How do I candle the eggs?

[M To The Maxx]

It is day 15 for Dixie's eggs and I wanted to candle a couple of them. How do I do it with a small flashlight?

 

[ChickenCharmer]

For one, the flashlight should be very very bright, like an LCD flashlight. You hold the light in one hand, and then you wrap you finger and thumb around the egg, kinda like this guy is doing:
http://www.empireoftheturtle.com/Candle/Malacochersus tornieri_egg_02Jul03_1b.jpg
Then fit the egg over the light so that none escapes, and point the light, going through the egg, into your face. Then you should see it! If the eggs are too large to hold in one hand, you could just use both hands and hold the light between your knees.

 

[speckledhen]

You may not see alot since the chick is approaching a decent size now and will fill alot of the egg. At least you'd be able to see if any are clear or have a blood ring (embryo died). Just don't hurry when you do it, if you decide to do it.

 

[M To The Maxx]

Quote:
I thought I saw a possible vein. I forgot to mention that.

 

[Wildsky]

I made a really funny contraption. I used a piece of black plastic, like the lid from a coffee container, I cut a hole in it, a little bigger than a quarter. I had to use a glass under that to keep the flashlight away from the egg, I balanced the cup on a spotlight, put the black plastic on top of that and the egg on the hole.

 

[JestersEye]

Quote:
Why did you have to keep the flashlight away from the egg? Were you afraid that the heat from the flashlight would hurt the egg? The flashlights I have used were small enough that there was a rim that fit just around the shape of the egg... Were you using a much larger flashlight, perhaps? Please explain, so I know if this is something I will have to be careful of, in the future. Thanks!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Why did you have to keep the flashlight away from the egg? Were you afraid that the heat from the flashlight would hurt the egg? The flashlights I have used were small enough that there was a rim that fit just around the shape of the egg... Were you using a much larger flashlight, perhaps? Please explain, so I know if this is something I will have to be careful of, in the future. Thanks!

Yes, I used a big spotlight that got hot pretty quick, it was the strongest light I had at that time, my regular flashlights didn't do the job!

 

[JestersEye]

Quote:
Oh, okay... I understand now. Thanks for explaining!

I had some trouble positioning the small flashlight we were originally using, so I broke down and bought an actual "egg candler" on ebay, which appears to be nothing more than a strong flashlight with a rubber "sleeve" over the end. The sleeve help it fit against the egg, and channels the light more directly through the shell. It also plugs in so you don't have to worry about running low on battery power. It works pretty well, and it really wasn't too expensive. I'd suggest it to anyone who wants a ready-made candler, without any tinkering or jury-rigging necessary.

 

[rosaline]

I used my daughters wind up flash light to candle my eggs. My eggs are almost white. So maybe thats why it worked so well. But I sat down to do it. I put the flash light between my legs, to keep it up right. Then I made a circle with my finger and thumb. Put it above the light and place the eggs on your circled fingers. Then you can move the egg easy and turn it to see.

I hope this was helpful x

 

[M To The Maxx]

Quote:
Thanks! I am going to candle more later. My mom bought a small LCD flashlight and we orderd a candler from Randall Burkey.