how often candle eggs?

Quote:You can candle as many times as you want...I wouldn't recommend it though. I candle on day 6-7..then on day 10 or 11 then day 18-just before lockdown and that's pretty much it. I don't like messing with temps and humidity from opening the bator to much. Besides, after you go through it like 100 times...you become more patient and just let mother nature take its course Now that was a long road to get to! There's no need to candle everyday except for your own curiosity...

 

if you candle every day you risk dropping the eggs or adding bacteria to them.. however it's your choice

personally I candle them when I set them (to check for bad yolks and hairline cracks)
on day 7 or 10 depending on the type of bird and the color of the egg shell (light colored chicken eggs get candled on day 7. dark shells and ducks, turkeys get candled on day 10)
and I candle at lockdown

and if the egg doesn't hatch I candle it at the end of incubation/hatch to see if the egg is bad.. if it looks like a "good egg" i will check to see where the air cell is so I know where to make an observation hole to determine the health/status of the chick

 

Unless they are white eggs I favor candling at days 10 and 18 for chicken eggs. Days 10 and 25 for turkey. The colored shells are harder to see clearly with so I like to wait a bit to be sure of what I've got. For white eggs I favor candling at days 7 and 18.

 

11days & at 18 days.