candle or not

[chick mad]

I don`t have a good look on my eggs. decided not to do it until the end.
anyone o don`t candle?

mum hen don`t. they eggs don`t explode on the nest, so why do it?

 

[fernandez0067]

Many times the broody will reject the bad eggs and take them out from under her... so in a sense,... she does do the candling

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
There is some logic behind not candling.
- You cant change things by doing it - eggs will hatch if fertile... and wont if infertile. No matter how much you shine a light on them, you cant change that.
- You can damage them in the first week if you get heavy handed with it. They are very fraglie then.
- If using an incubator, you can disturb conditions if you do it too much... and you risk damage from accidents in handling if you use an external candler. The commercial hatcheries dont do it until the the 18th day, and then only to reserve the hatchers for those eggs liable to actually hatch.

Probably the best reason to do it is to look for disease or other problems. Eggs can go bad or "die" because of bacterial infection and can potentially infect other eggs or even explode in extreme cases. So it is benficial to candle and look for this.
Some are eager to remove "clears" at day 7(infertile eggs), and then feed them back to either themselves or the other animals. But I dont see the point unless they are damaged or diseased. Leaving them in offers a thermal buffering effect which, IMHO, exceeds any benefit from their removal.
You can still feed them back after the hatch is over.
Besides, I dont care to recall how many I've killed by judging them clear when candling - and they werent. This can be troubling and is a distinct possibility with heavy shelled eggs or those with dark pigmentation.

Normally, candling when you set the eggs, once on the 7th day and once on the 14th is sufficient.

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But you are right, I've hatched successfully with no candling at all using only my eyes and nose. Once the wheels are in motion, you are committed, regardless.