Candling Quail Eggs-Day 10

[NicoleRook]

Does anyone have as much difficulty as me candling quail eggs....I just see spots and splotches, can't tell sometimes if it's from inside or outside egg. Very frustrating. Wish I knew if these guys were viable. Any advice?

 

[kenazzo2000]

Get a good egg candler

 

[James the Bald]

Does anyone have as much difficulty as me candling quail eggs....I just see spots and splotches, can't tell sometimes if it's from inside or outside egg. Very frustrating. Wish I knew if these guys were viable. Any advice?

What I did was took a cardboard box and in the dead center of the bottom of the box, I traced a dime. A shoebox works really well. Then I cut out the center with an exacto knife. I candled on day 14, placing the egg directly over the hole. I took the eggs out of the egg turner and candled each one. The viable ones went back into the incubator, the infertile ones went to the trash. The infertile ones will allow the light to shine through; the ones with chicks in will be hard to see through. I figured that since I was candling on the day they go into lockdown, I only handled the eggs one time before they would hatch.

 

[underground chickenman]

A really bright light and a dark room are the keys. I simply make a circle around the egg with my thumb and index finger on my left hand so as to seal the edges around the egg. I then hold a small, but very bright LED flashlight behind the egg and see what I see. No prob. Just don't let the light hit your eyes, or you will be blinded for a few minutes.

There are really only two times that I candle. The first is around the one week mark, by which time you should see blood vessels in viable eggs. I then candle just before or right at lockdown, at which time you see nothing but a dark egg and a lighter air sac. WIth the right light, both are easy to see, in my opinion. The spots on the egg don't bother me because they don't look like anything that you can see inside the egg. With a bright light and dark surroundings, I think it is pretty easy to tell blood vessels from egg shell mottling.

Good luck.

UGCM

 

[drowe005]

A really bright light and a dark room are the keys. I simply make a circle around the egg with my thumb and index finger on my left hand so as to seal the edges around the egg. I then hold a small, but very bright LED flashlight behind the egg and see what I see. No prob. Just don't let the light hit your eyes, or you will be blinded for a few minutes.

There are really only two times that I candle. The first is around the one week mark, by which time you should see blood vessels in viable eggs. I then candle just before or right at lockdown, at which time you see nothing but a dark egg and a lighter air sac. WIth the right light, both are easy to see, in my opinion. The spots on the egg don't bother me because they don't look like anything that you can see inside the egg. With a bright light and dark surroundings, I think it is pretty easy to tell blood vessels from egg shell mottling.

Good luck.

UGCM

I second that, no need put to any money on an egg candler, theres much better thingsyou could put money into in my opinion. If you don't already have a little flashlight, use a cell phone light (like the same one that flashes for the camera). And if you don't have that, Autozone and Advanced auto parts both sell a perfect sized multi LED flashlight that is really bright for only $2.99 or so. That is the light I have always used and it has yet to fail me.

As for what you should see, it's best for you to look at a few fresh, unincubated eggs as a beginner, and then look at some eggs that are fertile after about 7-10 days after being in the incubatror; you will clearly see a difference. The longer they stay in, the red veins will slowly become more of a black mass, and you will eventually see nothing coming through. For the unincubated eggs and the infertile eggs, the light will clearly shine through and almost has a light greenish tint to it.

 

[NicoleRook]

Get a good egg candler

I have a decent one, I think it's my inexperiance.

 

[NicoleRook]

What I did was took a cardboard box and in the dead center of the bottom of the box, I traced a dime. A shoebox works really well. Then I cut out the center with an exacto knife. I candled on day 14, placing the egg directly over the hole. I took the eggs out of the egg turner and candled each one. The viable ones went back into the incubator, the infertile ones went to the trash. The infertile ones will allow the light to shine through; the ones with chicks in will be hard to see through. I figured that since I was candling on the day they go into lockdown, I only handled the eggs one time before they would hatch.

That is really helpful, Thanks. Lockdown is this Thursday, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[NicoleRook]

A really bright light and a dark room are the keys. I simply make a circle around the egg with my thumb and index finger on my left hand so as to seal the edges around the egg. I then hold a small, but very bright LED flashlight behind the egg and see what I see. No prob. Just don't let the light hit your eyes, or you will be blinded for a few minutes.

There are really only two times that I candle. The first is around the one week mark, by which time you should see blood vessels in viable eggs. I then candle just before or right at lockdown, at which time you see nothing but a dark egg and a lighter air sac. WIth the right light, both are easy to see, in my opinion. The spots on the egg don't bother me because they don't look like anything that you can see inside the egg. With a bright light and dark surroundings, I think it is pretty easy to tell blood vessels from egg shell mottling.

Good luck.

UGCM

Thanks, I'll keep on trying.

 

[NicoleRook]

I second that, no need put to any money on an egg candler, theres much better thingsyou could put money into in my opinion. If you don't already have a little flashlight, use a cell phone light (like the same one that flashes for the camera). And if you don't have that, Autozone and Advanced auto parts both sell a perfect sized multi LED flashlight that is really bright for only $2.99 or so. That is the light I have always used and it has yet to fail me.

As for what you should see, it's best for you to look at a few fresh, unincubated eggs as a beginner, and then look at some eggs that are fertile after about 7-10 days after being in the incubatror; you will clearly see a difference. The longer they stay in, the red veins will slowly become more of a black mass, and you will eventually see nothing coming through. For the unincubated eggs and the infertile eggs, the light will clearly shine through and almost has a light greenish tint to it.

This light I noticed yesterday, now I understand. I was wondering about that. Thanks.

 

[NicoleRook]

Day 12- Candled,

I'm seeing some eggs the light goes right through, and some it does not....that is it. I'm assuming the ones where the light goes right through are no longer developing infertile. The ones where no light passes through at all I'm assuming are developing. So exciting. Two more days until lockdown!