When do you first candle?

[scoopy82]

I'm only on day 4 but its already driving me crazy and I am trying to tell myself that there is no point in candling now cos I wont really see anything, but part of me just wants to try in case i see something . . . anything! So when do people first candle? Just to see if they are developing

Is it obvious this is my first incubating attempt

 

[Alexander]

It depends on the egg if it is chicken you can candle it in day 7.If it is turkey or duck day 10.Im pretty sure that if you candle it now you will see the yolk.Check the candling topic



https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261876

 

[florasbell]

hi im also a newbie at this but what i have found is white eggs you can candle from 4/5 days and you can see the start of something maybe if ur still enough maye even a pulsating line thing which is the heart most wait till 5/7 days as it is easier with darker eggs day 7/10 and really dark eggs 10/14 i start candling from day 2 not that i can see anything but my wonder always gets the better of me it the i have a look just in case question that always gets me lol you could be surprised just have a bright light and very dark room

the black dot with all the veins coming away from it is the babies eye if you can see this you should be able to see a little movement good luck

 

[scoopy82]

Well I just couldn't resist and so I candled . . . and there is something in there! Whether it be baby chick or alien life form - i saw a floating dark blob, surrounded by a slightly lighter blob, then some clear stuff and the air cell and I also saw what i thought were some veins. I did two eggs and they were both the same. From my very limited experience (none!) I'm going to guess that because my bator sits usually around the 100.5 mark and has on occasion gotten to 101, they may hatch right on time or slightly early. Wow - its really happening in there - so far anyway lol.

 

[Alexander]

You saw an air cell in 2 days?And veins?The blood island is ok but air cell?That is strange for me at least

 

[scoopy82]

They are on day 4, and like i said I really have no idea what I'm looking at but I'm trying to guess what is what in there. There were a few tiny little lines which i guessed were veins, they certainly weren't cracks in the shell i know that much, and the air cell was like a little pocket in the fat end of the egg. They are light brown chicken eggs so in a pitch black room (my walk in pantry) and a bright LED flashlight i can kinda see bits and pieces. They certainly weren't clear like they were when i candled before they went into the incubator so that gives me hope something is happening.

 

[ScissorChick]

For beginners, it's best to candle on day 7-8 for light colored

eggs, and day 10-15 for dark colored eggs, then candle again on day

18, right before lockdown, because you will really be able to see some

development at these dates. With light colored eggs it is pretty easy to

candle as early as day 4. Be sure your flashlight is bright enough or you

won't see a thing!

 

[scoopy82]

I was planning on candling on day 10 and then day 18 - obviously i couldn't contain myself lol! I figured I would toss the clear ones on day 10 but leave any I wasn't sure about, but then on day 18 would only leave the ones I was sure about. I put in an assortment of light and dark coloured eggs, and a few that were oddly shaped, figured I had nothing to lose as there was plently of room in the bator. There were 2 eggs that were huge and wouldn't be surprised if they were double yolkers but not expecting anything from them. This is very much a giant learning curve so I'll give anything a go just to see what happens.
So I'm pretty confident I'm seeing some sort of development in there anyway, there are definite changes from when the eggs first went in.

 

[RonnieAtkeson]

I usualy candle day 5. Its earsier on white/offwhite or very light brown eggs. Darker eggs are harder and need more time. Green eggs seem to be the worse for me. I can usualy tell pretty well by the 5th day, im impatient i guess.

 

[TreeHugger]

For white eggs I wait until day 5-7. I pull out anything not developing & if there are any eggs I'm unsure about I leave and then repeat the process on day 14th.

When I hatched out peafowl eggs I ended up waiting until about day 20 since I couldn't figure out if I was seeing anything or not.