Candling - ???

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyNameIs86 

Okay. I read many people candle their eggs. 

what kind of light do you need? any? and what days are good for candling other then the 18th? 

many ppl candle everyday, and some candle 3 times and some dont candle at all

You need to candle to see if the air cell is delevoping correctly. In needs to be a fairly large size by day 18. You can see the air cel with most flashlights. I use a common LED  and can see thru my brown eggs but no the marans eggs. 

You can also see the embryo developing and know it's growing.

Diagrams of air cells, duck and chicken:

http://www.poultryconnection.com/quackers/aircell.html

My first time hatching, I loved checking the eggs, a few every couple of days. I washed my hands very well everytime and dried my hands with a new clean towel. I also learned that extra handlind can result in broken eggs. THey seem to become more fragile and porcelin-like as the days of incubation progress. 

GL

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyNameIs86 

Okay. I read many people candle their eggs. 

what kind of light do you need? any? and what days are good for candling other then the 18th? 

I use a good strong LED flashlight.  you can use your hand and hold the flashlight under the egg.  There are lots of different egg candlers available if you want to purchase one.  if you dont like using you hand and a strong flashlight,  i've seen many homemade candler ideas on youtube.  I candle once at around week one, again at two weeks and sometimes just before the eggs go into lockdown around day 17-18.

I haven't had any eggs to candle yet but I will soon. I plan on using my boyfriend's Maglite (it's the strongest flashlight we have) with a rubber washer on the inside in case I tap the egg to the flashlight.

If I remember correctly, you should candle on the rounded end, not the pointed end.

Costco has a package of 3 150 lumens for under $16 last month.  I am not sure if still on sale or not.    It's super bright LED and work good for candling the eggs.

the eggs can be out of the incubator for a few minutes and be just fine.  I use a little LED flashlight that is 144 lumens.  It's bright enough to see in fairly well.  Anything brighter would be great!  But anything under (lumens) won't really light it up.  I grab the end of the flashlight and sort of make a tunnel with my hand and place the egg on top.  BE CAREFUL!  I sit on the floor with a thick towel under my hand/egg just in case.  Honestly, I'd wait till Day 10 to try to see anything.

 I use a led flasight I bought at home depot. It was a package of two with batteries for like seven dollars. I put in call duck eggs 4 days ago and I can see veins very well already in one of them. Have fun and good luck.