This is the embryo of a Canada Goose, taken from an abandoned egg believed to be about eight days into incubation. The embryo is about 1.5 inches in length. You can see the eyes, the bill, the spinal cord, the wings, and its toes. A pair of geese nested on our pond. The eggs were abandoned shortly after the goose began incubation. After being untended for 48 hours that included two nights where the temps fell to 40 degrees, I collected the eggs for disposal. Curiousity got the best of me, and I opened one egg. I removed the sac in which the embryo was contained, washed the embryo in alcohol, and then floated it in water for the photos. This is not a professional effort; I haven't tried this before. But I wanted to see what eight-days of growth looked like. I estimated eight days of incubation using a chart that shows the angle at which an egg floats in water depending upon incubation time. A complete incubation period would be 25 to 30 days.
