Duck Egg Candling Photo Diary

[Sweetfolly]

I'm working on editing last night's pictures right now. I only managed to take about 4 pictures before the camera battery died on me (stupid me, I left the charger next door), so I won't have many to choose from - it may take me awhile playing with the brightness and contrast levels in the pictures before you can really see anything in them.

I might just wait until I get tonight's pictures lump them both together in one entry for days 9 & 10.

But boy, are those little duckies getting big! They were super-active last night while I was candling - they were probably trying to tell me to "CUT IT OUT! WE'RE SLEEPING IN HERE!"

 

[Scott]

You're duck egg candling diary is great. Since your about four days ahead of my eggs, your diary has help me to know what to expect next. I've got 9 call duck eggs incubating right now and I've also started a photo chronicle here.

 

[Sweetfolly]

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Very neat pictures! I'll be checking in for updates!

I've been keeping up with taking my pictures, but there's so much duck in the eggs now that they're coming out very dark. I'll try to update sometime tomorrow - the half-way point for this incubation is Tuesday!

 

[newduckie]

do you think that the Brinsea OvaScope would be enough to see thru geese eggs..?

 

[Scott]

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Yes, its a high powered LED light. I think it would work well with nearly any egg. Where in the Ozarks are you?

 

[newduckie]

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Yes, its a high powered LED light. I think it would work well with nearly any egg. Where in the Ozarks are you?

I am in Cabool. East of Springfield about 65 miles. Sounds like you are nearer the bootheel?

 

[Minniechickmama]

I just hatched out some Cayuga ducks for my neighbor, just a little tip. For the candling, I used a roll of toilet paper with the flashlight shining down the tub and setting the egg on the other end. It worked right up until the end. The tube is flexible enough so you can turn the egg to the side and make it seal pretty good. I figured this out because those duck eggs are just too big for doing it with my hand.
BTW I got 2 out of 10. About half turned out to be not even fertile, I broke them all open at the end and I only had embryos in 3 of the ones that didn't hatch, and they stopped in the second week. I had one that died after zipping. The two that made it I had to help.

 

[Sweetfolly]

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Thanks - I've been lazy about getting my pictures posted. I'll try the toilet paper roll.

I can see into the egg perfectly - it's just that, now that the egg is so much darker, the pictures aren't coming out. I can see the little embryos (my sisters think they look like "freaky little peanuts") moving around in there, I can see tangled veins stretched all the way into the pointy bottom of the egg now, but the camera just isn't capturing it.

 

[The YardFarmers]

Yay! Thanks for doing this. DH and I candled our duck eggs, and tried to use the chick pictures to figure out if they were viable. We had a hard time, the shells were hard to see into. We have white khaki campbell eggs so I wasn't expecting it to be so difficult. Looking forward to seeing the rest and hope this post gets placed somewhere prominent.

YardFarmer Julie

 

[newduckie]

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I am on to goose eggs now.. wonder if the toilet paper thing would work on them? Wish I had tried it on my ducks last hatch. My 5 babies look like they have doubled in size since last Fridays hatch day. They are really cuties.