Kathryn, you make me laugh. I like your website too ( love the roommate story )
So anyway, I still can't see anything in my eggs. I should have stuck in one light colored egg just so I would have ONE I could see. Sometimes I just don't think. Too late.
Last summer I let my peahen sit on 4 eggs that I was
certain were unfertile. Then I decided enough was enough and cleaned her pen and took out the eggs. I stuck them on a rain barrel and left them there all day, then I took them in the house to candle (just for fun) and I couldn't see anything. They appeared to be full of a big yolk. So I opened them ... 3 had fully developed chicks and might have hatched if I left them alone.
Now I know what an egg looks like when it is full of a chick. The peahen still seems to dislike me. Go figure.
I may not know if my eggs are developing until they hatch (or don't), but I am just going to leave them alone unless they start to smell. I will continue to try to candle them, anyway - even if I really can't see anything! I figure maybe on day 10 I will be able to see some movement, at least.
I plan to buy a wickedly expensive incubator because the economy continues to need to be stimulated and I hardly ever get myself anything really cool and unnecessary. According to what I have read, some of those fancy incubators can hatch even wooden eggs. While I am at it, I might buy one of those stacking brooder/grow out pens because they appear to be cleaner than having a plastic box full of poopy wood shavings in my basement (very stinky). But, because at heart I am very "thrifty" I will ponder this for a while and try to figure out a way to make them pay for themselves.
So many chickens, so little time.
Luckly I have a generator to hook up, right now I am running the fridge and the incubator. Blizzard waning today, and the temp is only -5f outside right now. I wonder that the wind chill is with 40 mph gusts of wind?
