I am on day eight of incubation and when I candle I don't see anything.. Do I continue to wait or try to get some surefire fertile eggs? Will upload pics of my newly built coop.. thanks to those who respond... Edited by staff
Glad you joined us! I would wait a few more days. However, if you still see nothing in the eggs, and still want to hatch some, I would look for more eggs. Good luck!
Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you. I would leave the eggs in for a few more days as well. Sometimes, it can be hard to see the developing embryo in an egg, especially if the eggs are dark or thick shelled. If you're looking for Rhode Island Reds, I'd recommend checking out your state thread to see if anybody has any around you: Connecticut! You can also post in the Buy, Sell and Trade section after you have 20 posts: Buy ~ Sell ~ Trade
Thank you for your responses. I am a newbie but I am gung-ho... I will post what I see or don't in a few days. Maybe I will wait until next Friday which will be day 14. Thanks again!!
This is my first time too. I'm almost to lockdown. Here's what I found. Since RIR eggs are brown, they are very difficult to candle. I couldn't tell either for the first week, until I used a super bright 800 lumens LED light. But even then, all I could see was the dark area had grown larger than a yolk. Luckily I could easily see the progress on my Orpington eggs (cream colored) eggs, which had veins. I still can't see veins in the brown eggs, but I know they are growing equally. You can compare to a refrigerator egg, and should see a much more prominent dark area. The best indication of all is movement within the egg, which I think should be easily noticeable after one week, even if it is a dark egg. Just hold it really still for a few seconds to be sure you are't causing it to swish.
Hello and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good suggestions above. Good luck with the eggs, hope they are developing.
Hello there and welcome to BYC! Definitely wait few days before candling. You don't have to candle. But by day 10 you should be able to see the difference between clears, blood rings and a developing chick. I like to wait til lock down for the next and last candling to kick out all the ones that didn't make it. Good luck with the hatch and keep us posted! We love chick pics!