Candling Question

[Laskaland]

Day 3 won't get you anywhere. Even fertile eggs may appear clear still. Day 7 is a good time to try it. Key is to not be opening the bator too much. The temperature and humidity variance will hurt the eggs. I know the hen gets off for awhile to eat and drink and poop, but why take the chance when you are articficially incubating? Err on the side of caution and don't mess with the bator!

 

[Chicken Woman]

You can't tell if a egg is fertile by candeling. Only way is to open it up. The chicks are at a very fragile stage of development early on. I candle for cracks before putting them in the bator. Candle on day 10 and check for any smelly ones. Then again on day 18 when i take them from the turner to the hatcher.

The more you handle the bigger chance of introducing bacteria into the eggs and distrubing their development.

I know some people just can't leave them alone and candle 4 or 5 times but I personally don't think it's a good idea.

 

[coachhaze]

I was wondering about this subject as well. I placed 10 duck eggs in my bator and have candled them on 3 different times to check on things. I have not see any development in them yet. How can you determine if the eggs are fertile prior to placing them inside the bator? How often do you need to add water to the reservoir to keep the humidity at the optimum level? This is the 1st time for me to try a bator and had 2 muscovy hens killed in the same week so I tried some of their eggs that I had gathered prior to their death. No smelly eggs yet but when canling them I can still see then yolk is intact.

coachhaze60 in NC

 

[Mrs MIA]

3 days is the earliest that you really see any development. Most people will say day 7 for first candling. I candle day 7, then day 14, then just before putting them in the hatcher. I mark them with a ? if I'm not sure, but if by day 14 they're still clear or have developed a bloodring, then I remove them.
The embryo is very delicate in the first week of development... handle very carefully, and only turn on its side... not end over end.