candling guinea eggs

[cmfarm]

How far along in incubation do you candle your eggs?

 

[casuarius]

After a week you should be able to see veins running along the membrane. If not then its not fertile.

 

[JLeigh]

I couldn't see any veining until about 10-14 days, but I'm a beginner and wasn't sure of exactly what I was looking for, so if you don't see anything at a week, don't worry. Check again on day 14. You'll know! Get a good strong LED light though. Guinea eggs are hard to see through because they're so thick.

 

[PeepsCA]

I see veins by about 5-6 days into incubation, but I have candled thousands of eggs, so I am used to seeing what I need to see. But before the veining is clearly visible, you should see the tint of the egg turning reddish color if the egg is fertile and developing (It's especially noticeable where the air cell meets the egg contents, at the big end of the egg). Most people wait until 10-14 days to candle Guinea eggs, because it's very obvious by then. Candling and comparing the differences in an egg from your fridge to a 10 day old incubated egg is like night and day at that point.

 

[JLeigh]

Once you've candled a few times, at different times, you'll get a feel for it. But wait until it's closer to hatch time and you see those little suckers moving around in the egg. I like to think they're waving at me

. Hatching is such a thrill.