Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[theawesomechick]

Bee, your eggs will hatch. Oh dear, I hope I haven't jinxed your nest!

 

[theawesomechick]

I have a chick from the incubator that hit 80*

By the way, that chick makes me want to smile

.

 

[Beekissed]

Wow! How long was it on that temp?

You know what I'd like? I'd like to see clear, large egg pics of brown eggs being incubated and what they are supposed to look like....mine don't look anything like all the white eggs they show. No spidery network of veins can be visualized, no definite chick shape or really dark eyeball or anything like that.

I have dark and darker, a yolk shape, or a bigger, darker murky thingy and sometimes I see a little darker eyeball sized thing in there but it doesn't seem to be connected to much of anything. Every once in awhile I can see a line of red here and there but it's not a ring or any such...just one line here or there.

I'm using flashlights so bright they nearly blind you to look at them, so it's not my lights...I'm just not seeing the distinct features that other folks are seeing. Now, I'm seeing more in some of the eggs than I ever have....meaning a blood vessel piece here and there, more darkness than a mere yolk would show, the occasional floaty dark BB type thingy that I suppose would be an eye...or could be a blood spot...or a meat spot or just who knows?

This is frustrating....

 

[theawesomechick]

Patience, grasshopper. Only time can unravel the mystery. Hey, who am I kidding, If I tried hatching I'd be cracking open all my eggs just to see if they were developing or not.

I cannot stand suspense... or waiting...

 

[Adelina]

I had the same issue with these, and the Olive eggers couldn't candle at all, even hubby's surefire couldn't see anything, so those I'm just waiting- til all of this batch hatches.



Edit- came home to no power and the incubator at 81* - throw hot hands in there to help, power came back on 45 minuets later..

 

[theawesomechick]

I had the same issue with these, and the Olive eggers couldn't candle at all, even hubby's surefire couldn't see anything, so those I'm just waiting- til all of this batch hatches.

Olive eggs... from all the lit I've read, that should be one of the hardest colors to candle!

 

[Beekissed]

Patience, grasshopper. Only time can unravel the mystery. Hey, who am I kidding, If I tried hatching I'd be cracking open all my eggs just to see if they were developing or not.

I cannot stand suspense... or waiting...

It's tempting....really tempting. I'm glad I'm not the only one with this visualization problem. I even got out my reading glasses just in case I'm just not seeing the fine work there....nuddin'.

I can see the difference between the eggs that haven't developed at all and the ones that look like something is going on, even if I can't see what in the heck is goin' on.

Problem is that they are not developing at the same rate...some look further along, some look...eh..who knows?..and others look like the last two nests..just yolks floating in a sunny egg.

 

[Zanna]

Wow! How long was it on that temp?

You know what I'd like? I'd like to see clear, large egg pics of brown eggs being incubated and what they are supposed to look like....mine don't look anything like all the white eggs they show. No spidery network of veins can be visualized, no definite chick shape or really dark eyeball or anything like that.

I have dark and darker, a yolk shape, or a bigger, darker murky thingy and sometimes I see a little darker eyeball sized thing in there but it doesn't seem to be connected to much of anything. Every once in awhile I can see a line of red here and there but it's not a ring or any such...just one line here or there.

I'm using flashlights so bright they nearly blind you to look at them, so it's not my lights...I'm just not seeing the distinct features that other folks are seeing. Now, I'm seeing more in some of the eggs than I ever have....meaning a blood vessel piece here and there, more darkness than a mere yolk would show, the occasional floaty dark BB type thingy that I suppose would be an eye...or could be a blood spot...or a meat spot or just who knows?

This is frustrating....

I can't see much in my Marans eggs either. I candle on day 18 and if they look almost black inside I put them in the hatcher, if not, I open and toss. Have not made a mistake yet this way. Once in a while if I candle a little sooner because I just can't help myself, if there is an early quitter, you can see the partially developed chick (just a dark blob) stuck to the side of the shell and it will not move when you shift the egg around.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Bee, if I may I learner something when I hatched out my Maran eggs. If you are using an LED flashlight, try using a very strong light with a yellow incandescent bulb instead. My dad explained it to me pretty clearly being the science whiz he is... Blue light scatters and reflects off of lots of things making it hard to see in that light. If you have a fog, a blue light may light up the immediate area better but the scattering wavelengths will actually reduce your ability to see details. An orange/yellow light will not scatter as much and will pass through an egg more clearly.

I tried every bright LED I had to candle Maran eggs once, no dice. My mom brought by her HUGE incandescent maglight. Full size and it looked downright dim compared to my fancy lights with 5LEDs... But I saw right through those thick brown shells and I saw veins and chicks moving!

Remember that people once used CANDLES to candle eggs. Those aren't very bright either but the wavelengths aren't as blue as modern lights so they saw through the shells. The closer to true white the better but I suspect yellow wavelengths of light are better for candling than blue.

 

[Beekissed]

Excellent information!!! Why aren't they telling folks about that in these incubation threads?