Candling- why is it important?

[Fluffy Lambs]

I got into a debete with someone about canding. They are saying it's better not to candle because the eggs will get harmed and cold. I was saying that hens leave the nest for up to 10mins anyway so it won't make a difference.
Why is candling important? Should I do it?

My hens leave the nest for over 30 mins sometime and all their eggs always hatch. It is 90+ degrees here though. But yes, you should do it, with incubators and hens. If you don't, there could be a bad egg, and that egg could bust eventually and affect other eggs.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Also don’t candle during the last 3 days of incubation because the chicks are beginning to move into hatching position and candling/disturbing the eggs during this time can cause problems

As long as you keep the egg in the same position it was in the nest/incubator, it's fine to candle during lockdown. That's one of my busiest times since I tend to really move eggs around nests then (seriously long story, don't let stagger nests happen.)

 

[KingD]

I got into a debete with someone about canding. They are saying it's better not to candle because the eggs will get harmed and cold. I was saying that hens leave the nest for up to 10mins anyway so it won't make a difference.
Why is candling important? Should I do it?

The only reason I candle is to find out which eggs are infertile and throw em out.
It's also kind of interesting the first few times to see the development of the chick inside the egg.

No real harm in candling unless you spend hours over it.

 

[Chickassan]

Awesome video!
I didn't candle any many years ago when I had broodies doing the work, but when I got back into chickens I only had three eggs and an incubator so candling quickly became a guilty pleasure.

I really skirted around my point when I replied, and you said what I was indirectly trying to say. I really do it because I like to. I've had numerous successful hatches without candling, or candling only a small percentage of the eggs. I've gotten some truly amazing videos of the embryos!

Here's one of mine on day 7!!

I also was blessed to witness the heart beat on day 2 of development.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

I don't (read: Can't and won't) seperate my broodies from the flock, and that means new eggs are in the nest constantly. And I apparently suck at marking them

Black sharpie on three sides. I do a star and date, plus pen it came from.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Black sharpie on three sides. I do a star and date, plus pen it came from.

That involves remembering to do so, which is the part I struggle with. I've even put sticky notes on the coops, but I always forget to bring markets down.

 

[yakitori]

I candled my eggs everyday under the broody. They all hatched. The one that I candled the least actually didn’t end up making it after hatch.

I also candled my crockpot eggs once or twice a day. One quit on day 5, though I’m not entirely convinced that it has anything to do with the handling.

So far, my own conclusion is, candle them as much as you want

 

[MadamContrary]

I candle before incubation to check for shell quality and cracks, again around day 8-10 to see fertility, and again before lockdown to remove any quitters. I also do a daily sniff at the incubator vent, I had never had an egg explode until this year, I have been hatching lots of shipped eggs since November last year, and I had two full on explosions and a few leakers, even with candling, one egg in 4 different hatches.
Make sure your hands and candler are clean and oil free or use gloves so you don't accidentally contaminate them either.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

I candled my eggs everyday under the broody. They all hatched. The one that I candled the least actually didn’t end up making it after hatch.

I also candled my crockpot eggs once or twice a day. One quit on day 5, though I’m not entirely convinced that it has anything to do with the handling.

So far, my own conclusion is, candle them as much as you want

Crockpot eggs? What?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Crockpot eggs? What?

They made a crockpot incubator