Candling Questions

[tallyho]

Quote:
At first, I took each one out really carefully. Now I don't even remove them. I candle them in the tray in the bator. Takes some practice, and when I come across one that doesn't look right I will take it out for a closer look. Then again, I never candle til day 10.....

I also learned to just run the flashlight over the eggs while still in the incubator. Too many stories of dropped eggs. I can most always tell if it looks right. If there is a questionable one I'll pick it up. And I also learned to control myself and candle day 10 and at lock down.

 

[SilverLacedMom]

I removed the "4th" egg that was doing nothing. When I cracked it open, there was no development, just a small SMALL amount of red/mucus. The egg was 14 days old.

I have one egg that when I candle it it has a red ring, and around the circumference of the yoke, and in the middle is a DARK mass, about the size of a dime. There is no veins. Is this a dead egg as well?

 

[SilverLacedMom]

Im so sad to say I have only 1 egg left thats any good...lock down begins tomarrow night...I hope everything goes ok... I am so sad I do not want to discard the bad eggs...this is so depressing!!!!

Is there any way to make sure that the egg is far enough along for lock down? I feel my eggs have been developing slow...they were put in the incubator Dec 10th at 8 PM. Tommarrow will be 18thday at night.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

What kind of incubator do you have?

It's hard to say what's up - the simplest explanation is that you got what many of us get with shipped eggs: the trauma during transport makes them much less viable. I've also heard rumors - RUMORS, not fact - that MPC eggs have very low hatch rates. They don't raise their own chickens for eggs, so you're not necessarily getting eggs laid that morning and carefully packaged for delivery to you. You're getting whatever the person MPC contracted with to supply SL Wyandotte eggs does.

If you have an incubator that's not top of the heap, that could also be a big issue. Fluctuations down in temperature can usually be withstood by the egg. Fluctuations UP, on the other hand, can kill an embryo fast. So an incubator that can't hold a temperature steady will kill a lot of eggs, especially shipped eggs that are already hovering on the edge.

If you're confident you have a good incubator, you can either try again with better shipped eggs, knowing that it's honestly quite likely that you won't get more than one or two chicks, or you can try to find eggs locally or semi-locally. Local eggs are almost always going to have a better hatch rate, which can be really important with such a tiny incubator.

 

[silkiechicken]

From the sounds of it, you have one of those gimmicky dome 3 egg bators that look like space craft with a light in the middle.... they can work, some do work, but more often than not, hatches disapointment. They just don't regulate temp very well which is essential to a good hatch.

For stages of development via candling, might want to click the link in my sig.

 

[SilverLacedMom]

Yes, I have one of those cheap UFO incubators, thinking I could just slide by with it since I only wanted 3 chickens.

This is disapointing that I found this site and read how low hatch rates can be when buying shipped eggs.

I want specific breeds so that is why I am buying online.

Now I see on here I could have used the money I spent on this cheap incubator and built my own for almost nothing with a ice cooler.

You live and learn...and I definatly am learning a lot with this!

On a sad note, I cracked open the other 2 bad eggs. One contained an embryo the size of a grub worm. It was so sad...but it should have been far more advanced, since hatch date is just 3 days away. The other egg was clear...perhaps unfertilized...

 

[Jessiewoodard57]

I also do not candle until the 10th day then again on the 18th day at lockdown. It sounds like you might be candling way to much. I know it very addictive but as someone already said you need to learn to sit on your hands. Good luck on the last egg and future hatches. One thing to learn chicken math. We tend to not know when to stop hatching chicks. IT SO ADDICTIVE. LOL

 

[SilverLacedMom]

TODAY IS DAY 18~!!!!

How do I absolutly know it is mature enough for no more turning? All my eggs were developing at diffrent stages...some where days behind the others it seems.

Can they withstand "early" lock down if they are not developed to "day 18" but are more like "day 15/16'?

Do I keep turning? Is there any way to know for sure?

Now I am in a panic, I dont want to loose this one and only baby!

 

[Jessiewoodard57]

day 18 is lock down ...now you do not open the bator before the hatch is complete....yes I know it is so tempting but you must not open it do the"sit on your hands" routine.

 

[silkiechicken]

Best of luck, regardless on stage of development, stop turning at day 18. Unfortunately, because the yolk in the egg is only so big, if their development makes them slower by more than a day or so, they are unlikely to make it. The yolk has enough energy to get a chick to day 21, and then 24-72 hours after hatch before they run out of energy. If the chick is not out by near the end of their energy reserves, they might not have the energy it takes to get out.

And about just three hens.. you know you want more! Even if you don't know that yet.