Topic of the Week - Candling Eggs

[chickfused]

My last hatch, 4 of them looked like your "Dead" pic @PippinTheChicken, and I left them alone because they didn't smell. Every last one hatched a healthy baby. So mileage may vary, I suppose.

 

[Oldegarlicshnapp]

thoughts or experience with candling on any of the last three days?

 

[chickfused]

thoughts or experience with candling on any of the last three days?

Best advice anyone gave me was: "Don't touch. Sit on hands." I'd have a look at a couple days past hatch day if there were no pips, to check for life, but very, very gently.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

thoughts or experience with candling on any of the last three days?

I do for broodies, but not for incubators

 

[Silexian]

I use a Lyon Electric home model egg candler. It works great for light colored eggs and is decent for checking dark colored eggs. I candle the eggs that I have selected for hatching. To check for very porous eggs. They seem to have thin shells. So I don’t like to use them. I look for a small mass and a cluster of blood vessels when I candle on day 7. I discard any eggs that are not showing any signs of development. I candle again on day 14. I check for blood rings and any masses that move very freely about the egg. Which I gently discard. One time of a bad egg exploding is all you need to learn that lesson. I candle late to hatch eggs also. To see if they are still struggling or have went to the coop of the great beyond.

 

[Ktlyn 41]

The flashlight on my phone is the best light I have used.

This is what I use, I take a piece of duck tape with a small hole poked in it and put it over my phones light to concentrate it and use it that way.

 

[Jesitxmarie]

I use a custom built egg candler. My dad makes these egg candlers! I’ve used blue/green eggs, as well as tan eggs, and you could see through them really well. My tip is to set the egg on the candler with the air sac at the top of the egg. If you also use a small pen flashlight on top of the egg, shining down into the air sac, you can really see very, very clearly into the egg. You can see the head, legs, etc! The candler is made to plug into an outlet, no batteries required. (Just PM me if you are interested in purchasing a set-up!) The attached picture shows candling at approx days 10, 14, and 18.

 

[janiedoe]

I love this thing:

Brinsea Ovaview High Intensity
I may buy the scope attachment for it, but so far haven't needed it.

 

[The Birb King]

I just candled the eggs that my broody hen was sitting on... Aand only one looks to be developing. I left the others in there tho in case they are still fertile and just farther behind.

 

[FeatherProfessor]

- What do you use to candle eggs?
I have an HBLife plug-in candling torch from Amazon. It has two sizes of caps to accommodate different size eggs. I really like it and it’s plenty bright. See below with some daylight.

- What about candling dark-shelled eggs?
I haven’t done that yet so cannot comment on darker eggs.

- When do you start candling eggs?
Days 4, 9, and 15.

- What do you look for when candling and what are the signs you need to give up on an egg? (I.e. what is normal, what are the warning signs, etc)

I look for veins on the fourth day, big movement on 9th and small movements on the 15th. If there’s a dark mass on the first two candlings, I’ll leave it in just to make extra sure but I mark them as questionable. Anything clear on day 4 or day 9 gets tossed. Check for saddled air cells and make note of them even if they’re still developing (like the one below - lots of movement but horribly saddled)