It’s common that for many of us, it is not possible to tell either a bird egg is alive or not just by looking at it. For instance, if you found a bird egg, how to know if a bird egg is alive?
There are many ways to find out that either a bird egg is alive or not. Firstly, you can do the light test. In which you have to throw a flashlight on the egg in the dark.
With this method, you can see the veins inside the egg, and also, you can see the movements of the embryo inside the shell. Another simple and effective way to check the viability of an egg is to check the warmth of the egg. As living body inside the shell tends to produce heat.
How To Know If a Bird Egg Is Alive?
Eggs are fragile and can destroy with little negligence. So if you found a bird egg and want how to know if a bird egg is alive? To know this, I have some methods to share with you people.
If you found an egg, then at first check either the eggshell has cracks or not. A crack egg means the egg falls from height, and the membranes inside the egg are already damage. And this also shows that the embryo inside the shell is already dead.
Warmth Test:
The second easiest method to know the life inside the eggshell is to check the warmth of the egg. As a live egg is warm, but a dead egg isn’t. Moreover, a live egg needs a proper temperature during its journey, and also embryo produces heat during growth.
Flash Light Test:
Another way to check the viability of a bird egg is to throw light on the egg in the dark. With this, if the egg is alive, you can see membranes inside the shell. However, from this method, we can also see the movements of the embryo.
Floating Test:
According to me, this test is easier to check the viability of a bird egg. In this test, you have to place an egg in water if the egg start floating, it means that it’s dead and if not, then it shows it’s alive.
How Long Can a Bird Egg Live Without Warmth?
To provide a sufficient amount of warmth to a bird’s egg is compulsory. As they need 100 degrees Fahrenheit during their growth inside the egg.
So, there is a question that can a bird egg live without warmth? If yes, then how long can a bird egg live without warmth?
Usually, a bird egg can live a maximum of seven days without warmth. As a bird, the egg doesn’t need warmth during the first seven days, and also, birds don’t start incubation immediately. Because, they want to collect all eggs first so that all eggs can hatch at the same time.
But if you have an abandoned egg, then the best way to provide warmth is an incubator. So if you keep eggs in the incubator, then also you have to shuffle the side of the eggs at least two times a day.
But if you don’t have an incubator, then seven days will be okay without warmth, and in this case, you just have to keep the egg in a safe place.
How Do You Keep a Bird Egg Alive?
If you found a bird egg, then at first check the signs of life in it. And in which methods you can check this I already discuss this. So, to keep the egg safe, at first look around the nearest nest.
Read also: How Do Pigeons See?
It might be happening that the egg is fallen from its nest. But if you can’t find a bird’s nest, you can keep an egg alive by providing the necessary warmth to it. For this, you can use an incubator.
And you have to set the temperature of an incubator at 100 degrees Fahrenheit. However, with this, make insure that change the sides of eggs six times a day.
How You Can Know If There Is Alive Chick in An Egg?
If you have a bird egg or found an abandoned bird egg and want to know that either there is an alive chick inside it or not. For this, we can use the following methods:
Candle Test:
To find an alive chick inside the egg, we can do a candle test. In this method, we have to see inside the egg via candlelight. So if we see red membranes inside the shell and with this something to move, then we can know that the chick is alive.
Check Warmth of The Egg:
Another test is to check the warmth of the egg to know either there is an alive chick inside the egg or not. As living chick inside the egg tends to produce body heat. So if you feel warmth by holding an egg, then it means the chick is alive inside the egg.
Is It Possible to Hatch Eggs Without Mother?
Yes, it is possible to hatch an egg without a mother. But, as before hatching the eggs, it is necessary for mother birds must sit on the eggs and provide the necessary aid. But the problem arises when the mother goes missing or died, in this case, artificial ways are best to hath an egg.
For this, incubators are best to provide the proper temperature, which is compulsory for the growth of embryos. As a result, we can get egg hatch even without a mother with the help of an incubator.
Do Birds Abandon Their Eggs:
As it is not a common thing, but sometimes we come in contact with bird’s eggs that seems to be abandon. Sometimes this is true, but sometimes this is not true that birds can abandon their eggs. However, there are certain reasons behind this fact.
Firstly, and the most common reason is the storms, winds, and other natural disaster causes the eggs to fell on the ground.
Secondly, any human activity like cutting trees causes bird’s eggs to fell on the ground.
But sometimes, birds can judge the infertility of an egg and can abandon it if they found it infertile. Moreover, there are some birds that are used to keep eggs in the nest of others. And if other birds feel that this is not their egg, then surely they will kick it off.
Conclusion:
How to Know If a Bird Egg is Alive? To know this, you have several methods. As you can check this via checking its warmth.
However, you can do this by doing the flashlight test, candlelight test, as well as floating test. With the help of these methods, you will be able to see red membranes inside the shell and see movements inside the shell.