zero hatch in my bator??

[mortie]

Yeah it's not gross at all. Breaking open a quitter was a little never wracking for me but candling is like my favorite thing ever. It's like a drug. And this is the first (and possibly only) time I've hatched...or had chickens at all.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Here's a few of my candling photos from various stages of development

 

[enola]

I use dry incubating until day 18, candle once a week, have 2 LG incubators filled to capacity and a LG that I use as a hatcher.

I also cannot bring myself to do an eggtopsy. I have no problem culling a sick chicken and then performing a necropsy, have done crop surgery and sewed up some horrible dog inflicted wounds. But, cracking open an egg with a under developed chick? ??????? No way!

 

[PrairieChickens]

there is definitely something squeamariffic about eggtopsies. I can't bring myself to do them, even if I knew what to look for.

 

[mortie]

I don't think I will be doing any eggtopsies of my eggs after hatching is over. I'll candle before lockdown and then whatever happens, happens. I don't want to crack open an egg with a fully formed chick inside that just didn't make it out. Too sad. The one I opened was a day 7 quitter so that wasn't as bad I guess.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Here's video of one of my eggs being candled at day 8