MARCH Hatch-A-Long 2015: Please Read the First Post to JOIN the H-A-L

[WalnutHill]

When candling, I don't look for movement in any of my eggs. I look for veining, a growing chick, a blood ring, or the dreaded black floating blobs that move when you turn the egg. The candling is done as quickly as possible so the growing chick is not stressed. I do not candle ever after day 15. You can't really see anything, and the eggs should be left alone during lockdown anyway. Remember, the more you handle your eggs, the higher the chance of something bad happening to them.

Everyone has reasons for doing what they do, but I see a lot of people looking for movement in every egg and candling during lockdown. I wonder how much it negatively affects hatch rates.

I agree with you for the most part. Two of my eggs have shells so obscure that I could not tell if they were clear or growing at 8 days. Today, at 10 days, I can see a noticeable mass.

Those that I candled on day 8 and showed growth and veining went right back in on a separate turner. While candling, movement was visible in some of those, I did not stare at them until I saw them move. Those were not touched today.

Those I had separated for followup, because they looked clear or couldn't be determined because of shell opacity, were checked again today. Two moved to the "good" tray, the others were discarded.

I am still 8 days from lockdown, and eggs didn't cool, and this was only the second handling since set, so I am not too concerned with overhandling.

I know the very first eggs I set years ago undoubtedly suffered from too much love. And last year I had to handle too much due to issues with my LGs. But my new incubator is horribly stable and boring so I feel deprived of the close interaction with the eggs, and end up posting on this forum.

 

[scflock]

I candle quickly just to see development, too. Pop them on the Ocuview, click-click, then back in the rack or discarded. I don't want to freak the chick out with the light for too long. I check at 8 days, again at lockdown, and that's it

 

[uzisuzuki]

Didn't know I was doing anything wrong looking for movement & candling. It's my first time doing this & I was curious to see what was happening. Since I've come across threads on the boards with a candled picture every day of the incubation (except lockdown), I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Duly noted for the next batch.

 

[scflock]

Didn't know I was doing anything wrong looking for movement & candling. It's my first time doing this & I was curious to see what was happening. Since I've come across threads on the boards with a candled picture every day of the incubation (except lockdown), I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Duly noted for the next batch.

I'm not saying you're wrong. A lot of people candle frequently. I think it's just personal preference. I'm more hands off

 

[Varglet]

Once I know they're developing, I pretty much leave them alone. But I do check the cracked egg every once in a while.

 

[minnehaha]

This is number two of my staggered hatch of 3. I started with 16 eggs, only 4 made it to lockdown. The other 12 were completely clear, zero development. It was as if the rooster had not added any "special sauce" to those eggs.

Day 20 and I have one external pip!

Yesterday around supper time I thought I heard chirping from the incubator, but never heard another sound. Here it is 11 AM the next day and I noticed one has an external pip!!!


I hope more than one hatches. But,Just in case, I already jumped the gun and bought 2 one day old White Leghorn chicks....

They were delivered to the feed store 15 minutes before I got there and were already almost sold out.....so I didn't wait.

 

[ochochicas]

Didn't know I was doing anything wrong looking for movement & candling. It's my first time doing this & I was curious to see what was happening. Since I've come across threads on the boards with a candled picture every day of the incubation (except lockdown), I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Duly noted for the next batch.

You aren't doing anything wrong, but this is the reason I made my post. A lot of people are candling starting at day 3, looking for movement, taking videos of the embryos, etc. It gives the more inexperienced hatchers the idea that it should be done like that all the time. Eggs get dropped when candling, broken, they can cool off too much, the embryo gets stressed, and bacteria can be introduced to the egg with every new surface it touches. It has happened to me (I dropped an egg when putting it back in the incubator and it broke). Accidents are inevitable, but they can be reduced with less handling.

Do talk to your eggs before the chicks hatch. The chicks will know your voice and you will be their "momma" before they even enter the world.

 

[vonrow]

32 eggs went into lockdown yesterday afternoon. It's pretty much a 50-50 split between pure Silver Laced Wyandotte and SLW-'cauna (green eggers). I'm a bit weary of the potential results due to some raised temps on day 15. Weather it was small fingers being curious again or the sudden spring from -15f to 73f degrees outside.... eh.. I'd like to blame the sudden temp swing outside. I'm fairly sure the kiddos learned their lesson on the the earlier batch. Anywho, I caught the temp issue just as it was headed to the 105f mark and quickly got things back to a nice 99.5. I heard a few soft peeps last night from the bator, so hopefully things turn out ok. Nothing has hatched or pipped, yet. This last 3 or 4 day wait is what messes with your head, ya know? heh.

 

[minnehaha]

One little Crested Cream legbar pullet Kung foo'd her little self out of the shell in record time.....feisty feisty feisty! She carried on chirping loudly the whole time while she kicked that shell to the curb!

 

[Studio Chick]

One little Crested Cream legbar pullet Kung foo'd her little self out of the shell in record time.....feisty feisty feisty! She carried on chirping loudly the whole time while she kicked that shell to the curb!

That's so cute! My bantam eggs are zipping and popping out like that, much faster than the LF I hatched last weekend