Candling Eggs

[FunnyBunnies12]

Is there really a difference in candling with this https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=283 then to a regular flashlight? Anyone have one of these and the comparison. Also, do you think just by this description I have good eggs to incubate or bad. I can see the air pocket in some of the eggs without candling if you look at it in the light the right way. Kind of like in the picture in the link. Does the size of the air pocket have anything to do with a good or bad egg?

 

[1-duckling]

If you have a good flashlight, even like a mini-meg that takes the two AA batteries, it will do fine. By the time you buy the item and pay shipping you can get a really good flashlight. I use the 500 candle UltraFire flashlight that is about the size of a mini-meg. Around the bulb end I used vet tape and wrapped it around and around to form a soft end that seals against the egg. Works great. The air sack is relatively small at first, say the size of a quarter give or take. It grows as the egg incubates eventually getting about the size in the picture of the candled egg in the cool light ad. There should be a air sack and check the whole egg to make sure there are no cracks.

Happy incubating!

 

[duckluck]

I use the Brinsea high intensity Egg Lume, it's the best candler I could find. Pricey but well worth the money if you are candling a lot of eggs, especially if you have any dark shells. My husband has just about every kind of flashlight you could want and none of them can "hold a candle to" the Egg Lume for checking on embryo progress.

 

[katharinad]

I went to Walmart into the camping section and got the brightest flash light you can find. Look for the lumen number on the pack. The higher the brighter. I ended up with a LED flashlight made by Coleman. Works wonderful and does not generate heat. The one you listed does produce heat, don't waste your money on it. Here is a thing about candling. Do it at night, when it is dark in the room. Don't do it more then once a week, or it will confuse you. You will see blood vessels within 4 days, but some may need a few days extra. Those that don't anything a week later are not fertile. From there on it will get darker and darker in the egg, and you really don't see anything. So there is no point in investing into a big candler. You use it to weed out the eggs that don't do a thing. After one week you can hear a heartbeat with a cheap stethoscope, but that needs a little bit of practice. Days before hatching you will hear a scratching sound inside when holding to your ear, but you can miss it when the duck sleeps. You will hear tapping sounds after they have pipped internally, again you miss it when they sleep. Handling the eggs to much for candling is not good for them. So really just get a bright flashlight and don't bother with the other stuff they sell.

 

[FunnyBunnies12]

Bummer, I already spent the money on that light. Oh well, I got excited. I ordered the incubator/goose egg turner, and the light, now I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive to see what is in that package(eggs) once I incubate them!