how old must an egg be before it can be

[Queen Scoot]

candled? and also how do you candle?

 

[pax12]

day 7

 

[josh_bigler]

i've candled as early as day 3 and have seen veins growing, but your best bet is to candle at day 5

 

[Queen Scoot]

ok how do i candle? this is my first batch at hatching...i'm excited yet nervous!!

 

[josh_bigler]

i use a small flash light ,a bright one and put the egg over it holding my hand to where the light only shines on the egg, kind of hard to explain, but its pretty easy once you try it, i just recently made a candler that works very well out of an old foldiers coffee can, i just took the metal can and put a light bulb fixture in it, and cut another one to slide on the top of it and cut a small hole where the egg sits on it and you can see it perfectly, theres many ways, but the easiest would have to be just the ole flashlight! hope this helps, good luck,

 

[kathnkyle]

I'm new at this but have been reading up on it and have tried it on my own eggs (i did it day 3 as too excited to wait lol) I take them in a dark room and shine a light into the end and you should be able to see tiny veins by day 4!!
Its so exciting!!! I'm sure someone will explain it properly but as my eggs have only been in incubator for 5 days this is all i know lol xx

 

[Cara]

It depends on the colour of the shell, and the species. Brown eggs are harder to see through, and dark brown shells are almost impossible to candle. Some shells are a different texture too, and will be harder to candle. White eggs can be candled at 3 days, brown eggs are closer to 5 or 6. Duck eggs grow slower as they take an extra week to hatch, and will look like nothing is happening for the first week or so despite the white ones being very easy to candle.

When you candle them, do it as quickly and carefully as possible. Also don't candle too often. I try to stick to candling at day 7, 12 and 18. Don't candle after day 18. Get a very bright flashlight (I love the LED ones), and holding the egg horizontally hold the light to the large end of the egg. Try to make as good a seal as possible with your hand around the light and the end of the egg, so that the light travels to the egg. Very gently rotate the egg horizontally if you do not see anything. And remember to do it in a very dark room! Good luck!

 

[Queen Scoot]

Quote:
sending good hatching vibes your way!!!!!

i am on day 2 in the bator...and am nervous and excited!

 

[kathnkyle]

Scootersmom wrote:
sending good hatching vibes your way!!!!! i am on day 2 in the bator...and am nervous and excited!

Thank you and the same to you!! It is so exciting i'm going to be pulling my hair out over the next 2 weeks!! lol​

 

[Mrs MIA]

img/smilies/wink.png" alt="wink" />

Wait">http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/Embryology/embryophotos.shtml



Wait until at least day 7... before that, the veins are very fragile, and you risk damaging it so that the chick can't develop. Besides, it's really easy to interpret what you're seeing in there that early unless you're really familiar with what to look for. Unless it's oozing or stinky, I don't remove eggs until a day 14 candling shows clear or very little development. By then the egg should be nearly full of chick!

Good luck...

the first time (and, well, the 50th time, too, but not so much) is always nerve wracking.

LOL!