Bator & Candling Help

[SterlingAcres]

I've got a few concerns I was hoping to get answers too.

1.) I've got an antique chest bator that houses 800+ eggs. The therm and hydro says Taylor on it, but I'm not sure if they are originals. There's nothing else on the incubator itself that could give me a guess as to who made it. I was wondering if anyone knew what I was talking about? I may have a picture... It's not a very good one though, sorry (just a pic of the test run in the basement).

2.) I've never candled before. Ever. Can someone explain in depth the actual process? I mean, am I just supposed to pull the eggs out individually and shine a light on them? I really don't want to compromise this hatch if I have no idea what I'm doing candling wise.

Also, it's not really important I guess, but I'd like an opinion regardless. We're planning a move and hopefully we'll have some property this summer, so I plan to hatch more eggs later in the year. I'd like to add a light inside this incubator, a small hole to refill water with and maybe even add a webcam or something similar. Would you personally do this to the antique one I have? Or should I just go ahead and make one of the homemade cooler ones?


Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

There is no problem opening it everyday to hand turn eggs so likewise no problem opening it to add water. I wouldnt make holes in an antique. Stick a flashlight in there for a light. Candling is easy. Basically yes you just shine a light thru the egg to see if its fertile and growing. I got a LED light for 6 bucks. My buddies on here and I have been candling our eggs almost every day and Myst4 just had 100% hatch. I'm on day 14 with 100% moving and growing. Day 18 is the end of my candling fun because you cant open the incubator after that. Hope that helped you.

 

[SterlingAcres]

Quote:
My problems with the adding water are that the whole door is rather large. I need to slide out a metal tray and fill it with water. The bator is in the basement, so obviously once the doors open, the temp drops. But I do think the flashlight idea was a good one. I'll have to scrounge around some batteries... better yet, maybe I can get one of those tap lights that stick to the wall. My uncle used those on his porch with no ill effects due to weather, so it should work fine.
I'm concerned about the candling since it's pretty chilly in my basement. I don't want to up/down the temp of the egg, just to shine a light on it. Ya know?