Candling Eggs! A few questions!

[nfrost]

I have a hen sitting on 11 eggs put in there 2 days apart, so like 5 i put under her on wednesday and 6 on thursdya does that matter? and i candle the eggs only 1 has a tiny tiny bit of veins, and the others i can see the yolk but in the middle of the yolk is a darker spot is that bad (bacteria) or is that good? I can try and take a camera out tehre tonight and candle all them and take a pic with a digital camera.

 

[Arielle]

I would give them all a few more days, like closer to 10 days of incubating to look for development. The more handling the eggs get the more likely one will get dropped in my experience.

If you have at least one with veining, you know the hen is doing her job and if the other eggs are viable, they will also develop.

Can the first borns get to water and food while momma hen is busy sitting on the remaining eggs? Are they safe from falling out of the nest and safely away from other chickens?

You may need to show the chicks the water and food as the momma hen may not get off the nest to show them.

GL

 

[Me & Jack]

Lots of people will tell you not to candle until day 7 or day 10. For lighter, unmottled eggs I can usually tell by day 2 if there's something going on in there. But I never assume anything until closer to day four or five at the earliest. At that point I can tell if an egg is clear and unfertile compared to the others. If you're new to candling, though, give yourself time to develop your "eye" for fertility. I'd say wait until Monday to candle again to see how many are definitely fertile, and don't give up on any other eggs for at least another few days beyond that. That way you won't be bothering momma too much, and I've had an experience where a broody hen stopped setting her eggs because she was pestered too much by my kids and me.

 

[liv4fun]

how many times do you candle in the first ten days?

 

[Me & Jack]

I usually candle on day 2 or 3 and mark those eggs with a check on the end if they are showing the little "spider" veins. Then I'll check again on day five or six and by then I can tell which eggs are clear and not fertile. I take those eggs out of the bator, but if there are any I'm not 100% about I just leave them in another few days. I'll usually check again around day 8, and then I don't typically check again until the end of the second week (if I don't like what I see I might mark that egg with an 'x') and then I candle one last time before lockdown on day 17 or 18. All this candling is just for my own sense of satisfaction! It doesn't always tell me if a chick has already died in the egg, and once I know the eggs are fertile there technically isn't much point in candling again. I just think it's fun to check in on those little monkeys and watch them swish around for a few seconds so I know everybody's okay!