I was wondering what type of writing instrument every one use's to mark their eggs for turning. I almost used pencil on mine. Then I got to thinking, a pencil is lead, and an egg shell is a permeable barrier = lead leaching into the chick? I think next time I hatch I am going to get non-toxic markers and mark my egg as 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 etc. This way I can turn odd and evens to keep track of turning and also keep track at hatching. Using numbers will let me be able to say chick #3/4 pipped 16 hrs ago, and possibly help to catch any problems early. Or, if I am iffy on a egg during candling, you can immediately pick it out to check when needed. Does this sound like a good idea? Am I over thinking this whole hatching thing? LOL
Pencil's today are actually graphite, not lead like they used to be. Totally fine to use a plain ol' pencil to write on the eggs with. Although lead has not been used for writing since Roman times, lead poisoning from pencils was not uncommon; until the middle of the twentieth century the paint used for the outer coating could contain high concentrations of the element and this could be ingested when the pencil was sucked or chewed. (wikipedia)
I used pencil this last time around, and a crayola marker on my first hatch. Both worked fine- tho the pencil held up to the humidity WAY better than the marker!
I always use pencil. I mark them with a letter on one side (A for the first hatch of the year, B for the next, etc) and a number on the other side.
