you're eager to read more about, do let us know! We'll get on it! Thanks again!!