Opinions on Marking Eggs

[Broomtown]

Had chickens for years but new to artificial incubation. I've always heard to use lead pencil ONLY for marking. No definitive reasons were given for this just that someone heard someone else say it would damage embryos. I found that hard to believe but decided to only use pencil for my first incubating experience. I think I've had to re-pencil the markings about 3 times so far. Give me some input on marking eggs. Sharpies seem the most logical. If sharpies should not be used...please explain why not. What has been your personal experience?
The particulars of my current (first) incubation are below if you care to read more:
We are using what I think to be an old, large Sears Roebuck incubator. Forced air, 6 trays and could probably hold 500 chicken eggs. NO automatic turner (another reason the pencil marks wore off quickly). Hand-turned 3 x/day. I have about 100 various types of bantam eggs, several RIR, S. Sussex, ~12 pheasant, 15 turkey. I guess you could call it "continuous hatching". Not the way I wanted to dive in to incubation but that's how it worked out. The first wave of Bantams are hatched and we got ~75% hatch rate of fertile eggs and first eggs hatched at 19 days. So far only 3 pheasant eggs have hatched 24 hrs. ago and nothing else pipping (neighbor's eggs, I know almost nothing about pheasants). I could not come up with a strong enough light source to candle the pheasant eggs so I could not cull the non-hatchers. All groups of eggs were put in at various times and the pencil marking does not work well for detailed info on the shells. Seems to me that puncturing the shell with a pencil poses more risk than any harm a sharpie may cause. Thoughts??

 

[Komaki]

I always use sharpies. No problems ever. I also hand turn yet I can't remember remarking any.

 

[clayb226]

I used a sharpie fine point permanent marker, I did not do any research and did not even think about side effects. I guess I will see in about 2 weeks, this is also my first run at it so learning is the game right now for me.

 

[al6517]

I have used lead pencils, sharpies, wax pencils, dry erase markers, pretty much whatever was available at the time and have hatch littearly hundreds of egg's and never saw a problem I could attribute to the method of markings. I have found that the wide dark flat carpenter pencils work the best.

AL

 

[Emilys3guppies]

I used a sharpie for my current hatch. I had 15/15 eggs develop to day 18. It's day 21 and we've got 6 babies, 2 pips and a bunch of rockers now. I'd say, no harm done!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I have used it all an now use a date stamper. Ink drys to quick to ever hurt them no matter what you use.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
What a great idea, I have one on my desk at home and rarely use it, now I can. Thanks

AL

 

[mommyofthree]

I'm on my first hatch and I used a crayon.

 

[dsqard]

I have some turkey eggs and some chicken eggs in my incubator. The turkey eggs are marked with a sharpie and the chicken eggs are marked with pencil. Both kinds of eggs are developing well and neither type has lost the markings on them. Personally I use pencil but it is pretty obvious that magic marker doesn't hurt the embryos either.

 

[Crayonsmom]

I used pencil for my first hatch and all 3 came out. One's got an underbite, but I don't think that's due to the pencil!

My guess is pretty much anything is ok to mark with.