It's hard to say just from a description, but your eggs sound normal for Day 4. And yes, you'll be able to see much more at Day 10. Experienced candlers can begin to see something at Day 3, SOMETIMES, but if you don't know what you're looking at, it's nearly impossible to tell. I still tend to candle my eggs too early and then fret because I can't see anything yet! lol
Anyway, what you will see is:
* A white area that is simply the egg white, waiting to be absorbed & filled up with chick as it grows. That's the light area you're seeing. Toward the end of incubation, it will be nearly, if not completely, dark. This area should be at the bottom (pointy end) of the egg. Of course you should be keeping your eggs in the incubator with the pointy end *down* if you're using an egg turner. If you're just laying them on their sides, then they will naturally lean so that the pointy end is mostly downward.
* A darker area that is the yolk. Right now it's probably somewhat circular in there, but it will change shape as the embryo grows, and eventually will look almost two-lobed, like a pair of lungs or something. Eventually it will basically merge with the embryo and you won't be able to tell where it is. This section will be roughly in the middle of the egg, but don't fret if it's nearer to one end than the other.
* An air cell, that is small and clear at the top of the egg (that is, the large end of the egg). This will be very small in the early part of incubation and will gradually grow. It will be visible right up until hatching time, when the baby pokes a hole through the membrane into the air cell and eventually pushes its head in, basically at that point filling up the entire egg.
* Around Day 7-10 (earlier if you're experienced), veins and possibly an embryo. These will start at the border of the air cell, and move outward in a roughly round shape (don't let the roundness of the edge of the veined area scare you into thinking you're seeing a "blood ring"--a blood ring is different, and won't ever have veins in it), down toward and into the yolk. The embryo, if visible, will be a dark area near the center of the veined area, up near the air cell. You may be able to see a tiny heart beating, or the embryo "swimming," if you watch carefully and know what you're looking at. Don't worry if you can't see the embryo until later in development--it can hide
. The embryo and veins will grow and fill more and more of the egg as it develops.
Eventually, the entire egg will simply begin to look very dark, as the chick begins to fill more and more space and block more and more light. I can usually see veins up around the air cell right up until the last day or two.
It gets MUCH easier as you get more experience. It also matters a lot how bright your light is AND how dark your room is. I always candle at night, in the darkest room of the house, with the brightest flashlight I can find. It makes a HUGE difference. Often, things that are completely invisible during the day become quite obvious at night. Occasionally, I'll freak myself out by trying to candle in the middle of the day and it will look like an egg has suddenly quit and everything's disappeared, because I can't see any of what I saw in the same egg the night before. Then I remember that it's daytime, and stop worrying.
Good luck!
. Because it said we could check the white eggs after 4 days, we did, but I really am not sure what we are seeing.
First of all..what is the dark area at the end of all of the eggs? Is that the yolk and the rest is the air pocket? It looks like that dark area is growing. I am unsure if I see the spidery veins but don't want to give up just yet.. I did a lot of research before we did this but the dark area is REALLY confusing me.
