Egg Sandwich
Posted by L.S. on June 9, 2003
Q: Is it possible for an embryo to survive if the egg's shell is slightly damaged?
A: I personally know of one time when a slightly damaged egg did hatch. When I worked for the International Crane Foundation, one of our artifically incubated eggs became slightly damaged in the incubator but did hatch into a healthy chick. That egg was well along on development when it was damaged so not sure what might have happened if it had been damaged early on.
If the damage isn't too great and bacteria don't get to the embryo too quickly, it seems an embryo can develop completely - at least sometimes. There are probably many factors that influence "hatchability" when damaged.
John Wiessinger ( June 9, 2003)
Filed under: Birds