HELP with CANDLING (Incubator Temp)

[eac04]

Our Little Giant incubator has been set between 100-102 degrees. MOST of the time it's closer to the 102. (We were aiming for the 101.5) I candled some of the eggs today and all I can see is this little mass that floats to the TOP of the egg. I tried moving the position of the egg, and the mass goes to the top again. I *THINK* I saw a little dot (eye) in ONE of them, but I'm not sure. Is it too soon to candle? Am I doing it wrong? Is this what I'm supposed to see. My flashlight is running low on batteries, so I'm trying to tell myself that I can't be sure of anything without getting new ones, but ANY HELP/SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS would be greatly appreciated. I am scouring the BYC forum for other pictures of candling, but I'm lost as to what I'm supposed to look for (on day 3).

Thanks in advance.

~Elda

 

[pefferlawchicken]

elda what day are you on , you should be able to tell by day 5 or 6, also is it a still air or forced air incubator, still air(no fan) should be about 102 F and forced air (with fan) should be 99.5 - 100 F

 

[eac04]

THANKS FOR RESPONDING!

It is a STILL AIR incubator. I am technically on day THREE. I set the eggs in the incubator at 4:00 p.m. on the 5TH. I'm trying not to freak out too much because this is the first time we tried to hatch our own eggs and I really wanted the BEST results possible. ACK. Shoot me already, it'll probably be easier than live through the agony of NOT knowing for the next 18 days.

 

[kelseygirl707]

Day 3 all you may see is some veins, but you may not even see that yet.

good luck!

 

[eac04]

I can't even see veins. Would ya'll recommend that I wait on candling the eggs? I don't want to drive myself crazy with it and I would hate to give up on it all so soon into the incubating process. I'm seeing a lot of pictures of candling eggs on day three and it shows little veins, but I can't see any of that on my eggs. AM I DOING IT WRONG?

 

[Serrin]

Hey Elda! Welcome to BYC....
If you look at the very top of the list of threads in this forum, there is a "sticky" on candeling eggs that you might find very interesting.


**Oh for Pete's sake Amy! Just go find her the link and post it! Sheeesh! What a lazy wench!

**

OK! OK! Here ya go!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876

You'll love this! Lots and lots of pictures of what to expect through every single day of incubating right up until lockdown on day 18. This should work pretty darn good for ya. And if you have any questions beyond that, know that there are lots and lots and LOTS of folks here who are ready, willing and very able to answer those questions you're likely to have! Welcome again to BYC!

 

[kelseygirl707]

Yes, for beginners they say it's best to wait until day 14 to decide if they are not developing, I'd say wait until day 10 at least, sometimes it's just hard to see this early.

 

[eac04]

Thanks AMY! I appreciate it!

MY eggs look a lot like DAY 2 except I have no clue as to if a BLOOD RING is present or not. ALL I see is a little mass floating to the very top. Should I be able to detect some veins by now? Or am I being crazy/paranoid/annoying?

Any of those would be acceptable answers. LOL

I just want the eggies to hatch.

 

[eac04]

kelseygirl707 Thank you for humoring a newbie with an answer. A MILLION THANKS! I know y'all must get tired of answering the same thing over and over again, but you probably understand (and share) our love for chickies!

I suppose I can try and be patient and wait one more week before trying to candle them again.



So... contrary to what my husband told me, I didn't cook the chickies at 102, right? For a minute there I thought I had cooked the poor thing and that's why there was a solid mass. LOL

 

[kelseygirl707]

LOL, I'm beginning all over again, I had stopped hatching for about 6 months while going through a couple of moves, and now I feel like I'm learning it all over again. But it's fun learning it, and just when you feel you've done everything wrong, you look in the bator, and there's a chickie looking up at you. Good luck, candle again in a few days, hopefully then you will see some action!