Can candling really harm your hatch rates?

[aubreynoramarie]

this i am wondering because i want to candle them sooo bad but there are only four left and i dont wanna kill em but i want to see if theyre still alive but like i saididontwantotkillthem and i am afraidthatif i look at them theyregoingtodie AND I CANTHANDLETHEPRESSURE!

yeah...so, whaddya think?

 

[chickee]

It doesn't hurt to candle your eggs if your using a proper light, like a cool lume or LED flashlight. The heat from some regular flashlights and candlers can harm the embryo. In fact studies show that a short (5 minutes) cool down when you open the incubator to candle your eggs is beneficial. It would be the same as the hen leaving the nest each day to eat and drink. Of course you don't want to candle your eggs when they are in lockdown since you don't want to loose the humidity they need for hatching. I can't stand it either and want to candle my eggs often to see how they are doing, and it hasn't hurt my hatches at all! I do always wash my hands if I am going to touch the eggs, but since I purchased my high intensity cool lume candler I don't have to take my eggs out to look at them. I just put the candler on top of the egg (they are in a turner) and it shines down into it and I can even see the chick bobbing up and down in there! So much fun!!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

you, my friend, are an enabler.


i love you.

 

[chickee]

I love being an enabler!

You reminded me to go take a look at my eggs! My BLRWs are only 5 days along and I saw the little embryos as clear as could be!

Isn't this fun?!
Good luck with your hatch

 

[aubreynoramarie]

likewise!

 

[Peppermint]

Tell me about this "cool lume candler"...

 

[Tala]

I candled a lot my first hatch. 20 went to lockdown and 17 of them hatched. I don't think candling a lot had any negative effects on them!

Granted, now I just candle a little before lockdown to make sure they are all alive before I lock the bator up. Hatching super-dark eggs will put a damper on your candling

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
what are some signs that they are alive before the hatch?

 

[Tala]

Quote:
what are some signs that they are alive before the hatch?

Oh, with a really good light and WHITE eggs you can see the veining pretty good around day 3.
If you have dark eggs you can't see much detail, but by the time you are approaching lockdown (day 17 or 18) you should at least be able to tell that the bulk of the egg is full of chick (dark) and the aircell is not.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
what are some signs that they are alive before the hatch?

Oh, with a really good light and WHITE eggs you can see the veining pretty good around day 3.
If you have dark eggs you can't see much detail, but by the time you are approaching lockdown (day 17 or 18) you should at least be able to tell that the bulk of the egg is full of chick (dark) and the aircell is not.

hmm.. i am at day 16 and seeing quite a bit of aircell..