Candling question from a newbie

cutiekk17 said:

This is my first time hatching eggs so i'm really new at all this but i've read a lot about candling. i know i'm supposed to candle my eggs days 7,14, and 18 to check for development and the air pocket.
But I'm not sure how to get them all out to candle them on those days.

I have 18 eggs that i'm incubating, Should i take the whole batch out and candle them one after another outside of the incubator? (if i do that how long can i keep them all outside of it and be safe?)
OR
Should i take 1 egg out of the incubator at a time and candle each one individually and put them right back in the incubator(although i'm worried that the temp would fluctuate a lot while the other eggs are in there.)

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KYTinpusher said:

I take my whole tray out, put the lid back on the incubator to keep the temp up, and candle all the eggs one after another. And sometimes I candle them 2 or 3 times.

I also candle almost every day. I love to watch the development. The time out of the incubator to candle won't hurt them, and can actually be beneficial. Studies show this brief cool down period can help the eggs lose the proper amount of weight. Remember, a broody hen leaves the nest for a period each day to eat and poop. Good luck with your hatch!

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KYTinpusher said:

I should add that my incubators are Brinseas, so they get back up to temp and humidity very fast (though I do dry incubation, so I don't worry about that part) after I return the tray of eggs. If you are using a styrofoam incubator that is not very stable, you would want to candle less often than I do. Watch the temp and humidity closely after you candle the first time to get an idea how quickly your bator returns to normal. But do enjoy yourself in the process!

Are you part of the NYD Hatch-a-long?

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