Candeling help

[marzullol]

We have just started our second round of incubating. First round we had 3 out of a dozen hatch, one is tiny and not growing like the others but is still hanging in there.

We are again trying Black Copper Maran eggs, and was given 2 green eggs as extra bonus. woot woot and I pick one of our Braham's (buff daddy, light mommy) egg off the ground for the heck of it.

I kept looking at the photos of candeling of the eggs and everytime we tried to candle with the light on the bottom and with the big end down, we never saw anything. This time I tried from the side with the big end up and voila, I can see the air sack. Happy dance.

But I have one egg I just am not to sure about. It would be one of the BC Maran eggs, dark brown and speckled. My husband thinks he see a air sack, but I am not so sure. Where the other eggs there is very definite space, this one is not. The eggs looks porous. The eggs are 13 day in the incubator as of today.

My worry is that it could explode and ruin the rest of the eggs. I have it as far away from the rest in the incuabtor. I don't was to lose the eggs I have.

Would you cull the egg for the safety of the rest of the eggs? Is there any warning if a egg is bad? I don't see anything in the eggs that is definite, blood ring or eye, just a faint possible line where the air sack might be.

Also one of the eggs was placed upside down (both ends look the same) and the air sack still developed on the bottom. I have flipped the eggs so the air sack is now on the top side. This was done on day 10.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[12321]

I've only done one hatch myself, mostly dark Welsummer eggs. Dark eggs are hard to see into.

I'd leave the egg in until it starts to smell. You will smell it just from standing beside the incubator. If in doubt, put it up to your nose - there will be no question if it's going bad. If it doesn't smell just leave it in. When I was a kid, we tried to hatch some goose eggs from a nest that got destroyed. We were told it could be done in an electric frypan of all things.They started to smell so I dug a hole out back and broke the eggs open on the shovel to see if they developed at all. It was pretty sad to see the last one was fully feathered, alive and wiggling around at the bottom of the hole - I didn't try smelling the individual eggs. Mom just wanted them off the kitchen counter.

 

[12321]

Forgot to say. We did have about 10 eggs that we weren't sure about so left them in till day 12. We managed to put 2 led flashlights on them and could tell they were clear. I broke them into a pan and cooked them up for the chickens. The yolks were very flat, but still yellow and intact and not smelly at all. In a couple more days if they still look as dark as the others, leave them in. You're probably doing this already, but do your candeling in the dark. The darker, the better.

 

[marzullol]

In a electric fry pan? who knew.

We have the incubator in the spare bathroom and shut the door and turn off the light before candling. I started with the two green eggs first and that is how I figured out where to put the light to see the air sack. I have read, and read and read not to handle the eggs too much and didn't even try until day 10 to candle. Since we never saw anything through the dark shells my husband didn't think it would be worth trying with this batch. But I had to try and once I figured it out with the green eggs, it made the dark eggs easier to check.

I am hoping this time we have better results, it was so depressing last time when we lost so many. I about gave up but I really wanted some Black Copper Marans.

Thanks