Candling eggs?

[rosemarysugar]

It is day 4 of momma broody on the eggs and am excited to see of they are fertilized or not I would like to candle the eggs, yes or no?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Go ahead; who am I to tell you to stop?

Just make sure she's good with it. Most broodies'll peck a bit, and growl, and most of my experienced girls just roll their eyes and say "there she goes again," but if she hops off the nest screaming (as some do), you'd better leave it.

I don't want to go back through every post you've ever made to look, so I'll just ask: Have you candled eggs before? If not, best results are obtained with a flashlight of 500 lumens or above, especially if you're doing dark eggs. I just bought a 900 lumens and I can candle eggs in daylight now!

 

[rosemarysugar]

Go ahead; who am I to tell you to stop?

Just make sure she's good with it. Most broodies'll peck a bit, and growl, and most of my experienced girls just roll their eyes and say "there she goes again," but if she hops off the nest screaming (as some do), you'd better leave it.

I don't want to go back through every post you've ever made to look, so I'll just ask: Have you candled eggs before? If not, best results are obtained with a flashlight of 500 lumens or above, especially if you're doing dark eggs. I just bought a 900 lumens and I can candle eggs in daylight now!

No, I haven't done it before. I just don't want to cause damage or something by moving them.

 

[NorthernMIFlock]

After our first time broody situation last month I would recommend hands off. We have no roo so places 7 probable fertile eggs from my friends hens under our broody. I was nervous some of them were maybe duds so we tried to candle on day 10. First of all, the eggs were brown and even with a great light we couldn’t see much of anything. Secondly, as my son was replacing the eggs back she tried to peck him and pecked one of the eggs by accident . It was fertile and the poor little embryo died. The advice I received is that if they’re incubated, go ahead and candle, if under a broody, leave them be and trust nature and momma to all of it. My hen ended up hatching 4 on 6/28 and the other 2 were fertile, one quit early on and the other was fully formed and feathered but never hatched. Good luck!

 

[sylviethecochin]

After our first time broody situation last month I would recommend hands off. We have no roo so places 7 probable fertile eggs from my friends hens under our broody. I was nervous some of them were maybe duds so we tried to candle on day 10. First of all, the eggs were brown and even with a great light we couldn’t see much of anything. Secondly, as my son was replacing the eggs back she tried to peck him and pecked one of the eggs by accident . It was fertile and the poor little embryo died. The advice I received is that if they’re incubated, go ahead and candle, if under a broody, leave them be and trust nature and momma to all of it. My hen ended up hatching 4 on 6/28 and the other 2 were fertile, one quit early on and the other was fully formed and feathered but never hatched. Good luck!

How bright a light were you using? A lot of flashlights just won't cut it.

I candle under all my broodies. I don't want them setting on rotten eggs, or on a nest of duds (which has happened thrice. Once the broody set in winter and all the eggs froze before she began setting, once the entire nest went rotten for no reason I could see, once a vitamin B deficiency wiped out all but one egg on day 7.)

When candling from under a broody, hold the egg with your entire hand, slide your closed hand under her, and withdraw slowly. I've never had a hen break an egg using that technique.

 

[sylviethecochin]

No, I haven't done it before. I just don't want to cause damage or something by moving them.

Don't candle on day #2; they're forming blood vessels which is a pretty delicate process. Best to not interrupt it. Beyond that, don't drop them or (apparently) let the broody get her beak near them, and they should be fine.

 

[Shezadandy]

No, I haven't done it before. I just don't want to cause damage or something by moving them.

Or you can wait until she hops off to take her daily break if you know when that will be. We got the candler below and LOVE IT. The rubber end makes for a good seal - I always go to a dark closet. Best was when my husband had no idea I was in there and he opened the door. Just handle them with care and if she's too upset, don't risk it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KCKNYCY/?tag=backy-20

 

[rosemarysugar]

How bright a light were you using? A lot of flashlights just won't cut it.

I candle under all my broodies. I don't want them setting on rotten eggs, or on a nest of duds (which has happened thrice. Once the broody set in winter and all the eggs froze before she began setting, once the entire nest went rotten for no reason I could see, once a vitamin B deficiency wiped out all but one egg on day 7.)

When candling from under a broody, hold the egg with your entire hand, slide your closed hand under her, and withdraw slowly. I've never had a hen break an egg using that technique.

I used a phone flashlight and it worked great!