How to tell if an egg is fertile?

[bigAL]

Hi, I found an egg that had dropped from its nest, so rather then leave it there for something to eat it up, I decided to take it home to try and hatch it. So I have been keeping it in a box, on a towel with a lamp and set it to 38.5 degrees celcius. This is the temperature that is taken when the probe is at the height of the upper surface of the egg. So it has been two weeks now, and when put up against the light, there are no signs of anything inside but liquid. This may be a stupid question, but I have no clue about birds or hatching.
Could this be a dud egg?
Is this why the bird kicked the egg out of its nest, or was the infertility brought upon when the egg was exposed to the cold for some unknown time till I stumbled across it?

[birdsnreps]

if you wanna incubate, your gonna need an avian incubator that has an egg turner and humidity control. they simply cannot hatch in a box wtih a heat lamp. there are tons of stuff that you have to know about how the incubation process works, it can get very complicated, detailed and it takes time to get the knowledge and experience needed to successfully hatch all your eggs. there are several good incubation books that will teach you everything you need to know about incubating your eggs, and what is actually going on inside. idk why your birds may have thrown it out, but it kinda sounds to me like your hen may have laid the egg from her perch instead of in her nestbox. my birds will sit on eggs even if they are not fertile, they never throw them out. you should also get a candler, or a small flashlight with a flexible neck. you can find a good, cheap flashlight at walmart for like 10-15 bucks. this is what i use cause i dont wanna pay $80 for a "real" egg candler. all you have to do is put the flashlight up to the egg where the egg sac is (the wide end of the egg), and it will illuminate the whole egg so you can see whats going on inside. you have to wait until about 4-6 days after you start incubating to see whether tey are fertile or not. they will start to grow small veins, that look like this:



whatever you do, try your best not to touch the egg at all. its best to just candle the eggs wtih the flashlight while they are either in the nestbox or the incubator. egg shells are permeable, and any little bacteria that you might have on your hands might go through the shell and kill the embryo inside.

[Monica]

It sounds to me as if this is a wild bird egg and not "domestic"... thus I will assume so... if not please correct me.

First off, eggs can be thrown out of the nest by intruding females, predators, or other chicks (some birds are known for throwing out their own nest-mates.... survival of the fittest/strongest you could say).

Second, depending on the species of bird will depend on whether or not it's illegal to keep the species... and if you were planning on releasing the bird once weaned, well your setting the bird up for failure as birds are taught to forage and eat from their parents... and without this survival instinct, they could very well starve themselves... also, they wouldn't know to keep away from humans or predators. So, if you decided to keep this bird, and it turns out that it was illegal to keep, you'd be fined and the bird would be taken away (to a sanctuary or otherwise). If it's not illegal, you'd have no worries.

Okay, so lets assume the egg IS fertile (it may not if it hasn't been showing any veins.. but then again it could also be too cold for the egg to form... or it could be dead in shell), the egg would have to be kept at 99*-102* F (approx 37-38* C) and it would need regular turning (how often I'm not sure). Veins would start to show up at about 7 days or earlier (see above post).

Depending on species of bird, the egg would probably hatch between 14-30 days after incubation began. Then, you'd need to feed the chick every hour around the clock. Now, depending on the species will depend on the diet you could feed. If it's a seed eater, some parrot formula MIGHT do, but if it's an insect eater, you would either need to find a handfeeding formula for insect feeders or make your own. Weaning would be anywhere from 2-6 months (again, depending on species). As the chick gets older you could feed more less often, until it would only need feedings during the day, in wich time you'd be weaning the bird onto it's adult diet (again, varies depending on species). The formula itself would need to be 102*F to 110*F (38* C to 43* C).


I don't know what the laws might be in Australia, but please tell us some more!

[bigAL]

yes this is a wild bird egg. I didnt want to leave it on the ground so I took it home. I did plan on giving it to a wildlife authority once it was hatched. There are no veins that I can see when put up to a light. I will try for a couple more weeks, no harm. Thanks for the info guys.

[Monica]

In a situation like that then you are better off giving to the wildlife people BEFORE it hatches... (assuming it's fertile) and leave it up to them to decide what to do with the egg.


If you are interested in having a pet though, well there are many petstores and breeders who will have birds for sale!