I need a crash course in candling

[CDennis]

I have a 6 month old roo, and now a broody hen. I am not sure how much "work" he has actually done but its my first roo so I think I need a crash course in candling. Seems like from what I have read 10 days is a good time to try. What will I need. Flashlight, Dark room, Egg anything else helpfull? If some of the eggs are fertile but layed later than the first that hatch will mommy hen stick around to hatch them or bail when chicks appear? Thanks!

 

[SangaChicken]

First off..

YAY! I always wanted to be able to post one of those.

Next.. Candling is pretty easy business. I went to Walmart and spent $20 on a fan-freakin-tastic flashlight to make the whole business easier. I never knew there were so many options in flashlights! Or that light was measured in "lumens". It's pretty scientific business, this flashlight stuff. Anyway, I got a nifty LED one that apparently you can see at 15 million miles away on a foggy night uphill. With this nifty flashlight, I can see a heartbeat in an egg at like.. 4 days. No kidding.

So buy a good light, and just go to candling. You'll get the hang of it and figure out what works for you really quickly. A lot of stuff on here will tell you to candle on certain days, and look for certain things.. I read all of it and I learned the most by actually checking it out for myself. The coolest thing is that you can actually tell how far along your chicks are in development by watching the air sack change, and if you're off on your hatching dates and you candle nightly (Which I do), you can tell when the chick is going to hatch before it pips by watching for it to break the air cell.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

A good light and a dark room are the basic tools.

At 10 days with chicken eggs, you should be able to see the veins and the embryo. Look for what looks like a spider web with the spider in the middle of it. The dark spot will be the embryo. It could move in response to the light also. The veins are the main thing to look for - the spot could be visable or not at 10 days. It could just be out of sight. The veins are the first really visable thing to develop.

If the eggs are real dark or blue or green, they are harder to see into. If your light is bright enough, you can still see, it is just harder.

To learn the candling routine, I would candle every few days and see how they change with time. As the chick grows, etc.

An egg that is not fertile and not developing will look clear with the orangy blob that is the yolk. Even if you find any of those, leave them in (as long as they don't stink or weep) for a little longer to make sure. You could check a store bought egg to see how a clear egg looks.

 

[Mahonri]

I bought a $50 LED Lenser at Home Depot and you can candle Marans eggs with it.

The light actually comes with a warning on it because it's too bright for your eyes!

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Here is a link to the site I used a lot to learn more. It is for duck eggs, but the basics are the same. Look around the whole site, they have a lot of good info on it.

http://www.minkhollow.ca/HatchingProgram/Candling/index.html

The big difference between chicks and ducks is the time. Chicks take 21 days and ducks 28.

 

[shabbyfarm]

First off -

To make a very simple candler, (and cheap) you will need a bright flashlight, i use a mini-mag lite with 3 leds, medicine cup and black tape.

Tape medicine cup to end of flashlight and you are ready to go !!!

Take it to a dark room, turn on flashlight, set egg in cup, and look inside !!!!!!!!!

 

[CDennis]

Thanks for all the advice. I feel much better now. I think I will wait to 10 days, I am worried if I mess w/ mommy too much she may up and leave the nest. I am not sure I even have any fertile eggs yet, but I hope to get some extras this week to hedge my bet!

 

[speckledhen]

When I have a broody, I candle one time, just to remove infertiles or any that have expired (blood rings) and mostly, I do it at 10 days. That is a great point, not too early, but not too late so you can see healthy veining and a peep.