How Will I Know if They're Good?

[wsdareme]

I just set 7 eggs in my Brinsea incubator. They are all Black Copper Marans eggs. I only have one BCM hen, so I've been accumulating these eggs over the last 2 weeks. I got desperate for the 7th egg, so I went out in the refrigerator and grabbed the newest one I had put in there. The rest have been sitting on my kitchen counter at room temperature.

I wrote the date on each egg as I brought them in from the coop. Not sure of the date on the one in the refrigerator...

Okay, I know candling BCM eggs is pretty much impossible, so will I be able to tell if there's an egg I need to remove? I've heard horror stories of exploding rotten eggs and I sure don't want to have to deal with that.

I've heard that you should be able to "smell" an egg going bad. Do you just lift the lid on the incubator once in a while and give a good sniff? Will it be obvious?? If you detect a bad odor, do you sniff each individual egg and you'll know when you have the "bad" one?

 

[Heckel's Hens]

I am NOT far into this process, but I am incubating maran eggs, and today is day 6, and I can clearly see which are good and bad, even with their dark eggs!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Smell the vents, if it stinks smell each egg. If you do this every day you will catch any that go bad before there any issues.

 

[Pascal PicklePants]

Quote:
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I am on day 20 with welsummers and ameraucanas, both of which are hard to candle. I had a stinker that i pulled at around day14 or so (very easy to smell). Otherwise I didn't candle til day 17. dark ones stayed, clear ones tossed.

 

[wsdareme]

Here is a picture of my eggs in the 'bator. They are really dark (this is with a flash, which lightens them up a bit). I tried candling BCM eggs the first time I had them, and couldn't see a thing.

Heckel's Hens, what are you using to candle your eggs? I'd sure like to be able to candle them, but I've seen a lot of posts on BYC that say it's basically impossible. Last time I just waited until they hatched... These are my first eggs from my own hen and rooster and I don't even know if they're fertile. I'd like to know before 3 weeks of waiting.

Pascal PicklePants (love that!), did you just wait until you could tell if they were dark vs. clear?

 

[Heckel's Hens]

This is my thread I started today:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=447639

My friend lent me a cool light candler, called Cool-Lite Tester No.9046.

I just put it on the big end of the egg and shined it down in a dark room. After my eggs adjusted, it wasn't too bad.

 

[wsdareme]

Heckel's Hens - LOL!! I found your post and already asked you what you were using over in that one!

I'll do a little checking and see how expensive one of those would be. I just hate not knowing if I have viable eggs. I've been lucky with my previous 2 hatches -- all of my eggs hatched. But I bought them from a local breeder who knew what she was doing. I, on the other hand, am incubating my first home-grown crop.

I guess one way or another, I'll know in 21 days!

 

[wsdareme]

Update: I found the Cool-Lite Tester No. 9046 for only $10.95 + S&H. That might be worth the investment!

Does anyone else have any recommendations for candlers for dark eggs? AFFORDABLE candlers, that is.

 

[Pascal PicklePants]

Quote:
Yep, I used a Snap-On brand flashlight that I have. I thought it would be great to know at day 7 how many to expect, but i waited til day 17 so when i did candle, i would know for sure which had developed. It was very easy to tell the difference. And when I cracked open the clear ones, they were just scrambled yolk. Which I think means they either quit very early or were never fertile. I ended up throwing out 11 out of 22.

On the bright side, 2 ameraucanas are hatched, and 2 wellies are pipped.

And again, like Rebel said give the vent holes a sniff once and a while.....you can't mistake that smell!!

 

[Lark Rise]

We could see through the Marans eggs with the Brinsea OvaScope egg candler.