I Am An Idiot

[MissPrissy]

If they incubated 20 days at low temps they could go to day 25+. I wouldn't give up too soon.

After day 25 look in the hole you made and see what is going on.

I want you to have a hatch so I hate to say this - they could all expire due to improper development associated with the low temps.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Yeah, I know they may all be done in.

No moisture buildup inside the incubator.

We went and bought a Mag-Lite LED flashlight. Can someone point us to Candling Instructions For Morons?

 

[tiffanyh]

NP--my LG still air temps need to be at 103 at the top of the egg in order to get the egg temps at 99.5. Buying a weasel was a great investment for me. I have had good hatches since then.

I also use a led maglite for candling. I would consider myself an expert candler (insert pat on back here) and I cant see through blue eggs very well at all. I can candle a button quail eggs quite well, but those blue/green eggs are real difficult even with my expensive fancy flashlight I dropped to much money on! I do love it though!

Good luck.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
Well, we have probably ruined these, then, although there were signs of life as recently as yesterday. Where do you find a water weasel?

What about my buff orpington eggs, that are on Day 12? They're in a separate incubator, but have been incubating at the same temps. They were much fresher when they went in than the Ameraucana eggs were.

 

[Solsken Farm]

NP, we use our very old slide projector. The light is so powerful I can candle anything. And I am a ditz. Do some searches of candling here and on the web. That is how I learned. I could never possibly describe it, cuz, well, I'm a ditz.

Hopefully you've got the temps up on the Orps.

Keep us posted.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Miss Prissy had a post on here not too long ago... lemme see...
Here it is...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=65134

I do that now, but for broodies, I take the one my hubby made. It is a light fixture mounted on wood, with a large metal coffee can mounted over it. He cut a hole the size of a half-dollar out of the bottom of the can, and covered all the rest of it with black fleece, leaving the hole open. When I plug it in, the light shines through the hole. I use the curly-Q light bulbs that don't give off a lot of heat. Then I take an egg and hold it up to the hole... right against it. The light will shine through, and it will look like this:

This is our son, helping me check for cracks... for candling the eggs for real, I do it with the lights out.

Here's a 7-day developing egg. (I usually try to keep the eggs upright, but one of the boys was helping, so I couldn't complain too much...)

Try not to spin them around too much... gently does it.

 

[ninjapoodles]

UPDATE: Using the new Mini-Mag LED, we just went and tried candling again. Still can't see diddly in the blue eggs, except for a line where the air sac is. It's just light on top/dark on bottom. So I have no clue about those eggs, and I'm losing hope.

The good news (I hope) is that the Orp eggs show veining and little wigglies inside, on their Day 12. So, based on comments here, we should turn up the temps on the LG still air to 103 at this point? Where can we get a water wiggler?

I had at least one living body in the blue eggs until yesterday, and now I have no idea. I don't want the same thing to happen to the Orp eggs, especially the one that Bella has marked as her "pet." She was SO excited to see the little wiggly chick in "her" egg!

 

[ninjapoodles]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Here's a 7-day developing egg. (I usually try to keep the eggs upright, but one of the boys was helping, so I couldn't complain too much...)
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/RedDorking7days.jpg

Try not to spin them around too much... gently does it.

Tori, thanks! The visual helped a lot. I haven't been able to see squat inside those blue eggs, but I'm grateful to have had a peek into the Orp eggs. I didn't candle them all, because I didn't want to keep opening the incubator, but we took a good sampling from various parts of the egg turner.

Do you have any pics of candling quail eggs?​

 

[Mrs MIA]

No, sorry, I don't. The buttons are like the green eggs, and I can't see a thing. The coturnix are difficult, but at day 12 you can use MPs technique and you will be able to tell which are clear.

Don't forget that just before the chicks pip, they are STUFFED in there. If you sit very still and watch them, peep at them, you may actually see the egg wiggling. Or, if you hold it up to your ear, you can actually hear them tapping from the inside.

Also, until the last three days, don't be afraid to open the incubator to let fresh air in. A broody will get off the nest several times a day, and the eggs will cool... so it won't hurt them. You can candle then.

Here's a 14-day egg...

 

[bluey]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

Miss Prissy had a post on here not too long ago... lemme see...
Here it is...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=65134

I do that now, but for broodies, I take the one my hubby made. It is a light fixture mounted on wood, with a large metal coffee can mounted over it. He cut a hole the size of a half-dollar out of the bottom of the can, and covered all the rest of it with black fleece, leaving the hole open. When I plug it in, the light shines through the hole. I use the curly-Q light bulbs that don't give off a lot of heat. Then I take an egg and hold it up to the hole... right against it. The light will shine through, and it will look like this:

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/P5150041-PorousDorkingegg.jpg

This is our son, helping me check for cracks... for candling the eggs for real, I do it with the lights out.
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/Coltinhelpingcheckforcracks.jpg

Here's a 7-day developing egg. (I usually try to keep the eggs upright, but one of the boys was helping, so I couldn't complain too much...)
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k270/vyancey/Chickens/RedDorking7days.jpg

Try not to spin them around too much... gently does it.

Thanks Mrs. AK, I'm building me one of those!!!​