Could I hurt embryos while candling

turningchicken

Songster
12 Years
Jun 8, 2010
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:rolleyes:HAVE I HURT MY EGGS? This is my first time for this. I have a foam incubator and put 12 Malaysian Serama Bantam eggs in on Friday. Keeping temp at 100.2. Decided to candle last night. 8 out of 12 had an area of what looked like veins...2 had a small darker area and 2 showed nothing. I was gentle, but now am afraid i have hurt the eggs. Can candling damage them?
Very nerveous!!
 
No candling will not hurt the eggs, just don't shake and tumble them around. lol I only candle 3 times during incubation and that's it. Day 7 or 10, day 14 and day 18 when it's time to bump the humidity up and quit turning.
 
No worries! You're not likely to injure them by candling.
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I candle mine regularly and have never known one to be damaged by it. The only things you might worry about are:

* A light that is too hot and held against the egg long enough to cook it
* Taking them out of the incubator for longer than half an hour to an hour and they get chilled
* Dropping them or shaking them badly enough to damage the embryo

As long as you are careful, don't drop them, and use either a cool light or a very brief candling period, then you'll be fine. Just be aware that the more often you candle, the higher the likelihood that you *will* eventually drop one. I think it happens to everyone. I've never killed one that way, but I have dented a couple (that went on to hatch just fine, by the way).
 
Thanks for the responses. I will sit back and be patient. Helps to know someone is out there to answer my silly questions.
Patsy
 
Now I am nerveous. My electricity went out for over 2 hours!! Got scared after 35 minutes and bundled up the eggs and took them and incubator to my daughter's---3 miles away. Let them stay all day and have now transported them back home. What is the likely hood I have hurt them? I was ever so careful.
 
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Probably very little. I once hatched an egg with a good sized embryo that was accidentally sent to be with some others. It had been in the mail from Friday to Monday afternoon!
 
Just make sure you wash your hands first before candling them, and if you really want to be extra careful, you can wear disposable latex gloves. The gloves will even give you a better grip on the egg, especially after washing the natural oils off of your hands. I once let an egg slip out of my hand while candling and it was the end of it. It does pose some risks but not from the candling process.
 
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To me that says, "Yes, candling can hurt the embryos!" Added to it the germ factor of touching the eggs, as well as opening the bator, and a few other things.... Moving the fragile embryo around most certainly can dislodge it. Alot of possibilities can happen, but often don't.
 

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