afraid to candle for loss of heat :p(

[sonew123]

ok my bator has not been holding the right temp-it has taken me 3 days to get it to 99.7 now I need to candle in a few days and Im deathly AFRAID of screwing the temp up...when you candle how long does it normally take to recoup heat and should I be worried about a bad hatch because of it--?I'm not afraid of candling-im afraid if I open the bator it will take me days to get the temp back? help-I think once I getthrough this first ever hatch I wont be such a freak-I hope-does it ever get any easier?

 

[Tuffoldhen]

It gets easier trust me. You will be just fine with the temps when you candle. A hen gets up off the nest for 20 minutes or more a day when she is setting on a clutch of eggs. Chicks are tougher than we give them credit when it comes time to hatching. Don't be afraid to candle. Your temp might take awhile but it will or should come back up.

 

[byrandom]

You don't need to candle. I had two very bad hatches. Less than 50% on local eggs. Now, I don't candle, and I have up to 95-96% on the same local source's eggs. It might be a fluke.. but I'm not tempting it, lol.

 

[sonew123]

thanks for the advice--I realize I dont need to candle-I wish my head wouldnt get the best of me..I would llooovvvveee.. to see a playfull chick inside..Not only that--my thing with candling is to remove bad eggs so that when the chicks hatch they have more room to move--am I making sense..I will TRY to not candle-but I can't promise

 

[EweSheep]

I candle my eggs every seven days to make sure and I agree with Tuffoldhen. They will be fine. Also make sure your hands and fingers do not have any oils from cooking oil or butter or shortening because it would block the pores of the shells. Same thing for hand lotions! Just be sure to wash your hands before you mess with the eggs to remove oils and lotion from hands.

So go ahead and candle!

 

[sonew123]

yeah!! thanks for making me feel sooo much better!!

 

[nikevijo]

I stress about turning the eggs/candeling and letting out heat. I never thought of when the hen leaves the nest. I feel much better now

 

[LilDucky85]

When I candle my eggs I first turn on the shower so that it gets hot in the bathroom, and then bring them in there. This way even if it isnt 99 degrees I feel better having them sit there rather than in a chilly room. I hate bringing them all out at once but its faster for me.

Other times when I check just one, or two eggs I just flash the light on an egg while Im turning them. I dont pick them up just use my key chain LED light. I know I shouldnt but cant help it! If I want to see action I have two eggs that I know Ill see swim around instantly so to get it out of my system I usualy check those. Shhh everyone dont tell byrandom!

 

[EweSheep]

Yep my broodies get off their nests roughly three times a day to poop and water and eat and stretch a bit before going back on their nests. It usually last anywhere from five minutes to twenty minutes.

Never harmed to have no heat for a short time.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
I do candle every one of those eggs. Why candle "empty" eggs or possibly a bad or underdevelop egg ready to explode or taking up space when you need to add more eggs in the bator?

Worked for me! Every seven days until the 19th day I candle them before I let them go on to be hatched out.