Candling is fun! =P

[chickenlover456]

Yesterday was the 8th day of incubation, and I candled the eggs. I thought it was the most AMAZING thing. I could see the embryos clearly. They were even moving!

I was really nervous I was doing something wrong, but at 8 days, they looked pretty good for me! 12 days left until their due date.

Oh, and quick question.
I hand-turn my eggs 5 times a day, and was wondering if the whole even/odd number of turns really matters. Some people say it must be odd number of turns, and some say it doesn't matter. Any imput?

 

[Suellyn]

Yep, candling was my own private "sub-addiction" to the whole "addicted to chickens" thing!! Mixed opinions as to how much one should candle or not and whether it impacts hatch rate, BUT, for me, was well worth it... was quick & gentle, plus figured Momma Hen gets off the nest once a day days 1 thru 18, so the 5-10 minute cool-down/increased ventilation during candling kinda mimics that...

And watching those babies grow was way TOO cool for me & my daughters!!!

Had 9 outta 10 hatch, so good hatch rate for me.

As far as how many times a day to turn, the thought process is that if it is an ODD number of times per day, then you won't routinely end up with them laying on the same side overnight... Odd numbers mean it kinda switches around/alternates every day. Don't know if I explained that very well.. does that make sense to you?

 

[chickenlover456]

Suellyn wrote:

Yep, candling was my own private "sub-addiction" to the whole "addicted to chickens" thing!! Mixed opinions as to how much one should candle or not and whether it impacts hatch rate, BUT, for me, was well worth it... was quick & gentle, plus figured Momma Hen gets off the nest once a day days 1 thru 18, so the 5-10 minute cool-down/increased ventilation during candling kinda mimics that...

And watching those babies grow was way TOO cool for me & my daughters!!!

Had 9 outta 10 hatch, so good hatch rate for me.

As far as how many times a day to turn, the thought process is that if it is an ODD number of times per day, then you won't routinely end up with them laying on the same side overnight... Odd numbers mean it kinda switches around/alternates every day. Don't know if I explained that very well.. does that make sense to you?

It actually does! I've gotten other explanations, such as "It won't work right" which just left me more confused. Thanks! BTW, congrats on your hatch!