11th Annual Easter Hatch a Long 2020

[Chicka_deee]

we have beautiful growth! Sadly 4 eggs have given up I noticed this at the beginning. but the rest look amazing and I love watching them move around ☺

 

[Melontine]

Out of the eggs I have incubating, there are only two in there that I'm not sure they have anything growing in them. The rest of the bunch seems to be coming along nicely. Only ~13 days to go now!

 

[Pyxis]

One of my chicken eggs wasn't fertile, but the others are doing well, and all the quail I set are developing too!

 

[ronott1]

"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..

The only problem I have seen in the literature about candling and hurting the embryo was using and incandescent bulb in a homemade candler since they can create a lot of heat. The advice was to not use that type long enough to overheat the egg.

Most candling is done with led bulbs now so all should be good.

Eyes do not develop until later in development and most only do a quick candling to check air cell before setting them to hatch(lockdown)

 

[ronott1]

I set some eggs today although I’m way too late

I hope they hatch well for you!

 

[ronott1]

One of my chicken eggs wasn't fertile, but the others are doing well, and all the quail I set are developing too!

How fun to have quail hatching too!

 

[CindyinSD]

I think my

The only problem I have seen in the literature about candling and hurting the embryo was using and incandescent bulb in a homemade candler since they can create a lot of heat. The advice was to not use that type long enough to overheat the egg.

Most candling is done with led bulbs now so all should be good.

Eyes do not develop until later in development and most only do a quick candling to check air cell before setting them to hatch(lockdown)

I think my chickens see just fine. Don't believe me? Ha! Just try to sneak up on one to catch it.

 

[Melontine]

I think I’ll have to throw out my first egg, I think I’m seeing a blood ring in it now.

 

[Redhead Rae]

We had some crazy wind yesterday and I lost power for 8 hours last night. Hopefully my eggs are ok. I had just set another batch of 15 earlier in the day.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I can confirm as of last night that I have just one egg developing out of all my EHAL eggs. One blood ring, but the rest are just clear. I guess it's just too early for my boys.

The silkied Cochin eggs will be going into lockdown tonight, so hopefully I'll have a few babies to keep a single Easter chick company should it make it to hatch.

Most bird species are reported to have excellent eyesight, but chickens are said to have poor eyesight. Do we cause this?

Hmm, interesting. I'd always heard the opposite, that chickens, like other birds, had superior eyesight.

BUT, if this is the case, more than likely it's not caused by candling, but by HEAT LAMPS and other continuously lighting brooder heaters. This is a major soapbox topic for me, so it's hard for me to resist going on a rant about it, but suffice it to say that the impacts of continuous lighting on growing chicks have been studied for decades and the consensus is, no surprise, that it's not healthy for them to have 24/7 constant lighting while their bodies are developing when the presence of light and photoperiodism is what triggers many of their hormonal releases.

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. View attachment 2066615View attachment 2066616View attachment 2066618

Nice! I'll second the question about the bulb wattage. Also wondering how hot it gets while it's running? Thanks for the pictures!