How to identify a fertilized egg?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Everyone knows that a chicken comes from an egg. However, there is no germ in the latter. And a chicken will not hatch from an ordinary store-bought egg. For this to happen, the egg must be fertilized, which makes it unfit for human consumption. It must be sent under the chicken to wait for the chick to appear or to the incubator. How do you know if an egg is fertilized? The answer to this question will be presented in the article.

How to tell?

There are some signs that you can recognize a fertilized egg:

• diameter of the germinal disc is 3-3.5 mm;
• outer part is opaque;
• central, on the contrary, transparent, with a whitish spot;
• there is a small amount of blood in the yolk.

It is not difficult to enlighten a white egg, but it is more difficult with brown ones. Therefore, it is often white eggs that are chosen for laying in the incubator, since they are easier to check.

Ufertilized egg, if it is illuminated, blood vessels will be visible. If there are no veins and black dots, this indicates the absence of fertilization, and such a specimen should not be placed in an incubator.

It also happens that in the yolk, when translucent, the clot is not visible, but the blood contour near the yolk is determined. Such an instance is thrown away, as this indicates the death of the embryo inside. This happens for various reasons.

Determination with an ovoscope

Ovoscope is a special device that allows you to recognize a fertilized egg. The device is a small container in the holes of which eggs are placed. At the bottom of the case is a backlight. There are various types of ovoscopes designed for use in factories and laboratories, as well as for home use.

With the help of the device you can enlighten the eggs and evaluate their quality. Such devices used to be in all grocery stores selling chicken eggs, and therefore each buyer could examine the eggs and, if necessary, replace them with better ones.

You can view 5, 10 or 15 eggs at the same time in the ovoscope. Subjects of research in the device are located horizontally. A powerful light source allows you to visually detect any defects. The ovoscope is powered by 220 V. The duration of its continuous operation is 5 minutes, then the device is cooled for 10 minutes.

Instructions for using the ovoscope:

1. The device must be turned on innetwork.
2. The ovoscope is placed vertically with the lamp up.
3. An egg is inserted into the light protection ring.
4. Inspection is carried out with the light of a lamp.

Ovoskop allows not only to determine the fertilization of the egg, but also its quality. So, cracks and other defects in the shell, mold inside the shell will be visible. You can also find eggs that have been stored for a long time (they have an enlarged air chamber, the yolk becomes large, the protein becomes mobile).

Modern ovoscopes work with LED lamps from ordinary batteries. They do not heat the eggs during the study, so there is no need to periodically turn off and cool such a device. Outwardly, such ovoscopes resemble the most ordinary lanterns. Candling with them is carried out with eggs that are placed in the incubator tray or boxes, that is, they do not need to be removed before viewing.

Identification with cardboard

If an ovoscope is not available, at home you can use an ordinary cardboard rolled into a tube 2-3 cm thick. One end is brought to the light, then to the object under study. The content is viewed through the second end. On the 4-5th day of fertilization, a darkened area the size of a match head is visible in the egg. When turning, the speck moves behind the yolk. It resembles the letter "O".

If the spot is completely dark, this indicates that the egg has not been fertilized and is not suitable for breeding chickens. With this method of determining a fertilized eggthe level of development of the germinal disc in the yolk is important. The viability of the disk will be indicated by the change in the volume of air in the egg chamber.

How to tell if an egg is fertilized or not?

To do this:

1. The egg is placed with the blunt end towards the light, tilted slightly.
2. Use the light to see if the air chamber in it fluctuates.

If a hen's egg is fertilized, the disk will begin to oscillate, and after it all the layers, including the shell. So it will be clear whether the disc of the embryo is viable. Accordingly, it will not be difficult to answer the question: is the egg fertilized?