What is the earliest that you woud toss an egg?

[LoupGarou]

I have some bantam eggs in an incubator and I didn't hold out much hope for them, due to my incubator not arriving on time. I candled them at day 5 and only two of them seemed to have any veins. Today, two days later, four more of the eight seem to have some vein development. The others look pretty porous--but then again, so did a few that developed veins on/by day seven.

What are the odds of the others being fertile, if there is no sign of life yet? None of the eggs with veins seem to have a lot of veins; is that normal? What are the odds of the eggs hatching, if I had to wait two days after receiving the eggs before putting them in the incubator?

Also, I got some Welsummer eggs that went into the incubator the same day as these bantam eggs. I can't see into them to candle them! Are there any "tricks" to candling dark eggs?

Even if I don't get any eggs out of this hatch, I'm having a great time trying and learning about the process. Regardless of how it turns out, I'm definitely going to end up getting more and trying again.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Unless they smell, day 18.

 

[walkswithdog]

Yep, unless I can easily see that an egg is totally clear at day ten. They stay in there until they stink. And most don't actually get to that point, they just don't go.

If I can't see and it doesn't stink I figure to just keep it in there and keep doing the right things.

If it looks "strange" it stays, if I can't tell it stays. So many people make the mistake of tossing or opening an egg they think looks bad only to have it be alive. Err on the side of patience.

 

[LoupGarou]

I am definitely leaving my dark brown eggs in, since I can't see into them at all. I don't plan to throw any others out--I've tossed a couple that had cracks--but wasn't sure when it was appropriate to give up on others. Thanks!

If anyone else can answer my other questions, I'd really welcome helpful answers/suggestions/comments.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Considering I use a broody hen, I wait 'til day 24. I figure, whatever miscalculation I may have made is covered and that egg wont hatch. The hen usually leaves the nest with the hatched group by then anyway.

 

[Teresaann24]

I only every throw out eggs early is when i candle and see blood rings. I tossed 2 today at day 5 because they had bloodrings 1 does not look like its developing but I am gonna leave it another week.

 

[LoupGarou]

I am really new at chickens (these are my first hatching eggs), so I'm a bit cautious about what I'm doing. I know that cracked eggs can be repaired with white glue (assuming that what I've read is correct), but since these eggs sat a couple of days on my doorstep--long story--I didn't want to risk repairing a bad egg. I've also got a bantam egg that might have a blood ring, but being such a newbie at candling, I don't want to toss it too early because I don't know what color veins are as the chicks develop. In addition, my "candler" is nothing more than a flashlight and a dark bathroom, so it's not as if I get a lot of detail in what I see to begin with.

I know I'll get better at determining things as time goes on, but right now everything is a learning process.

 

[Akane]

If it's a light shelled egg usually day 10 if it's clear or day 14 if it looks like it did something but quit. Usually I candle day 7, mark the bad ones, recandle the bad ones day 10, throw them out if they still look bad, and repeat on day 14. Then do a final candle before I put them in the hatcher on day 18. If it's a dark shelled egg I may not toss it at all unless I notice a bad smell in the bator.

 

[cici_p]

I just tossed my first egg today (day 12), even though I've been fairly sure it has been clear all along. It's my first time, so I didn't want to kill a developing chick! I have to say, as certain as I was that there was nothing in the egg, it was still quite stressful to crack it open. I can't imagine how horrifying it must be to crack one open and find there was actually an embryo inside! I still feel a little like a murderer, even though the egg wasn't even fertile!
Most of my eggs are dark, so I am leaving the rest, even though there are a couple I think are probably clear.

 

[Backyard Farm]

I would not toss until day 10 or 14 until you get used to what to look for.

For my marans and welsummers, I use an old slide projector ($10 off craigslist) to candle ...works great.