
If you live with chickens or have found eggs fertilized orphans, you may wonder how chicks are born to be prepared and check that everything is going well.Well, the first and most important thing is to check that the eggs have actually been fertilized and that From them chicks will be born.Once this data is confirmed, we will have to follow a series of recommendations to ensure an adequate development of the embryo.
In this article of Animal Expert we will focus on explaining how chicks are born from hen , probably the most widespread bird worldwide.Keep reading!
How do hens reproduce?
Before going on to explain how chicks are born, we will briefly talk about the reproduction of chickens.These birds at birth already have all their eggs , which are their reproductive cells.one of them develops and passes through the reproductive system.This trip is when the formation of the egg that the chicken is going to take place takes place.The process always happens in the hens, without the need for the presence of a rooster.Y, Without a rooster, fertilization is not possible , so that egg is nothing more than a chicken's egg.Deel no chick is born.
Now, when there is a rooster, the reproduction of the hens is ovipara and occurs, as we have already said, through fertilization.The breeding organisms of the birds are known as " sewers " because they are slightly different from those of others animal species Yes, the chicken has a small hole through which it moves s spermatozoa to the oviduct.The rooster, meanwhile, has a penis that deposits the sac full of sperm in the hole of the hen.
How to know if an egg is fertilized?
Most of the eggs we buy in supermarkets come from chicken farms where there are no roosters, so we do not run the risk of any of them being fertilized, but if the eggs we buy come from of a homemade production where cocks and chickens coexist, we would be interested to discover how to know if an egg is fertilized .
In this regard, the first thing we should know is that, so that you can if a chick is born from an egg, it must be incubated.So if the chicken does not incubate it, we can suspect that the egg is not fertilized or, if it is, it will not go ahead.If we doubt we can use a ovoscope , which is nothing more than a device that allows you to fully illuminate the egg so that you can intuit its interior.In a homemade way we can achieve the same effect with a lantern of an egg-like size, which we will use completely in the dark.If we appreciate a spot like with spider legs, it is a developing embryo, that is to say , the egg is fertilized.Anyway, if it is not incubated, in chicken or in an incubator, this growth will be truncated.
Once we have opened an egg we can also determine if it is fertilized or not.yolk has a spot called germinal disk .It is the place where the sperm of the rooster enters the egg and from it the chick will begin to develop.In an unfertilized egg this spot is white and very small, of about 2-3 millimeters.On the other hand, when the egg is fertilized, a kind of porthole with a clear center and a white outline will be appreciated.

How long is a chick inside the egg?
Chicken chicks come out of the egg already with down and open eyes, they are almost immediately able to walk and eat alone.They are known as precocious offspring or nestlings .It means that its development inside the egg is very complete.It is encrypted in 21 days , at which time they should be born, although in some cases the hatching of the egg can be delayed even one more week, usually because they are found at an inappropriate temperature.
Ideally, it is the chicken who hatches the eggs so that they can develop properly, however, if we have found orphaned eggs, it will be necessary to use an incubator to ensure their survival.When purchasing the machine the professional who sells it to us will already inform us of its correct use.What if we should keep in mind that for an egg to move forward it is essential to carry out the task of " manual flipping " in case the incubator does not have this option.This flip must be done from day 0 to on day 18 for the embryo to develop well.To do this, it is best to turn the eggs every hour or, at least, three times a day.These turns should not be 360º, but 38-45º and very carefully Without a doubt, a specialized veterinarian will advise us to do this task in the best possible way.
Next, we detail the parts of an egg and how the chicks are born.
Parts of a fertilized egg
Once the egg has been fertilized, the embryo will begin to develop.At this point, it is normal for us to wonder how the chick receives food and how it can grow in the egg.Well, the parts of a fertilized egg are:
- Shell : its function is to protect its contents.
- Albumina : corresponds to the clear and is the main source of food, mostly protein.
- Vitelo : It is the yolk and is the part responsible for feeding the chick.
- Amniotic fluid : protects the embryo and allows it to move.
- Chamber or air cell : prevents entry of bacteria.

How is a chick born from an egg?
During the last days of life inside the egg, the chick is adopting a typical posture to be born , which is with the beak below the right wing Just before hatching, the chick is going to occupy almost all the space of the egg, except what is known as an air chamber.It has also absorbed almost all the vitello, which, remember, is the part of the egg destined to nourish the chick.It is composed of protein and fat.The absorption is produced by the abdominal cavity and causes a series of contractions that drive the head out, with the beak up and to the right.
This process ends by breaking the allantoides , which is an outer membrane to the embryo that fulfills functions related to excretion and respiration.After the rupture an increase in carbon dioxide occurs , which is a stimulus for the chick to start breathing through its lungs.The chick's air chamber already occupies the entire space of the egg and can begin to chop it.The absorption of the vitellum has also ended, so that the navel healing begins.
About 24 hours later If the pulmonary breathing has started , the chicken's efforts to hatch begin and we can even hear it chirping.For its exit it chops the eggshell in the opposite direction to the clockwise.This process can take 10 to 20 hours , so if you wonder how long it takes for a chick to be born, here is the answer.It should be noted that if there is more than one egg, not everyone will hatch at the same time.When the chick manages to break the shell enough to leave, it occurs the birth.The little ones leave the egg wet and tired.
For a chick to develop the egg, it must be incubated, by its mother or in adequate facilities.
Video of chicks being born
To see better the birth of a chick , in the following video of the Gaia Shrine it is shown how a chick is born and how, sometimes, the mother can help the little one to leave Likewise, we observe that the chicks are already born with open eyes and that, once recovered from fatigue, they walk and move freely.
What to do when a chick does not come out of the egg?
We have already seen how the chicks are born, but sometimes they can take more than 21 days to be born.It may be due to a problem in the incubation temperature or because the chick is weak or has even died.If we see an egg with a slightly broken shell and for about 12 hours we do not observe progress, we can help the little one to leave .With tweezers and removing only small fragments of the shell.This process is very delicate and not recommended by all experts, as they indicate that it is preferable to let nature take its course.Also, if the chick is not healthy, it is likely that it will eventually die.If it is in the beginning phase of lung respiration and skin itching, we could suffocate it if we intervene.
If the egg has been incubated by the mother, it is most likely that she is the one who helps the chick to be born, as we have seen in the previous video.We should not act, since we could hinder the chicken's job or stress it out.
How to care for chicks?
So important is to know how the chicks are born as what are the cares that they should receive once out of the egg.If the chicks are with their mother, she will be in charge of taking care of them and we only have to watch that others hens or roosters do not bother the family.On the contrary, if it is orphaned chicks , it is important that we provide them with accommodation with the right temperature , for which it is usually used a lamp that gives them heat.The enclosure must be installed in a place away from other animals and kept clean.We should not place it high because a fall could be fatal.
The chicks must have at their disposal always water and food .When they have just been born they can take a few days to start eating without being due to any pathology.The food is based on corn, which must first be powdered.In specialized establishments can you advise us and offer us to prepare Adequate foodstuffs A chick without a mother will take her caregiver as such.For more details, see the article on "What do chicks eat?".
Between 2-4 weeks after birth, chicks They already have feathers, so they do not need us to keep them in such a hot environment and they can go to a chicken coop. At 8 weeks they acquire adult plumage and we can feed them with a mixture for chicks in growth.At 5 months they are sexually mature.The veterinarian will be in charge of advising us on health-related care.Do not miss the article in which we explain in detail how to raise chicks to know the ideal temperature and all their cares.
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