Talk about a close call: why candling is good

[bel]

Last night I did candling a bit earlier than normal because a seller was wanting to know how the eggs are doing (so far so good). Candled eggs from another seller too and discovered clears and weepers so I put them in a plastic tub outside the incubator thinking to hollow a few non stinky clears to save.

Today I looked at them and 2 had already exploded in the tub

. (won't be hollowing any eggs today

)
Should have thrown out the weepers immediately, but on the bright side an eggsplosion is a lot easier to clean out of a plastic tub than an incubator.
That incubator is getting cleaned and sanitized and then cleaned and sanitized again anyways just in case.

So check those eggs!

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Good save! Yuck.

I'm glad I haven't had any exploders yet, but this is a good reminder to everyone to check your eggs!

 

[chickintexas]

I'm a candle-holic. The ones that are questionable I will put to one side of the incubator and check them again in a day or two. If there is still no change and the other eggs look further along, out they go. And since I'm still learning, I'll take the eggs outside to crack them open and check the contents. So far, I've been right on the money when I've decided to boot them.

 

[katharinad]

I check weekly. First after 5 days to look for blood vessels, then every week to follow along. I sort the eggs in question and toss those that show now sign of development after day 14. From then on I also use a cheap stethoscope (available on ebay for 7 dollars including shipping) to check for heartbeats in addition to the candling. It will take the guesswork out and prevent blow ups in the incubator.
Katharina