It is day 10 now. I candled yesterday and I found 2 or 3 eggs that looked clear. I want to throw them out but I am afraid there might be something in there that is behind or something. Should I throw them out?
Please give me some advice...
- Thread starter chickenman17
- Start date
You should definitely see something in there by day ten. But if it makes you feel better, there's no problem keeping them a little longer.
I toss clears on day 10. Chances are on day 10 if you can't see anything...there is nothing to see, but I guess there is always a tiny chance...but I'd say if it is that far behind it'll stay behind and either die anyway or force a cull which nobody enjoys. I'd toss them.
Well, I often feel the same way, but keeping it is asking for trouble. If you let an infertile egg sit, it will explode and ruin the hatch.
I candle on day 7 or 8 if I'm not sure I put them in seprate place and on day 14 look again, If nothing by then I toss them
If they smell bad or odd, then surely toss them out.
White & brownish eggs are easier to see thru, where blue, green or very dark brown eggs (like from Marans chickens) are very difficult to candle & see thru. So, take that into consideration if it applies.
I candle on day 7 (or 10 is easier to see the "dark mass" chick with a weaker flashlight), then on day 14 & on day 18 (which is the last chance before "lockdown"). I sometimes mark an "x" on the wide end of the egg, if they are "iffy's" (in other words if I suspect they are not good/fertile). Then on day 18 I make a final decission on if it's time to toss them; if I still can't be sure & decide to leave it in during "lockdown," then always give it the sniff test to toss any that smell odd.
It's also interesting to look for the air cell at the wide end, the dark mass in the middle area & the clear egg white at the pointed end. My old 9 LED 4" flashlight was good enough to see those 3 areas, but my new NEBO 4" flashlight shows chick movement, even more interesting.
The best way that I've learned from "iffy" or clear eggs being tossed, is to open them over a paper towel in the trash can. That way I confirm what I've seen or learn about what I wasn't sure about. By opening eggs that are being tossed, I've learned not to be hasty & open a fertile egg by mistake.
Happy candling & hatching!
White & brownish eggs are easier to see thru, where blue, green or very dark brown eggs (like from Marans chickens) are very difficult to candle & see thru. So, take that into consideration if it applies.
I candle on day 7 (or 10 is easier to see the "dark mass" chick with a weaker flashlight), then on day 14 & on day 18 (which is the last chance before "lockdown"). I sometimes mark an "x" on the wide end of the egg, if they are "iffy's" (in other words if I suspect they are not good/fertile). Then on day 18 I make a final decission on if it's time to toss them; if I still can't be sure & decide to leave it in during "lockdown," then always give it the sniff test to toss any that smell odd.
It's also interesting to look for the air cell at the wide end, the dark mass in the middle area & the clear egg white at the pointed end. My old 9 LED 4" flashlight was good enough to see those 3 areas, but my new NEBO 4" flashlight shows chick movement, even more interesting.
The best way that I've learned from "iffy" or clear eggs being tossed, is to open them over a paper towel in the trash can. That way I confirm what I've seen or learn about what I wasn't sure about. By opening eggs that are being tossed, I've learned not to be hasty & open a fertile egg by mistake.
Happy candling & hatching!
I'm in lockdown for my second hatch and this is what I found helpful over my first: candling day 10 (clears were obvious in contrast to large embryos); candling on day 18.
I candled days 7 and 14 as well, but they were not very helpful. By far the most helpful days were the 10th and 18th. Some of the ones I thought were "iffy" on day 7, turned out to be developing fine by the 10th. Others that seemed okay on the 14th turned out to be quitters on the 18th.
What is the general idea for frequency of candling anyway? It seems the less you mess with the eggs the better, but the fear of exploding eggs is scary. I did find the smell factor was "dead on" as both the eggs I had that had an odor were quitters.
I hope that helps....
Warning, though, as I thought I had a dead chick on day 18 because it was "loose" and floaty in the shell and wouldn't move. I opened it and it was alive!
My kids were freaking out that I killed a baby unnecessarily. What an idiot!
I'll have nightmares about that forever. Perhaps it was not healthy anyway, but I still feel horrible. Compared to the others it was not normal at all, seemed like a quitter. Darn brown eggs. It was a Brahma, too, one of my favorite breeds.
I candled days 7 and 14 as well, but they were not very helpful. By far the most helpful days were the 10th and 18th. Some of the ones I thought were "iffy" on day 7, turned out to be developing fine by the 10th. Others that seemed okay on the 14th turned out to be quitters on the 18th.
What is the general idea for frequency of candling anyway? It seems the less you mess with the eggs the better, but the fear of exploding eggs is scary. I did find the smell factor was "dead on" as both the eggs I had that had an odor were quitters.
I hope that helps....
Warning, though, as I thought I had a dead chick on day 18 because it was "loose" and floaty in the shell and wouldn't move. I opened it and it was alive!
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