I have some more questions

[rikku_03]

I was wondering when an egg will start to rot and smell weird if its not fertile or stopped developing because I have 2 eggs in the incubator right now that I got from my friends and they have 1 hen and 1 rooster so I just assumed these eggs will be fertile. My other question is if a rooster makes any noise or indication that he just mated with the hen because me and my friends havent seen the rooster do anything but he might have while they were in their cage and we weren't watching. Here's a candling question does anybody know whens the best time to candle a dark egg?

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

I wait til about day 15 to candle for fertility. That way you have no doubt whether it is fertile or infertile or not forming. I have ones that stay in there until day 15 when i check for fertility and i have never had one rot. You don't always see roosters mating with hens. How big is the cage?

 

[rikku_03]

its big enough for me to walk around in if I crouch a little and Im around 5"3

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

Yea =, they can breed then!

 

[Revelle]

I heard it could be as early as day 8 for fertility checks. If it's not fertile, it will show just a light shadow near the top when candled. If it was growing, by then you'll be able to see the embryo (which is so cool!) and veins.

 

[Texasboy4ever]

I check my eggs at one week, If I see any cloudyness in them I will keep them. If they are clear I toss them

 

[sprtfury]

I candle every 7 days. I haven't had an egg blow up in any of my incubators yet. If your incubator starts to smell bad; look for eggs that look oily or are oozing and get rid of them right away. Be careful how you handle them because you don't want them to blow up in your hand! (No fun believe me).
I cover them with a paper towel and handle gently. I try to clean the turner as best I can with a clorox wipes and give the turner a good cleaning after the eggs are taken out.

 

[rikku_03]

Quote:
do you know what day they start to smell bad? mine is on the 9th day and I dont smell anything yet

 

[rikku_03]

Quote:
Do you have any pictures with the infertile egg?

 

[Revelle]

Quote:
Do you have any pictures with the infertile egg?

Clear / Infertile, from: http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html

This is a good thread to see how far your chicks are developed:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876