46 POULTRY LABORATORY GUIDE 



ing about the distinctive type of the species and 

 variety. 



The feathers begin to appear on the ninth day: 

 by the thirteenth day they are found all over the 

 body to the length of a quarter of an inch. The 

 sacks in which they are enclosed do not break 

 until after hatching. The white of the egg wiU 

 be seen to have disappeared, and a very thick 

 viscid mass remains at the lower smf ace of the 

 egg. Note the greatly increased length of the 

 limbs and the division of the distal ends into 

 fingers and toes. 



On the eighth day the beak begins to form, and 

 can be distinguished as a chalky-looking mass, 

 which by the twelfth day has developed into a 

 horny beak, although still soft. On the thir- 

 teenth day the nails may be seen, which together 

 with the beak are considerably hardened by the 

 sixteenth day. During the fourteenth day the 

 embryo moves its position so that it Hes length- 

 wise in the shell, its beak touching the inner shell 

 membrane ; the air space at the broad end will 

 be seen greatly enlarged. It is in this position 

 that the chick must he in order to make its way 

 out of the shell. If not so placed, it will represent 

 a false presentation and will probably be unable 

 to make its exit. 



By the twelfth day the chick will be seen to 



