I'm just sick. I only had 4 eggs. Today is day 13. These eggs are the first time I've ever candled. I candled on day 9 and thought, best guess I have, that all was good. I thought I'd try again today to see if I could tell any more then the first time. Be careful what you wish for. It was coming along just fine, until it slipped out of my hand. Its not like I didn't realize they were fragile. I was just having a difficult time getting the light situated so I could get the egg illuminated. So, for all of you new to candling - get the light setup so it'll be stable. Maybe even test the stability with a store egg until its a good setup. On a brighter note, I think the other 3 are developing.
This is exactly the reason that I recommend only candling twice...day 7 and day 18. Anything more is just unnecessary IMO. I've done the same thing...so sorry for you and the egg...I know how you feel.
I put on surgical gloves when candle the eggs for 2 reasons. 1. not to get the poop on my hands since I dont wash the eggs before setting 2. better grip with the eggs
Quote:Surgical gloves are a great idea! Thanks! I just happened to have some nitrile gloves on hand. Not too sure if I'll have the guts to candle again this time around. My odds of getting a little girl just dropped by 25% already. My problem wasn't the egg being slippery, but my attention was focused on the poor lighting setup and not the egg. As far as poo germs on the shells, I wash my hands anyway. After you've cleaned enough diapers in your life you learn to not let a little poo get to you too much. Besides, with all my aquariums I have a tendency to wash my hands frequently anyway. (I've made that mistake, too.) You know, when I was candling this egg that I dropped, I had a feeling it wasn't any good because it looked dark on half of the egg and light on the other with no dark blobs and nothing moving in there that I could tell. So, I guess it wasn't an all bad experience in helping me understand what I'm seeing. I thought that maybe the half of the egg that was dark was bacteria. It wasn't. It was where the yolk was and the chick was just hanging out exactly in the center of the egg. I don't know why, but when it broke I half expected it to stink, too. Maybe because the eggs are in a warm environment, I don't know. Maybe its because I thought it wasn't developing. There was no odor. I've done a bunch of searches on here about incubating and such, but don't recall seeing pics of what the chicks look like during each day of development and in size comparison to the shell and the yolk and all. It would be sad to destroy all those chicks, but it would be helpful information for us newbies. I'm positive there's got to be something like that somewhere. Do any of you know of one?
sorry to hear about your dropped egg sending good vibes your way for 3 happy little lavender orp chickies...pics please after they hatch!!
This is what happened the very first time I ever candled an egg with my very first incubation. The present attempt I candled at 10 days and 18 days, also used gloves to keep the eggs from slipping.
those gloves are a great idea! I have a few batches of different eggs I have been candling and I almost lost one the other day.....I'm off to buy a box of gloves!
Quote:Thank-you so much, and I will. ... Thank-you to all of you! If my posting this can save a few unintended mistakes from happening with others, its purpose is served.
