Candling frustration **update**

[hart31]

I was gone from day 6 to day 10 and only candled a few before I left, thinking I would be able to tell more when I got back than when I left.

My light bulb in a box just isn't bright enough. At day 5, I could clearly see veins and a dark embryo "spot" in the white eggs and the light brown eggs. I couldn't see anything in the green or dark brown (welsummer x). Now on day 10 I was able to identify a couple of clear eggs with white shells but the "good" eggs are just black blobs. I tried a 500 watt halogen light and could see the air sacs in the darker eggs but that was all and that halogen light put off so much heat I was worried about the effect on the eggs so I quit after three or four. :|

 

[silkiechicken]

If it's dark, I say they are fine and let them go. I candle with a high power LED flashlight, a upgraded surefire, so it doesn't get very hot and I can see though brown and green shells. Good luck.

 

[hart31]

I found a 200 watt florescent bulb to put in a heat lamp reflector base and box with a hole in it. Candled 43 eggs. 8 were clear and I pulled them from the bator. A couple more looked like they had started and then stopped developing but I left them in as questionables. 4 americauna and 3 welsummers were too dark to see much but I could see an air cell and maybe light and dark areas in the rest of the eggs.

So out of an order for 24+ eggs I received 40 and have 33 left in the incubator including 11 Spitzhaubens, a couple of blue silkies, 3 muscovy ducks, 1 black summatras, and a variety of xbreds. These eggs arrived in great shape even though it was -35F the morning they arrived.

Another order shipped from a different location the same day arrived one day later and 12 of 16 blue silkie eggs were frozen to the point of being broken open in spite of excellent packaging. I put the other 4 in the bator anyway but pulled 3 of them today. And the other is a questionable. (A miracle if it makes it)