Set on 2/4...who's with me?

[Spangled]

when I have eggs that are really dirty that I want to candle I just take a damp washcloth or paper towel and carefully try and get the worst of the poo off the egg. I've never had any problems with that making them not hatch, and then I don't have to worry about the germs affecting the other eggs.

Yeah, I don't know what is best. I've heard "Wash them." I've heard "Don't wash them, you blooming idiot. That opens all the pores and lets in all the bacteria." So I don't wash them. I've also heard, "Sandpaper off the small poo marks." And I've also heard, "Sandpapering the poo marks just forces the poo deeper into the eggshell and closer to the chick which will infect the chick." And then everyone gives all their statistics and hatch rates, etc., that proves that their method of hatching is successful.

And that when they did it the other way, things were worse or at least not different.

I think different methods work for different people because of a whole lot of varied environmental issues and situations. I haven't a clue what I'm doing. For me, incubation feels like I am driving blindfolded, with my foot tied to the gas pedal, my fingers crossed, and the radio on loud.

 

[PtldChick]

I'm a newbie myself, so my opinion is just that...

Hens in the wild don't wash or sandpaper their eggs, they just hatch them as is, so I would THINK that as long as they weren't filthy, that should be ok. It rains a lot in the jungle, so ground nests probably get mufddy at times. Does wiping with a dry paper towel remove the bloom? That's about all I think I would do. My hatch is being done by a broody, and the person I got the eggs from didn't wash them, and neither did I. They weren't really dirty anyway.

Just letting nature take its course. I won't have the fun (or stress) of watching them hatch, but I will have a happy momma hen (I hope). She's sitting on 14 banty eggs, and I plan to leave her a couple of chicks and put the rest in a brooder. Yeah, yeah, I know that's not nature taking its course, but I want to watch chicks!

 

[AriLovesChickens]

Every now and then, I get a little antsy. I spent some money on these eggs, and this is only my second hatch. I really hope they turn out okay!!

 

[LittleFarmInWV]

I've tried candling and I can't see a thing. I'm not sure if these eggs are viable though. 7 came from a neighbor and their rooster died a day before they collected the eggs so I'm not sure they're fertile. And the 3 from my hens were laid during the night and they were cold by the time I collected them. Would they still be viable after a night in the cold? I don't want to leave bad eggs in the bator when I have 6 hens laying ones that I know are fertile now. I jumped the gun a little and my girls started laying just a day after I started incubating.
I'm off to look up candling images!

 

[silkies4penny]

I candled tonight, what can I say... I'm so impatient! Of the 22 shipped eggs (smashed box, two cracked eggs I had to polish) I put 6 under a first time broody and 16 in my bator. well I am stoked to say that I have 14 eggs going in the bator and 5 under my hen!! I cannot believe these eggs pulled through such a terrible shipping. just goes to show, you just never know!!

oh, and to the person interested in my nail polished eggs, one is doing great and the other had a detached air cell that never recovered.

 

[Spangled]

I've tried candling and I can't see a thing. I'm not sure if these eggs are viable though. 7 came from a neighbor and their rooster died a day before they collected the eggs so I'm not sure they're fertile. And the 3 from my hens were laid during the night and they were cold by the time I collected them. Would they still be viable after a night in the cold? I don't want to leave bad eggs in the bator when I have 6 hens laying ones that I know are fertile now. I jumped the gun a little and my girls started laying just a day after I started incubating.
I'm off to look up candling images!

What did you decide? It would be a tough call. But you don't want to waste two more weeks if the eggs in the incubator right now truly are infertile. I candled about 4 last night and saw the dark dot about the size of a pea in each egg, but that was all.

If it froze overnight, I don't think the eggs would still be viable. I know that eggs in the fridge can sometimes hatch, but I think 50F is the lowest we're supposed to store hatching eggs at for "perfect" conditions.

The 7 from the neighbor could easily be fertile if the rooster was of a mind to do his job properly. The hens can store his sperm for sometimes up to something like 3 1/2 weeks. If he was 3+ years or older, I'd wonder, though, because it still is February and older roosters sometimes take a little bit to get going in the spring.

 

[chloezoebob101]

yep! first hatch. and good, i hope my eggs don't explode! that would actually be funny....

and I'm not sure if they are fertile is bc i have a bantam rooster running around with big hens!

i love him though, so i can't get a larger roo... and a few bantams hens with him, but only a few, like 4. and those i KNOW are fertile...

You are funny, chloezoebob. Your first hatch, right? I think that's what I saw onthe other page. I didn't candle until maybe my 3 hatch and then I couldn't tell what in the world was going on anyway so I didn't pull any eggs out anyway. And with my dipsy doodle flashlight, I'm still at a loss. All I do is remove the eggs that I can see clear through. I never candle when the eggs are under a hen. I imagine that the chance of dirty eggs exploding is about 1 in a 100 or less.

I've got dirty eggs in my incubator and I think the thing I worry about more with dirty eggs is omphalitis (mushy chick) or some other bacterial infection. So I'm not going to let my chicks hang around in the incubator too long after they hatch. I should probably go find out the recipe for putting a few drops of bleach in the incubator water. That's supposed to help, but I can't remember how much bleach is not too much. None of my eggs have ever been dirty before, but I really want eggs from those hens so I have no choice.

And wait ... why do you think that your eggs might not be fertile?

 

[PtldChick]

I candled a few of the eggs under my broody tonight - I think all four looked good! My flashlight isn't that bright so the green egg was harder to see through, but they looked like they had veins and a little spot or dark area.

I didn't even try to do them all...

Since these are banty eggs and they develop a little faster I figure they are really between day 5 and 6 (I put them under her the evening of the 5th).

There's a great thread I found on here that helped me know what to look for:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/candling-pics-progression-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs

 

[LilyD]

I candled a few of the eggs under my broody tonight - I think all four looked good! My flashlight isn't that bright so the green egg was harder to see through, but they looked like they had veins and a little spot or dark area.

I didn't even try to do them all...

Since these are banty eggs and they develop a little faster I figure they are really between day 5 and 6 (I put them under her the evening of the 5th).

There's a great thread I found on here that helped me know what to look for:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/candling-pics-progression-through-incubation-of-chicken-eggs

Congrats I love being able to candle the first time and see the babies in the eggs!! My fingers are crossed for you to have an amazing hatch too.

I candled my 38 pullet eggs tonight (they are on day 7 tonight) and now I am feeling much better. Out of 38 total eggs I had one blood ring which I pulled immediately, 10 that looked clear (I left these in they had air cells but no veining and I could not see any babies) I am wondering if these eggs got frozen on the colder days when I collected. That leaves me with 27 beautiful pullet eggs that are well developed with lots of veining, good air cells and little black dotty babies moving all over in the eggs. I was concerned that I wouldn't get many to grow because it is so cold outside and I have heard that it might affect fertility. I am going to try and run a little less humidity though my air cells seem a little small so I think they need to lose a little more moisture over the next two weeks to make hatch day. Fingers crossed that the little fuzzys grow and hatch well.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

I looked at a few and didn't see much. I think I need a brighter light.