Candling

[katzs]

very new at chickens... i was making eggs a few days ago and notice i had fertile eggs. so I decided to research homemade incubaters. and made one. tonight around 10pm will be day 4 of for my eggs. I am a very curious type of person and have candled everyday. I have now been reading and read dont candle to day 5 or so. So have I probaly killed any possible good eggs? I only have 4 eggs going to see if this worked

 

[MeepBeep]

As long as you handle the eggs gently, do it with clean hands and don't keep the eggs out of the incubator for extended times there is no harm done in candling... The websites that caution against it are either misinformed or advising it as a pure precautionary measure, as there is no shortage of people that will mishandle them, do so with dirty hands or spend hours a day letting them cool off while they candle, that can cause issues...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

As long as you handle the eggs gently, do it with clean hands and don't keep the eggs out of the incubator for extended times there is no harm done in candling... The websites that caution against it are either misinformed or advising it as a pure precautionary measure, as there is no shortage of people that will mishandle them, do so with dirty hands or spend hours a day letting them cool off while they candle, that can cause issues...

xs 2

I candle (spot check) every night during my hatches. My last hatch I actually set 6 aside to candle every single night to show that if done correctly and with precautions (hand washing, gently and timely) that candling does NOT compromise the eggs and to take candling pics. The other eggs I candled day 7/14/18. I set 21. I had one early quitter and that was a non candled egg. The other 20 all made it to lockdown and every single one hatched out healthy and happy.

Candling multiple times a day and keeping them out for extended periods I would recommend against, but daily candling, done right, should not compromise your eggs. (Shipped eggs with loose air cells excluded.) Of course, handling increases the chances of accidents such as dropping eggs.

 

[katzs]

i might have them out 1 min. right now it doesn't look any different than day 2 in any of them. i have 2 white eggs and 2 brown eggs. and they all look the same as each other when i candle them. really hopeing something is happening I will be so estactic if i see veins soon

 

[MeepBeep]

i might have them out 1 min. right now it doesn't look any different than day 2 in any of them. i have 2 white eggs and 2 brown eggs. and they all look the same as each other when i candle them. really hopeing something is happening I will be so estactic if i see veins soon

There isn't much to see the first week, with a keen eye and experience as well as a light shell color you can obviously see differences every day, but nothing really starts happening until the 2nd week or if you skip a day or two between candles...

I candle my eggs regularly just to monitor progress and also to educate my children on the stages and what to look for as experience is really your friend in candling, it's now always as picture prefect as images see on candling websites...

 

[katzs]

There isn't much to see the first week, with a keen eye and experience as well as a light shell color you can obviously see differences every day, but nothing really starts happening until the 2nd week or if you skip a day or two between candles...

I candle my eggs regularly just to monitor progress and also to educate my children on the stages and what to look for as experience is really your friend in candling, it's now always as picture prefect as images see on candling websites...

 

[katzs]

So just seeing a dark spot is normal?

 

[MeepBeep]

Yep for the first few days you won't see much but a dark spot that grows slightly...

 

[katzs]

I saw a red blotch in a egg . It moves when egg moves. Is this normal

 

[MeepBeep]

I saw a red blotch in a egg . It moves when egg moves. Is this normal

In the early stages that is what you will see...