Egg Development

[SED]

I have Bourbon Red eggs in the incubator and some of them have been in there for 5 days now. Should I see development when I candle them at this point or do they develop slower than chickens?

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
I know it's hard but if you can wait until the tenth day you'll have enough development to really be able to tell something. I usually break down and start peeking on the seventh day but honestly, as thick as some of those shells are it's easier to see on the tenth.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I'm bad, I candle mine when they stop turning. lol By then you can tell 100% if they developed. I just do a "sniff" test of the incubator the rest of the time - your nose will tell you if you have a bad egg.

Steve

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
Yeah, but you're all jaded and this is all old stuff to you. We're still new enough at it that it's still exciting and miraculous. LOL!
I do the "sniff" test too just before lockdown.

 

[ColbyNTX]

They do develope slower than chicken eggs and at even 7 days it can be hard to tell. I candle my turkeys at about 14 days to be pretty sure and would never cull a turkey egg before this. 10 days is really a minimum for turkey candeling. I know it is exciting when it is your first few times but the less you open the bator the better it is for your eggs unless you are hand turning. I spent the weekend catching turkeys and penning them in their breeding groups so I can start up the bators in a few weeks to start my mid march hatches. Spent a bunch on feed this winter and it's time they start paying for their feed!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Yeah, but you're all jaded and this is all old stuff to you. We're still new enough at it that it's still exciting and miraculous. LOL!
I do the "sniff" test too just before lockdown.

I do get excited when I see all those little faces looking out the door at me.

Steve

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I prefer to candle turkey eggs at ten-twelve days. Hard to see development before then even with a good light.

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
Yeah, but you're all jaded and this is all old stuff to you. We're still new enough at it that it's still exciting and miraculous. LOL!
I do the "sniff" test too just before lockdown.

I do get excited when I see all those little faces looking out the door at me.

Steve

Yeah, I like it when they're pecking on the window asking to get out. Actually they just see something shiny but it's fun anyway.

 

[maureen9962]

I can see very distinct veining at 7 days with just a hand held LED flashlight. At 5 days nothing. You can see blood rings at 7-10 days also and you might as well chuck them. The shells are thick but light colored so it is not too hard once you know what you are looking for.

 

[TammyP]

I put 6 BR eggs under a broody hen and about 10 days in, somehow one of the eggs broke. I took it as a lesson to see what 10 days would be like and it was developing. The little one was probably about the size of a quarter and looked kindof like a slimey shrimp...lol. The one thing that stood out was the large black area that I assume was the eye. Not sure if I would have been able to detect that in a candling or not....