Valentine's Day 1st Annual Hatch Along

[minihorse927]

I don't even take the out of the incubator to candle. Just stick the light over the top of them.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I don't even take the out of the incubator to candle. Just stick the light over the top of them.

That is how I candled when I had my genesis 1588. I upgraded to a sportsman and now the eggs have to come out to be candled. I candle much less often now.

 

[Alaskan]

Well, I finally properly checked on my eggs

I put the first ones in pretty early (I think last Monday... but I am not actually sure), and then I put in 2 Leghorn eggs on Thursday (I think).

The problem is that I love incubating, and I shouldn't really be incubating, so I at least wanted to only incubate those eggs that I thought that I could sell very quickly after hatch.

That meant that I decided that I should only incubate my Marans and olive eggers... but they weren't producing enough to completely fill the incubator.....

So I told one of my kids to fill the incubator for me..... if I couldn't see the empty spaces, then I wouldn't be tempted to fill them.... see?

Anyway... kid did a decent job, except that
1. those eggs are WAY dirtier than I thought that they were...

we shall see how that works out

2. I think that one of those Marans is a double yolker

I don't want the heartache of chicks not making it


Then, other stuff/ not kid related:

3. I could only find a decent (not a great flashlight) and so I can see NOTHING, not even the air cell in those Marans and Olive eggs!!!

4. So glad that I put in the Leghorn eggs.... I can easily see inside those... but one little vein spider looks so much better than the other one

that I worry about the other one. Maybe that egg got too cold before it came in the house.

 

[StephensonC]

Well, I finally properly checked on my eggs

I put the first ones in pretty early (I think last Monday... but I am not actually sure), and then I put in 2 Leghorn eggs on Thursday (I think).

The problem is that I love incubating, and I shouldn't really be incubating, so I at least wanted to only incubate those eggs that I thought that I could sell very quickly after hatch.

That meant that I decided that I should only incubate my Marans and olive eggers... but they weren't producing enough to completely fill the incubator.....

So I told one of my kids to fill the incubator for me..... if I couldn't see the empty spaces, then I wouldn't be tempted to fill them.... see?

Anyway... kid did a decent job, except that
1. those eggs are WAY dirtier than I thought that they were...

we shall see how that works out

2. I think that one of those Marans is a double yolker

I don't want the heartache of chicks not making it


Then, other stuff/ not kid related:

3. I could only find a decent (not a great flashlight) and so I can see NOTHING, not even the air cell in those Marans and Olive eggs!!!

4. So glad that I put in the Leghorn eggs.... I can easily see inside those... but one little vein spider looks so much better than the other one

that I worry about the other one. Maybe that egg got too cold before it came in the house.

I have some White Leghorn eggs too, and they are soooooo much easier to see!! I wish they could all be like that!

 

[Cpolanco3]

I've been candling with the light on my husbands phone. Somehow the little flashlight I like to "borrow" from my son to candle hasn't been found since our move. It appears I have to run to walmart to get my own actual flashlight for candling. so.... Which one would you all recommend?

Also, I bought a Little Giant to use as a hatcher since I worry my stacked eggs won't have enough room to hatch without killing eachother. (Thee eggs aren't stacked yet, but I plan them to be by the time they're ready to be set after their trip from the post office today)
So... back to my original question about the Little Giant.... I've read EVERYWHERE that the thermometer sucks. Which one do you guys recommend I get? Again... if possible, from walmart.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Ok. I couldn't stand it any longer. I candled to find that 4 of the 5 set on Saturday all have a dark mass at the top of the eggs (the big end) the 5th egg just looks really dark, I can't see anything. The other 2 eggs of the total 7 eggs set I can't see anything bc one was set yesterday& one today. My question is, what are the dark masses? Are they the air cells? &how big should they be?

No...

If you move your flashlight down to the bottom of the egg so the light points up into the egg, you will/can see a dark mass, depending on how long they have been in the bator and that should be the chick growing. See the light part on the bottom or the egg and the dark mass above it?


If you have a bright candler and hold the end sideways over the candler you will see something like this.


The aircell will be at the top and it should look the brightest. If you hold the egg upright(big end up....you should NOT turn upside down or roll eggs around etc to candle) it will be the part closest to the top of the egg and it will look bright like there is no fluid in it just air hence the name aircell. The brighter part on the left in this picture is the aircell. You can also see veins in this picture right next to the aircell.


If you have a very bright candler and a pitch black room...on day 4 you will see this...if it is developing.


If you see a dark mass and no veins at all on the upper part of the egg(not in the aircell) the egg probly died.

This is a Blood ring, on brighter candlers it will look more red like old blood.


This is a clear egg, notice it is all yellow with dark masses or red lines. This is what an egg from your fridge looks like when candled.


Bit early but this is a internally pipped egg. You can see the shadow of the beak in about the middle of the air cell. On this egg you can also see that the chick has almost externally pipped as well, those are the cracks in the egg shell.


Remember dont toss any eggs until atleast day 7 if not longer....they will not explode in the first 14 days. Or atleast as far as i know they wont..i have had clears and blood rings in there until day 18 and nothing bad happened for me.

 

[ChickyChickens]

No...

If you move your flashlight down to the bottom of the egg so the light points up into the egg, you will/can see a dark mass, depending on how long they have been in the bator and that should be the chick growing. See the light part on the bottom or the egg and the dark mass above it?


If you have a bright candler and hold the end sideways over the candler you will see something like this.


The aircell will be at the top and it should look the brightest. If you hold the egg upright(big end up....you should NOT turn upside down or roll eggs around etc to candle) it will be the part closest to the top of the egg and it will look bright like there is no fluid in it just air hence the name aircell. The brighter part on the left in this picture is the aircell. You can also see veins in this picture right next to the aircell.


If you have a very bright candler and a pitch black room...on day 4 you will see this...if it is developing.


If you see a dark mass and no veins at all on the upper part of the egg(not in the aircell) the egg probly died.

This is a Blood ring, on brighter candlers it will look more red like old blood.


This is a clear egg, notice it is all yellow with dark masses or red lines. This is what an egg from your fridge looks like when candled.


Bit early but this is a internally pipped egg. You can see the shadow of the beak in about the middle of the air cell. On this egg you can also see that the chick has almost externally pipped as well, those are the cracks in the egg shell.


Remember dont toss any eggs until atleast day 7 if not longer....they will not explode in the first 14 days. Or atleast as far as i know they wont..i have had clears and blood rings in there until day 18 and nothing bad happened for me.

Helpful!!!!!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Thank you...also forgot this one.

The stages of an egg lol....

 

[ChickyChickens]

Thank you...also forgot this one.

The stages of an egg lol....

 

[freejpony]

It's just about candling time for the chickens, so exciting...I'm hatching muscovy this HAL, I started out with 16 eggs and I'm down to 7 now. I don't know why I'm such a sucker for eggs that on the other side of the country, I have some wonky lookin aircells, but 7 little ducklings are still going strong.