Store bought fertile eggs looking to be 0% hatch

kristenm1975

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It was worth a shot, but it looks like there isn't going to be any chicks out of this attempt. I put them under my broody on the 6th and finally got a chance to candle them today. There were only 9 left, and out of those, when I candled, I could clearly see 4 with big empty spots, and that the egg had rotten and dried to the edges.

The other five that were left were totally dark and I couldn't see anything when I candled, so I figured I'd leave those under the hen and see what happens. I've never done this before so I don't really know what I'm looking for when I candle at this point. I'm thinking that earlier on, you're supposed to see veining, but this far along when they're supposed to be hatching, I don't know. Any tips??

Thanks!
 
Well it would only be 7 days to hatching so the egg would be pretty full by now. Sounds like you may get some chicks
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I will have my fingers crossed for you
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If they were totally dark either your light wasn't bright enough to see that they are rotten, or they are dark because they are filled with a chick.

I'm hoping for option #2!
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Dark is good. You can't see through a chick. The big empty spots might be ok, too, depending on how big. You should see an empty air cell on one end, and depending on how far along the egg is, there may be some clear fluid in the small end, too.

It sound like maybe you need to see some pics of what eggs are supposed to look like when you candle. It takes awhile to learn what's good and what's bad.
 
Can anyone post a picture of what it looks like when you candle an egg around the day its supposed to hatch out?
 
http://www.minkhollow.ca/HatchingProgram/Candling/Week1/Week-1.html

You
will LOVE this site for its candling pictures. Some pages arent up and running, but pretty much every picture page will work. Dont be thrown off by the These pages arent running header- some DO scroll down and you will quickly become addicted to comparing your eggs to the pictures on their site!

Please be a dear and send that link to anyone else you come across who needs pics! I'm a newbie to this site and I'm sooooo grateful someone led me to those pictures!!!!!!!
 
Ooops, I just check the calendar and saw how many days it's been...they should've hatched by now, if they were going to.

Somebody recently posted how to read the dates on egg cartons. It's possible that they were too old, or maybe the fridge they were kept in was colder than they could survive. Refrigerated eggs can often hatch, but it seems the colder the fridge, the lower the hatch rate.

Sorry this batch didn't hatch, Maybe another time, but your broody will probably give up soon.
 

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