Tuesday, May 6, 2008

DAY 12: Saturday, April 25, 2008


Temperature Range: 100
Turned the eggs: 2 times – 10:20 am, 10:00 pm
Water added today: No

Finally, an opportunity to candle when everyone is awake and it’s dark enough. Once again, we made our way to the bathroom with eggs in my pockets. I walked so carefully, trying to keep the kids away from me so they wouldn’t break open an embryo all over the inside of my sweater. Oh, that’s really something I can do without!

So, crowded into the tiny bathroom, we candled eggs #1, 16, 23, & 34. We didn’t notice too much of a difference from the first time (Day 6). We definitely saw “tree branches” and a dark spot in each one. We also looked at the air cell at the wide end. The narrow ends are very dark, except #16.

Today we also decided to weigh some eggs. I wish we had weighed each and every one of them in the very beginning when we numbered them and placed them in the incubator. Next time! Next time, we will weigh initially, on or around Day 10, and on day 18 or 19 when we prepare the eggs for hatching.

We were very surprised to see that the eggs in the incubator weigh less than the eggs in the refrigerator. I have a postal scale (dial, not digital), which we used for this project. First, we selected a small, yet stable plastic container in which to place the eggs. Then we weighed the container: 1 ounce.

Here is what we found:
Egg from refrigerator: 3.5 ounces – 1 ounce (container) = 2.5 ounces
Fertile egg #14: 2.75 ounces – 1 ounce = 1.75 ounces
Fertile egg #22: 3.25 ounces – 1 ounce = 2.25 ounces
Fertile egg #27: 3.00 ounces – 1 ounce = 2.00 ounces

I noticed when turning the eggs that #14 was “X”-side up tonight and it is supposed to be “X” side up for the night with the others. Was it "X" up all day? I don’t know if it got knocked while we were weighing or candling or if we put it back on the wrong side. I don’t know, but I’m leaving it “X”-side up so it’s the same as the others. It would be too confusing if some were “X” up and some were “O” up.

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