11th Annual Easter Hatch a Long 2020

[Peep_Show]

I candle pointed end down BUT my eggs are still in the turner. If you have a good candling light you should be able to see veining action and webbing wending up to the air sac. The ones that are questionable come out for further inspection. (And then if I'm still unsure, they are placed in a separate row in the turner so I can check on them later to confirm a stay or nay.)

Some egg colors are easier to candle than others, but sufficiently along (Day 7 to 10) you can tell the difference between webbing and clearness (Day 10 for Marans as their shells are really dark.) I candle at Day 7 or 10 initially and then one more time before the final candling at lockdown.

 

[CindyinSD]

This is my first time hatching eggs and there are a lot of things I don’t know. Is there a specific reason to candle it the other way? I was worried that if I turned the large end down, that it would disturb the air cell. I had some of these eggs shipped to me so I was especially worried about those. I also wanted to trace the air cell, how would I do that if the large end is down?

Candling with the flashlight beam pointing into the egg through the air cell makes it easier for me to see what's going on inside, especially later in incubation. I candle in any direction that works best for me at that particular point in the egg's development.

 

[CindyinSD]

Candling with the flashlight beam pointing into the egg through the air cell makes it easier for me to see what's going on inside, especially later in incubation. I candle in any direction that works best for me at that particular point in the egg's development.

Speaking of... I decided to candle just one of my duck eggs about a day after setting. Yeah, right. Of 23 eggs, 21 had a little dark spot in the yolk that hadn't been there the day before.

 

[SteveWin]

...Is there any other reason not to candle?

View attachment 2066079

"Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the Sun...
But Mama, that's where the fun is!"

I wonder if the intensity of the light could be painful/stressful to the developing chick, or even impair eye development. Most bird species are reported to have excellent eyesight, but chickens are said to have poor eyesight. Do we cause this?

Still, I think we have to candle.. just to protect the babies from rotting time bombs in their midst..

I candled mine yesterday.. of the dozen I had saved up over 3 weeks in refrigerator storage, 3 (25%) are growing, one failed the smell test, two had started but quit early, the rest were clear. Of the 3 laid and set on 3/14, two are growing and one was clear (unfertilized, I'm guessing..). The 3 I added on 3/21 &3/23 are all growing.

So.. I'm thinking that my girls' first eggs this year (longest in fridge) were likely unfertilized too.. and of the 18 I've had in, I'm down to 8 still incubating, with 5 due to hatch this Saturday, the last 3 a week or so later..

 

[PetRock]

I candle pointed end down BUT my eggs are still in the turner. If you have a good candling light you should be able to see veining action and webbing wending up to the air sac. The ones that are questionable come out for further inspection. (And then if I'm still unsure, they are placed in a separate row in the turner so I can check on them later to confirm a stay or nay.)

Some egg colors are easier to candle than others, but sufficiently along (Day 7 to 10) you can tell the difference between webbing and clearness (Day 10 for Marans as their shells are really dark.) I candle at Day 7 or 10 initially and then one more time before the final candling at lockdown.

This is how I candle, too, except I candle on days 5, 10, and 18-19 when I set to hatch.

 

[Pensmaster]

"Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the Sun...
But Mama, that's where the fun is!"

I wonder if the intensity of the light could be painful/stressful to the developing chick, or even impair eye development. Most bird species are reported to have excellent eyesight, but chickens are said to have poor eyesight. Do we cause this?

Still, I think we have to candle.. just to protect the babies from rotting time bombs in their midst..

I candled mine yesterday.. of the dozen I had saved up over 3 weeks in refrigerator storage, 3 (25%) are growing, one failed the smell test, two had started but quit early, the rest were clear. Of the 3 laid and set on 3/14, two are growing and one was clear (unfertilized, I'm guessing..). The 3 I added on 3/21 &3/23 are all growing.

So.. I'm thinking that my girls' first eggs this year (longest in fridge) were likely unfertilized too.. and of the 18 I've had in, I'm down to 8 still incubating, with 5 due to hatch this Saturday, the last 3 a week or so later..

I do believe the reason they are dancing is due to the light. I’m sensitive to light myself and that candle light is brutal to me. I still candle though I just try and make it quicker now. Ones that look iffy get an X on top. Clears come out. More often than not the iffy ones make it. Again my eyesight.

 

[Cynthia12]

So....I have been pretty worried about the Appenzellar eggs I set on Tuesday.....they were not packaged for shipping very well at all. They sent 14. 1 was completely scrambled, 1 had a hairline crack (which I quickly waxed) but air cell seemed okay, and 6 had pretty bad detached air cells. I have been incubating the 6 with detached air cells and the broken one upright in my small incubator and the other 6 in my big incubator. I was trying to hold out on candling until the 7th, but just couldn't where I was so concerned about how they were shipped. Out of the 13, the 6 in my big incubator are all showing development, but the other 7 do not yet. Going to give them until day 7 just in case they are a little late....but think they are probably done. Candled 2 each of the Copper Maran and Bielefelder eggs, but couldn't see anything yet. Hoping it's just because the shells are darker.

Wise desicion on both... sperate bators, but waiting to candle..just in case. We've all had..happy surprises at times, even when we think all is lost. And yes..those dark eggs, darn it, are hard to see any movement. Have to wait until the second week to hope to see anything hopefully. Good luck!

 

[Cynthia12]

Ok Ron...here ya go. It's getting old, but still works like a charm. Made from a big ol bean can. Then hubby put a handle from a lamp to hold it in place while I candle. I put a hand towel on the drawer to protect the wood on the drawer. Plus it keeps the lamp tight.

 

[Alwaysfowlplay]

Welcome! What kind of quail did you order?
Be sure to send a message to @casportpony with the number of eggs you set!

They are JMF Pharaoh Jumbo egg variety. Hoping for 50% hatch rate since they were shipped but even if I could get 1 roo and a couple hens for breeding I’ll be ecstatic.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

24 spitzhauben eggs set a week ago for the hatchalong and 24 spitzie eggs developing. Hopefully they all make it to the end. 100% fertility rate, let's hope the same for hatch rate!