how can you tell if your chick is dead in its shell

[Berynn]

I am thinking about hatching some chicks. First I want to learn as much as I can about hatching.
If thete is a blood ring does that mean that the egg is no good?

How can you tell if the chick is dead in the shell?

I read a little about candleing, but I dont quite know what to look for?

How can you tell if your hen lays a fertalised egg or not? I know that a roo has to be with the hen

 

[peeps7]

Well it is pretty easy to tell if a chick is dead. Pretty much if it is alive it will be moving, breathing, and probably chirping. If a rooster is in with the hens then more than likely your eggs are fertile but you you have to incubate for seven days to be sure. When you candle on day seven you should see veins and an eye looking at you, LOL.

 

[jimnjay]

Blood rings are a sign that the embryo died. You would need to take them away from the mama or out of the incubator. You will see movement during the incubation process when you candle but sometimes during the last two days, there is no movement visable during the candling process. They are working hard and take long naps so I would not assume you chick is dead if you can not detect movement at the end. You should not be candleing then anyway. They can die at anytime duringing the process.