Chicken stages

Introduction

Hamburger & Hamilton Stage 10 (33 hours)

Hamburger & Hamilton staged the chicken embryo in 1951. The original paper had approx 25 citations between 1955 - 59, while in the year 1991 alone there were over 300 citations. Series of Embryonic Chicken Growth. J. Morphology, 88 49 - 92 (1951). Atlas recently republished by J.R. Sanes in Developmental Dynamics 195 229-275 (1993).

The [#hhtable HH stage table] below describes feature of the chicken that can be seen at specific times (mean of a range) after fertilization. Some of the stages can be clicked to see sample embryo pictures on another page.

There is also an comparisons with the alternative universal [#Witschi Witschi] staging and, on another page, the [CStages.htm Carnegie]staging of embryos.

Hamburger Hamilton Stages

Hamburger Hamilton Stages	Age	Identification of Stages
Before Laying
Early cleavage	3.5-4.5 hr	Shell membrane of egg formed in isthmus of oviduct
During cleavage		Germ wall formed from marginal periblast
Late cleavage	4.5-24.0 hr	Shell of egg formed in uterus
After Laying
1		Preprimitive streak (embryonic shield)
2	6-7 hr	Initial primitive streak, 0.3-0.5 mm long
3	12-13 hr	Intermediate primitive streak
4	18-19 hr	Definitive primitive streak, ¬±1.88 mm long
5	19-22 hr	Head process (notochord)
6	23-25 hr	Head fold
7	23-26 hr	1 somite; neural folds
7 to 8-	ca. 23-26 hr	1-3 somites; coelom
8	26-29 hr	4 somites; blood islands
9	29-33 hr	7 somites; primary optic vesicles
9+ to 10-	ca. 33 hr	8-9 somites; anterior amniotic fold
10	33-38 hr	10 somites; 3 primary brain vesicles
11	40-45 hr	13 somites; 5 neuromeres of hindbrain
12	45-49 hr	16 somites; telencephalon
13	48-52 hr	19 somites; atrioventricular canal
13+ to 14-	ca. 50-52 hr	20-21 somites; tail bud
14	50-53 hr	22 somites; trunk flexure; visceral arches I and II, clefts 1 and 2
14+ to 15-	ca. 50-54 hr	23 somites; premandibular head cavities
15	50-55 hr	24-27 somites; visceral arch III, cleft 3
16	51-56 hr	26-28 somites; wing bud; posterior amniotic fold
17	52-64 hr	29-32 somites; leg bud; epiphysis
18	3 da	30-36 somites extending beyond level of leg bud; allantois
19	3.0-3.5 da	37- 40 somites extending into tail; maxillary process
20	3.0-3.5 da	40-43 somites; rotation completed; eye pigment
21	3.5 da	43-44 somites; visceral arch IV, cleft 4
22	3.5-4.0 da	Somites extend to tip of tail
23	4 da	Dorsal contour from hindbrain to tail is a curved line
24	4.5 da	Toe plate
25	4.5-5.0 da	Elbow and knee joints
26	5 da	1st 3 toes
27	5.0-5.5 da	Beak
28	5.5-6.0 da	3 digits, 4 toes
29	6.0-6.5 da	Rudiment of 5th toe
30	6.5-7.0 da	Feather germs; scleral papillae; egg tooth
31	7.0-7.5 da	Web between 1st and 2nd digits
32	7.5 da	Anterior tip of mandible has reached beak
33	7.5-8.0 da	Web on radial margin of wing and 1st digit
34	8 da	Nictitating membrane
35	8.5-9.0 da	Phalanges in toes
36	10 da	Length of 3rd toe from tip to middle of metatarsal joint = 5.4¬±0.3mm; length of beak from anterior angle of nostril to tip of bill = 2.5mm; primordium of comb; labial groove; uropygial gland
37	11 da	Length of 3rd toe = 7.4¬±0.3mm; length of beak = 3.0 mm
38	12 da	Length of 3rd toe = 8.4¬±0.3 mm; length of beak = 3.1 mm
39	13 da	Length of 3rd toe = 9.8¬±0.3 mm; length of beak = 3.5 mm
40	14 da	Length of beak = 4.0 mm; length of 3rd toe = 12.7¬±0.5 mm
41	15 da	Length of beak from anterior angle of nostril to tip of upper bill = 4.5 mm; length of 3rd toe = 14.9¬±0.8 mm
42	16 da	Length of beak = 4.8 mm; length of 3rd toe = 16.7¬±0.8 mm
43	17 da	Length of beak = 5.0 mm; length of 3rd toe = 18.6¬±0.8 mm
44	18 da	Length of beak = 5.7 mm; length of 3rd toe = 20.4¬±0.8 mm
45	19-20 da	Yolk sac half enclosed in body cavity; chorio-allantoic membrane contains less blood and is "sticky" in living embryo
46	20-21 da	Newly-hatched chick

Standard Stage Comparison

Standard Stages(Witschi)	Hamburger Hamilton Stages	Age	Identification of Stages
Before Laying
3,4	Early cleavage	3.5-4.5 hr2	Shell membrane of egg formed in isthmus of oviduct
5,6	During cleavage		Germ wall formed from marginal periblast
7	Late cleavage	4.5-24.0 hr2	Shell of egg formed in uterus
After Laying
8,9	1		Preprimitive streak (embryonic shield)
10	2	6-7 hr	Initial primitive streak, 0.3-0.5 mm long
11	3	12-13 hr	Intermediate primitive streak
12	4	18-19 hr	Definitive primitive streak, ¬±1.88 mm long
13a	5	19-22 hr	Head process (notochord)
13b	6	23-25 hr	Head fold
14a	7	23-26 hr	1 somite; neural folds
14b	7 to 8-	ca. 23-26 hr	1-3 somites; coelom
14c	8	26-29 hr	4 somites; blood islands
15a	9	29-33 hr	7 somites; primary optic vesicles
15b	9+ to 10-	ca. 33 hr	8-9 somites; anterior amniotic fold
15c	10	33-38 hr	10 somites; 3 primary brain vesicles
16a	11	40-45 hr	13 somites; 5 neuromeres of hindbrain
16b	12	45-49 hr	16 somites; telencephalon
16c	13	48-52 hr	19 somites; atrioventricular canal
17a	13+ to 14-	ca. 50-52 hr	20-21 somites; tail bud
17b	14	50-53 hr	22 somites; trunk flexure; visceral arches I and II, clefts 1 and 2
17c	14+ to 15-	ca. 50-54 hr	23 somites; premandibular head cavities
17d	15	50-55 hr	24-27 somites; visceral arch III, cleft 3
18	16	51-56 hr	26-28 somites; wing bud; posterior amniotic fold
19	17	52-64 hr	29-32 somites; leg bud; epiphysis
20	18	3 da	30-36 somites extending beyond level of leg bud; allantois
21	19	3.0-3.5 da	37- 40 somites extending into tail; maxillary process
22	20	3.0-3.5 da	40-43 somites; rotation completed; eye pigment
23	21	3.5 da	43-44 somites; visceral arch IV, cleft 4
24	22	3.5-4.0 da	Somites extend to tip of tail
25	23	4 da	Dorsal contour from hindbrain to tail is a curved line
26	24	4.5 da	Toe plate
27	25	4.5-5.0 da	Elbow and knee joints
28	26	5 da	1st 3 toes
29	27	5.0-5.5 da	Beak
30	28	5.5-6.0 da	3 digits, 4 toes
31	29	6.0-6.5 da	Rudiment of 5th toe
32	30	6.5-7.0 da	Feather germs; scleral papillae; egg tooth
33a	31	7.0-7.5 da	Web between 1st and 2nd digits
33b	32	7.5 da	Anterior tip of mandible has reached beak
34a	33	7.5-8.0 da	Web on radial margin of wing and 1st digit
34b	34	8 da	Nictitating membrane
34c	35	8.5-9.0 da	Phalanges in toes
34d	36	10 da	Length of 3rd toe from tip to middle of metatarsal joint = 5.4¬±0.3mm; length of beak from anterior angle of nostril to tip of bill = 2.5mm; primordium of comb; labial groove; uropygial gland
34e	37	11 da	Length of 3rd toe = 7.4¬±0.3mm; length of beak = 3.0 mm
34f	38	12 da	Length of 3rd toe = 8.4¬±0.3 mm; length of beak = 3.1 mm
35a	39	13 da	Length of 3rd toe = 9.8¬±0.3 mm; length of beak = 3.5 mm
35b	40	14 da	Length of beak = 4.0 mm; length of 3rd toe = 12.7¬±0.5 mm
35c	41	15 da	Length of beak from anterior angle of nostril to tip of upper bill = 4.5 mm; length of 3rd toe = 14.9¬±0.8 mm
35d	42	16 da	Length of beak = 4.8 mm; length of 3rd toe = 16.7¬±0.8 mm
35e	43	17 da	Length of beak = 5.0 mm; length of 3rd toe = 18.6¬±0.8 mm
35f	44	18 da	Length of beak = 5.7 mm; length of 3rd toe = 20.4¬±0.8 mm
36a	45	19-20 da	Yolk sac half enclosed in body cavity; chorio-allantoic membrane contains less blood and is "sticky" in living embryo
36b	46	20-21 da	Newly-hatched chick

Modified from: GROWTH Altman, P.L. and Dittmer, D.S. (ed) Biological Handbooks, FASEB (1962)

Other Chicken Atlases

Vertebrate and Invertebrate Embryos (7th Edition) G.C. Schoenwolf, Prentice Hall, New Jersey
An Atlas of Embryology (1975) W.H. Freeman and B. Bracegirdle, Heinemann Educational Books, UK.
- This is an ATLAS (no description of development) , asically reprinted from the original 1963 edition.
- Photos with labelled diagrams covering Amphioxus (worm) Frog, Chicken.
An Atlas for Staging Mammalian and Chick Embryos (1987) H. Bultler and B.H. Juurlink, CRC Press Inc., Florida
- This ATLAS is not a complete series of development but has interesting comparisons of species.

Mostly photos of embryos with a few drawn diagrams and a series of staging correlation graphs.

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 27) Embryology Chicken stages. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Chicken_stages

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