Candled at Day 7

[WestCoastCoop]

Hi everyone

I candled my eggs today at Day 7 and found a lot of varied stages in development it seems. I am using a homemade incubator which has had some interesting ups and downs in temp and a few in humidity, but has mostly stayed 95-101 and 50% (with the odd spike up to 70%ish but not for long) I have a couple of questions about the eggs I photographed tonight (please excuse the poor quality camera isn't great) This is the link to my blog which has the photos, if someone wouldn't mind checking them out and adding their two cents I would really appreciate it.

http://bchomeinstead.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-7-candled-eggs.html

The first photo is a light sussex egg and it seems to have quit? The area that is dark is just that very faint shading on the Right side, and that is about as fuzzy and light as it is in real life? Is this one done for?

The next two I am happy with, lots of veins and an eye spot

The third one has this odd triangular shape to it, not sure what to think of that?

And last one is how most of the eggs look.

Thanks so much

 

[debilorrah]

The first one looks pourous to me. Are you candling from the bottom? It would help if you candled from the top.

 

[WestCoastCoop]

Well here is a stupid question for you, is the top the skinny end and the bottom the fat end? Or other way around? And if it is porous, what does that mean?

 

[gckiddhouse]

My homemade incubator is in the same exact styrofoam ice chest. I have had one bad hatch and am trying to save the second. Fortunately, one of my hens went broody and I gave her half the eggs! Mine has cold spots, hot spots and is up to 3 degrees hotter on one side than the other. I have been trying to figure it out and someone finally said it was the styrofoam box. She said it is too thin and doesn't hold temps well. That answered a lot of questions for me. This hatch, I have a great thermostat, but it only works for the spot where the probe is. The temp in the rest of the bator varies. Ugh!

So sorry to have to tell you this. You might try wrapping it with a thermal blanket or foil. Or, better yet, put it inside another ice chest.

If you are seeing varied stages of development, then that would explain it, wouldn't it? I hope you have a good hatch anyway.

I second the motion of candling from the end with the air cell.

Also, check out the sticky on development: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876

Good luck with that hatch.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Yes, the styrofoam should be at least 2 inches thick if it's not covered with something else on the outside. Even putting it inside a cardboard box would help to keep the temp more stable. That said, if you are using a hot water heater thermostat, you are likely to have temp swings from 97 - 102. I would suggest putting in a "water wiggler" with a thermometer inside and go by that temp. That will simulate the temp inside the egg. You will probably find that the wiggler temp doesn't vary that much.