Ever heard of the water test to test eggs for fertility?

[macawlover]

I'm incubating quail eggs, 7 of which are due to hatch on Monday. I read online that you can do a water test with them to see how old they are, and if they're fertile or not. (I can't candle them because the shells are too dark). I've posted this on another site and got a good response, but just for good measure I'm posting it here too.

Apparently if your egg floats in water, it's either old or about to hatch. If it sinks, it's fresh, but not nessessarily fertile. So... how do I tell if my 7 floating eggs are going to hatch or not?

Any thoughts? Their eggs look like this, only a bit darker:

[r2rusmc]

Darn! The Nigerian guy from Cameroon actually sent the eggs?




Just kidding. No clue on floating eggs.

[PowerBBS]

The concept of bad eggs (or eggs with a higher concentration of inner gasses - such as a living object in it) is correct. Rotten eggs will float due to gases released because of fermintation. Fresh eggs have little or no gas in them and hense stay sunk.

So it's most likely a good assumption that eggs nearing a hatch date will have far more gases in the them than eggs that have no "life" in them.

There is a second test that I could suggest. But I do not think anyone here would recommend, nor would I:.

A raw egg will not spin normally! A hard boiled egg will spin, and spin, just like a 'top' or dradel would. It's the physics of the internal fluid of a raw egg that doesn't move in syncronization with the exterior shell of the egg, that grabs hold of the internal surface of the egg when you try to spin it that slow down or decellerate the spinning quite rapidly. (Pretty cool huh, now you know how to tell if an egg is hard boiled or not). Get yourself an egg out of the fridge and you'll see what I mean... spin it... then hard boil it for 3 to 5 mins and then spin it again.

So - theoretically - an egg with a live chick in it will spin faster and continually due to the solid mass that resides inside. However, I'm unaware of anyone who would suggest this due to the fact that spinning the egg may cause harm to the fetis inside.

Anyhow, I doubt I've helped as my second solution could prove dangerous to your fid. But I just thought I'd point it out. AS to determining a hatch date if you're sure they're "alive" after that... well that's a calendar and some reseach on incubation periods. That's all I can suggest.

[huntress]

Haha! I spin my Chicken eggs from the coop in the winter to see if they are frozen also,LOL! A frozen egg will spin too.

[greencinacheeks]

ha ha...a frozen egg will spin....

~N

[PowerBBS]

Of course a frozen egg spins it's solid then, just like a hard boiled egg. It's only when the center is in liquid/jel form that it won't spin.

I should've added tho... just because it has a solid mass inside, doesn't necessarily mean it's alive... It could be "still born"...

I HAVE GOOD SUGGESTION FOR YOU... try a stethoscope! You should be able to hear the heart beat even thru the egg shell - provided you are in a quiet environment. Or at least hear movement.

Stethescope.com - Buy a Stethescope online!

Why didn't I think of that earlier?

[macawlover]

Thanks for the responses! That makes sense how a boiled/frozen egg would spin. So if they're waayyyy overdue, and I know they won't hatch, i'll try the spinning thing to see if there was even a chick growing inside. However, I agree with the fact that it would harm the baby at this point, so I'll just keep the idea in mind fo rnow! :P
Wow, a stethescope is a great idea! I'll go see if we have one! :) Thanks!

When should the eggs start pipping? Two days before they hatch or one?

[birdlady49]

Don't have an answer for you, but it reminded me of this cartoon that I've had on my refrigerator for a good 10 years :

[huntress]

On parrotlets they pip, they hatch. If they pip in the morning they are hatched by the time I get home from work.

AAHHHHHhahahahaha !I love the chicken egg cartoon!!!!!!!!!!

[macawlover]

Good to know, huntress. Thanks!

Hilarious cartoon, birdlady49!