Help with candling?

[Tricorn]

It's my first time incubating eggs. I know naught.

It's day 18 and I have 7 eggs in the incubator. 2 green, 4 black, 1 white. I only have a crappy dim flashlight to try and candle with (dropped the good one) so I don't know what I'm supposed to see/if I could see anything at all.

Egg 1 is white, all that can be seen is a slightly darker/more defined yolk, looks like an unincubated egg, but darker. I'm assuming dud?

Eggs 2 and 3 are green, and look the same. When candling from the bottom and viewed on top they both are completely dark with a 4/5 mm air cell at the top. When lit from the bottom and viewed from the side, the top half of the egg is dark and the bottom light. (Stark contrast)

The other eggs (4-7) are near impossible to see through... One i think is a dud, the others have dark shapes that fill about 2/3 of the visible space when viewed from the top. (Air cells the same as the green)

Sooo.... Experts? I'm mostly wondering about eggs 2/3. I can only find pictures taken with a good light and from the top so don't know what I'm looking at. It just feels like at day 18 they should all be completely dark throughout.


ETA:

Alright! for those who find this post and are curious- All eggs were duds! Cracked them open and nothin' but yolk. Found the white spot thingy one some of them and there was no bullseye what-so-ever. The two green eggs looked different because they were starting to go bad by day 18. None of the others were bad, just not fertile. Do younger hens produce a better bloom? Or it could just be luck/unluck.

So, can you have 100% unfertile eggs with a ratio of 1 roo to 2-3 hens? Apparently yes!

 

[Sphinx]

I've got to admit I don't really try candling much past day 14. My darker eggs were nearly impossible to candle, even with a good flashlight. If it were me, I'd just try to be patient a couple more days.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

At this stage if they don't stink you can just let them be for a few more days. Also they should be pretty much completely dark with exception of the end where the air sack is (as they're filled with baby chick). If you can see light through the egg something went wrong.

 

[hdowden]

i'm worried about some of mine i put into lockdown today. everything has been good they just dont seem fully developed when i candle although i can see them clearly moving so idk. im hoping that they have made it and im just seeing things with some of them

 

[Tricorn]

That's what I thought.

So it should be safe to say they're not hatching after a week or two?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

You'll know in a few days. I know the anticipation is thick! Just remember, that incubating is something that should be practiced over and over and over.

You should join us for the NYD hatch, it's a lot of fun and having many many people incubate along with you to answer questions helps as well.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Quote:
Generally by 3 days after the due date I get rid of them. I tap tap tap on the shell with my fingernail, hold it up to my ear and if I don't hear peeping, they go. I'm a curious type person, and I put them in a ziplock bag, all of them that didn't hatch, seal the bag, and then use a knife to crack the eggs and see what went wrong. I've never had a baby chick (alive) that slid out.

 

[Tricorn]

Quote:
I've been following the thread- looks like fun!

I don't know if I'll have any eggs to hatch though, unless I order. I think we got rid of the only rooster that was actually breeding. I picked the most likely eggs for this hatch as soon as I realized the problem, be seeing as we're not getting any fertile eggs anymore I don't really have high expectations.

You'd think with, what, 15 roos and only 25 hens at least someone would be getting the job done. But no

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Quote:
Are you sure no one is doing the job? I shouldn't have gotten rid of my turken rooster. That guy didn't crow much (he was too busy) but was able to give me 100% fertilization on 33 hens. Too bad I had a hankering for coq au vin.

The hatch is fun, and lots of us (myself included) are ordering eggs to be a part of it.

 

[Tricorn]

Quote:
Are you sure no one is doing the job? I shouldn't have gotten rid of my turken rooster. That guy didn't crow much (he was too busy) but was able to give me 100% fertilization on 33 hens. Too bad I had a hankering for coq au vin.

Pretty sure. When the roo's got old enough I went on a bullseye hunting spree for about a month. Eggs are now back to pre-rooster-maturity appearence. The fact that I see my hens beating them up too doesn't lend confidence.