How early and how often do you candle your eggs?

[nesthappy]

Well how is it going u must be at day 19 now and lockdown, did u remove the quitters, im only s beginner too but think possible good id to remove quitters if ur sure, from other treads ive read most people have left them in and havent had them exploded so it appears rare

Happy hatching

 

[WthrLady]

Day 10 and 17 that's all.

 

[iPickYupik]

I'm a newbie, too. I've also probably been candling too much. Opps! It's just so fascinating! I'm only on day 6. I've been able to see veining for days now though. Yesterday I started seeing the embryos move. I got rid of one infertile egg yesterday and today got rid of another infertile and one blood ring egg. All my others look awesome and the babies are so active even at day 5! I have 1 dark egg that I can't see through and was trying to find info on how early you can water candle.

 

[nesthappy]

I'm a newbie, too. I've also probably been candling too much. Opps! It's just so fascinating! I'm only on day 6. I've been able to see veining for days now though. Yesterday I started seeing the embryos move. I got rid of one infertile egg yesterday and today got rid of another infertile and one blood ring egg. All my others look awesome and the babies are so active even at day 5! I have 1 dark egg that I can't see through and was trying to find info on how early you can water candle.

im not sure, i just candled with a flash light my shells were dark so was hard to see but at day 17 you could see the air pocket and if they were moving so i was able to remove any i was sure were quitters, 1 i wasnt sure of so kept it in out. I keep 5 out if 8 and got 4 heathy chicks, good look!

 

[Almric]

Anyone here candle eggs after day 18? This is my first time incubating and it's been a stressful experience I got 2 dozen eggs in the mail and put them in on August 12th. The temperature in the incubator dropped down to 95 after I put the eggs in and never went back up. I finally got another incubator a week later and that one has been at a steady 100 the entire time. Just before lockdown I candled the eggs and only had about 12 that looked good.

Finally, on day 23 (Sept 4th) one egg pipped and hatched. The others are quiet and I desperately want to candle them to see what's going on inside. I've been told that if you start out with a lower temperature it takes longer for things to happen, but it's day 25 and I'm not sure what's going on with the other 11 eggs.

Does anyone candle eggs during the lockdown period or should I give it a couple more days?

Help!

 

[Smorz]

I hope it goes well for you! Anxious to hear responses. Some are strict about the lockdown, humidity, etc. Some are more laissez faire and will candle at will, knowing the mom gets up and moves sometimes, will sometimes leave the nest for a sip of water, etc. I've only incubated 3 or 4 times now. I do try to leave them alone, but 25 days is on the long side for a hatch time of 21 days. But, the temps were a little low...

My question would be, and maybe someone can answer - what is the risk of leaving them for say 2 more days and NOT candling. I mean, what does that hurt? Surely by 2 more days anything that was going to hatch WOULD hatch. And anything that isn't going to hatch wouldn't have hatched anyway. It's sorta erring on the side of caution. I just know sometimes those pups can explode, but if you don't see any oozing in there (or smell something foul), you are probably good. SO... with that said, unless someone comes up with a reason not to, I think I'd leave them alone and not candle.

BTW, after my first hatch was over, the next time - WAAAAY easier, since I kinda "knew" what to expect. So, breathe deeply and enjoy the experience. Let us know what happens!

 

[Almric]

After talking to a few people, I went ahead and candled them. Sure enough, nothing will be hatching from these eggs If anyone in Central Alberta has a handful of fertilized eggs (doesn't matter what breed) that they want to donate to my furthering incubating education, give me a shout!

 

[EggObsessed]

I candle mine once a day--either in the morning or evening. I candle upright tho so that I'm not disturbing the embyo! I just candle the top and bottom of the egg to check the growth! At day 10, I start marking the air sacs!

ETA: I candle mine every day even after day 18. I figure the hen gets off her eggs a few times a day for a quick drink/food/poop, so there's nothing wrong with a quick candling to check condition!

 

[Smorz]

Sorry! Maybe next time. I understand that fertility rate is pretty low when getting eggs in the mail. ;(

 

[jkdelawrence]

As long as your washing your hands your fine. Most these people have no idea what their talking about because on top of incubating your chicken eggs your supposed to turn them minimum 3 times a day. Every day until lockdown. Then you stop turning them for the last few days and let them go on their own.