Candling Quail Eggs

[Hope It]

Hi, I have my first batch of quail eggs in the incubator. I just set them a couple days ago. Any advise of how early I can candle the eggs?

I read that at 14 days they can be candled and turning can stop. But I'm wondering if I can do it sooner? How soon can I see or spot something in them?

If anyone experimented with early quail candling, please let me know how early you could see something and what I should be looking for.

Thanks!

 

[decomposed]

I was also wondering the same thing.

 

[James the Bald]

Some people candle every 7 days, but with the quail egg being so small and "patchy", I only candle on Lockdown. I have an automatic egg turner, so I take the turner out of the incubator, and candle each egg one by one. The viable ones (that are dark when candled) I place into the incubator; those that are luminescent go straight into the trash. If there are any that are questionable, I put them into the incubator "just in case". I did have an egg candler that came with my incubator, but after candling a dozen eggs, the lamp got hot and I no longer use it. On my first ever hatch, we just held the egg and placed the candler underneath it. Here is a photo of my son candling a viable egg. If the egg was a dud, more light would shine though.

What I have done is took a small cardboard box and traced a dime on the bottom. Then I used an exacto knife and cut out the circle. I have a small LED flashlight that I place under the box, then I dim the lights in the room, take the egg and place it over the hole that I cut out. The LED does not put out any heat, so it will not effect the embryo inside. My 7yo son and 16yo daughter like to help candling, and placing them into the box was some "insurance" that I used so my little one wouldn't drop the egg.

James

 

[Hope It]

Thanks so much! I also use the LED flashlight and just cradle the little egg between my fingers to block out any light from escaping. My problem is early candling. I am wondering how early is it possible to do with quail eggs. The reason I ask is - I have an experimental batch in the bator right now (only 4 eggs, so I don't waste that many). My main batch is coming in the mail next week, but I wanted to see how the incubator works, because it's a new one I've never used before. It's doing great and is holding temp and humidity beautifully (Janoel 24). I'll have to discard these 4 eggs, though, when my main hatching eggs come in next week. I guess by then I should be able to see something

And yes, these were eggs I bought for eating, but they are fertilized and could be hatched, so that's why I put a few in the incubator just to try it out.

Anyway, thanks everyone!
Hope