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I haven't actually posted much in over a decade! But happy to see people are still finding this thread useful! I actually don't remember the breeds. They were barn yard mixes.

Yes, that last picture looks like a thin shelled egg. It does not mean it has an infection inherently.

If you can see veins in bigger and darker eggs, I'd say they are not viable. That said, look again at day 10 before tossing incase you're missing the veins. By day 5 they should be evident if you know what you are looking for.

Not all eggs were meant to be. But glad you found the pictures and videos useful!

It's just a flashlight brand. You can use any high output flashlight. I would recommend at least 300 lumens out the front. Also, infertile or fertile eggs can explode IF they some how get bacteria inside. Eggs should be sterile inside and as long as nothing gets in, the pores in the shell...

Congrats on the chick!!!!!!!!! Glad the thread is helpful!! Merry X mas everyone!

That's a neat chick animation video! Youtube has some good stuff on there. And terri, good luck on your hatch! FYI, those feathery things are actually blood vessels.

Within doubt, leave them in the bator if you can't smell them. Smell and seepage mean toss carefully ASAP. Else, let them be. If it is your first time, I'd not bother candling till a week in. Floating bubble is a broken air sac, they can still possibly hatch. Good luck!

Personally, if I really wanted chicks, I'd hatch them myself and raise them myself. Some hens make great moms, some make terrible moms. Unless proven, and even if proven, there is always that risk she won't raise them. Every bird is different.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell, if you don't know, as long as they don't stink or leak, let them go longer. Good luck on everyone's holiday hatches!

I just wanted to note that in the PNW, the relative humidity in the house is between 50-80 year round, this might make a difference because I know my cali cousins have had single digit humidity levels! Unheard of here and might affect how well it works.

Thanks for the comments and congrats on all your hatches! Glad it is a useful thread. To answer the humidity question, I do not check my humidity. I just fill the tray in the bottom till full, let it run dry for a day, fill it up and repeat. On the last three days, I make sure it is always full...

24-48 hrs is fine

I don't know anything about ducks... As for turning eggs, I turn them by hand about 3 times a day. I don't really keep track. Stop turning day 18 or 19... I doubt it'll make a difference. I just do my last turn at night on the 18th and call it good. I've missed a few days and they've been fine.

By day 10, anything moving on it's own power would be the embryo. The heart of a chick is well inside the body by day 10. You can only see the heart itself outside before day 3 or so if you crack open the egg and look at the chick (this will kill the chick). Candle on day 14 and decide then...

Veins are web-like. A red line around the egg is usually a blood ring resulting from a dead embryo. That said, day 4 is way early for anyone new to candling/hatching to toss eggs. Check again at day 10 and don't toss till day 14.

By day 7 you should see something, especially if your duck egg was able to be candled and showed veins. Wait till 14 for sure, but if you can see into duck eggs at day 7, you should have easily been able to see veins on day 3 on chicken.

My best guess is that they were fertilized, but not viable. New layer, or young rooster, can result in less than perfect conditions for a fertile and viable egg. I'd let your buff orp lay for a month, then collect eggs for hatching. If anything, after a month of laying, egg sizes will be larger...

Good luck to all your spring hatches!

They are wrapped because looking at blinking 40W bulbs hurts the eyes. LOL. It's fine to do as far as I know, just wrap the glass part.