HanneysCorn
Canadian Cornaholic
On May 31st I had the pleasure of collecting 5 clutches of eggs in one morning. Pipping has been going on for the last 5 days with these clutches and it's been interesting to observe the 'when'...
I don't separate the eggs after laying but incubate the clump exactly as laid by the female.
Two of the female layers were 'chainers'...the eggs are laid one by one almost as if the female moves slightly ahead after depositing each egg. The final look of the clutch is an almost closed circle of eggs with a completely 'non eggy' centre to the circle.
Two of the females were 'clumpers'...the eggs are laid one on top of the other. The female doesn't seem to move forward, just raises her posterior as each egg is presented. There are two types of clumpers...those that 'pile' on top of the first egg (upside down pyramid) and those that 'pile' by making a base of 3 or 4 eggs and then build up and out.
The fifth female of the group laid individul eggs; it was not a large clutch and I could tell from the beginning that several of the eggs were slugs. Eventually all but two yellowed; but those 2 did hatch and were a perfect representation of mom and dad...a lavender and an opal.
Knowing that the inner core of any pile of eggs would be warmer, I was not surprised to see that the first to emerge from the 'upside down pyramids' were the pippies on the bottom. As hatching progressed, the emergence of the pippies seemed random, although the last to hatch were on the outside of the 'pile'. The same appeared true of the random piler females.
Where I began to notice a difference was in the chainers...perhaps because there was a more definite line to follow...a beginning and an end. In each of the chainer clutches there was a noticeable progression from one link in the chain to the next...each hatchling came out in order right to the very end. The first egg deposited was the first to hatch...the last egg deposited was the final hatchling of the clutch.
Sooooo....this has left me speculating and wondering...is the first egg layed always the first to hatch in every clutch? Is there some order to the hatch itself? I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say...not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, just to satisfy my own curiosity with what I observed in watching these four clutches all pip together.
Ruth
I don't separate the eggs after laying but incubate the clump exactly as laid by the female.
Two of the female layers were 'chainers'...the eggs are laid one by one almost as if the female moves slightly ahead after depositing each egg. The final look of the clutch is an almost closed circle of eggs with a completely 'non eggy' centre to the circle.
Two of the females were 'clumpers'...the eggs are laid one on top of the other. The female doesn't seem to move forward, just raises her posterior as each egg is presented. There are two types of clumpers...those that 'pile' on top of the first egg (upside down pyramid) and those that 'pile' by making a base of 3 or 4 eggs and then build up and out.
The fifth female of the group laid individul eggs; it was not a large clutch and I could tell from the beginning that several of the eggs were slugs. Eventually all but two yellowed; but those 2 did hatch and were a perfect representation of mom and dad...a lavender and an opal.
Knowing that the inner core of any pile of eggs would be warmer, I was not surprised to see that the first to emerge from the 'upside down pyramids' were the pippies on the bottom. As hatching progressed, the emergence of the pippies seemed random, although the last to hatch were on the outside of the 'pile'. The same appeared true of the random piler females.
Where I began to notice a difference was in the chainers...perhaps because there was a more definite line to follow...a beginning and an end. In each of the chainer clutches there was a noticeable progression from one link in the chain to the next...each hatchling came out in order right to the very end. The first egg deposited was the first to hatch...the last egg deposited was the final hatchling of the clutch.
Sooooo....this has left me speculating and wondering...is the first egg layed always the first to hatch in every clutch? Is there some order to the hatch itself? I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say...not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, just to satisfy my own curiosity with what I observed in watching these four clutches all pip together.
Ruth
