For those looking for an in vivo alternative for drug testing, the chick embryo is an option that’s been used to evaluate both toxicity and efficacy of proposed drugs and drug delivery systems. Like any experimental model, the chick embryo comes with a number of advantages and disadvantages that all need to be considered before it’s adopted.

In a new Comment this month, Belchiolina Beatriz Fonseca and colleagues at the Federal University of Uberlandia in Brazil help us consider the chick embryo as a model. They cover some examples of its applications so far, detail the different ways to manipulate and work with the eggs, note the ethical issues to be mindful of, and describe some of the practical limitations the field is still working to improve. Ready to crack some eggs?

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