Candling questions with pics.

[yotetrapper]

Okay so I candled again last night on day 14. Most of them you could for sure see the chicks in. They took up most of the eggs and you could actually see them kicking around in there. Soooo neat!!! I found 3 or 4 eggs that were certainly infertile. Then I found 5 or 6 that looked like the ones below. They have the air sac, then an area of clear egg stuff, then at the top it's really dark, but I dont see no chicken in there. I'm certain they must be bad, but what happened to them? Below is a picture of the egg, from the front, and then from the top.






Then, on another egg, I saw a clear mess of veins, but in the middle of it was a blob that was about the size of a dime. As it set on the candler, it looked as though it moved! But, if it is a live chick, it's about 1/8 the size of all the rest????


And one more question. I set my egg on the candler with the big end down. The air sac is at the big end, and the chicks are at the pointed end. Is that where they're supposed to be?

 

[hinkjc]

Are you candling them upside down? That is what it looks like in the pic, which would not be good for the embryo development and vein network. They look like they quit, but it is difficult to tell by the pics. I would think at 14 days, they would be fuller and darker throughout.

Jody

 

[yotetrapper]

I dont know?? The big end goes down, doesn't it? On all of mine, with the big end down, the chicks are in the small end. Is this wrong?

 

[SterlingAcres]

If you sit them in an egg carton, the slim narrow end goes down. I candle mine on their sides. I think you're doing it upside down, which I gather isn't very good for the embryo.

I've got questionable eggs that look like yours. I labeled them 'clear'. I left them in the bator, just incase though. I turn them every hour or so, so if one starts to stink, I'll pluck it out.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I candling eggs down from the top of the big end.....the veining and embryo should be floating around the middle ...should be alot darker at day 14.....chick should fill up more of the egg by then...

 

[yotetrapper]

Well I read on here to place the eggs on the candler with the big end down. And that's what I've been doing. The one in the pic is kinda hard to tell which end is which, but that is the the big end down, I believe.

Which end of the eggs should the chick be developing in, the small pointed end, or big rounded end?

 

[yotetrapper]

On most of my eggs, the chick takes up most of the egg and you can see feathers and everything. These were eggs I think are bad, but was curious what happened to them.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Your air sac is in the big end...thats why you set the eggs pointy end down in cartons before you use eggs for hatching or lay them on their sides or a turner if you have one...your chick will develop in the rest of the egg, starts developing in the middle and grows from there..

 

[yotetrapper]

whew okay, my air sacs are at the big ends! Thought for a minute there I had a bunch of breech chicks lol.

 

[hinkjc]

My point was that you are turning your egg completely upside down to candle. If you do this every time you candle, it will cause death to the embryos. By turning them upside down, you are mixing up the vein network which will result in quitters.

To candle, you need the light source to come in from the top of the egg (big end where the air cell is located). You do not want to turn your egg at all during candling. You need to set you candler up so that you can lift the egg gently to the light or bring the light to the egg (from the top or side position). I hope this helps clarify what I was meaning.

Jody