Hey all, I am trying some eggs under a broody chicken and I wanted to know when is the earliest I can candle with a flashlight and get good results ( if there are any)
When is the earliest time to candle?
did you gather them from your flock & properly store them, or have them shipped?
i would check the air sacs right away, but then again you don't want to bother the hen either.
if i were incubating, i'd check right away, at 7, 10, 14, & 18 days...
what kind is she hatching, just curious,
tf
I have found that with lighter brown eggs, you can usually see veins by the fifth day. With darker eggs, (and a good light) usually by seven days. Ameraucana eggs - forget about it. You may not ever be able to see thru them. I haven't incubated white eggs before, but I would guess that you would easily see veins by the fourth or fifth day with those. That has been my experience, someone else may have a different experience.
Well, I've had some recent troubles. 10 of my chickens have been killed/disappeared from their yard. I have only a few silkies left, and one is very broody, so I thought I would stick some eggs under her and see what happens, as I am trying to repopulate. The eggs would be speckled sussex crossed with easter egger, white rock or barred rock. So, they are light brown, medium brown and light green. I gathered them from my flock all the same day. There are five, but all may not be fertile. The girls don't kiss and tell. :)
How do you check the air sacs?
The air sacs may be checked the same way as you would for signs of fertility, with a flashlight or candler. You hold the light on the large end and tip the egg horizontally, to see if the air sac floats from its proper position. You are probably going to have a difficult time candling those eggs based on what breed they are. At least using a broody hen, she will kick out the bad eggs, so I understand from reading things around this forum.
sounds like just let your hen do her thing. you might could add a few more eggs too, & then let her do the cull. their sense of smell, instinct, etc, is uncanny!
hope this works, you sure need some new ones. we are repopulating here too.
I typically don't candle til day 7. You might want to have an incubator running in the background just in case the silkie decides she is done being broody and gives up. That way you can slip them into the bator to finish off.
Do you need eggs from an outside source for more variety ?? Dmail me would be happy to help with the cause...lol. I've got 3 incubators running and 2 brooders with chicks (in the house because we are still buried in snow & ice.... very depressing)
My flock consists of the following :::
**Standard Hens~ Buff Orps, Australorps, Chanteclers, Blue & Black Cochins, BLRWyandottes, GLWyandotte, Lt Brahma, EE's
**St Roo's~ Black Cochin, Blue Lace Red Wyandotte, Blue Orpington
** Banty Roo's ~ Silkies, Birchen Cochin, Salmon Faverolle, self blue D'Uccle
**Banty Hens~ Silkies (buff, blue, partridge, black,splash) , Salmon Faverolle, Black and Blue Cochin, Silver Laced Cochin, Partridge Cochin X, Millie Game hen & self blue D'Uccles
You may get purebred or mixed eggs as my flock is not separated at this time. I'm getting a lot of blue hatching out..... I was looking at the brooder box last week thinking I really need to get more color diversity going on here.
Julie =0)
This message was edited Mar 14, 2008 7:13 AM
7 to 10 days if you are inexperienced
better safe than sorry
I usually wait till 7 days...but if I'm curious about the fertility, and may need to change cockbirds I'll do it after 5 days
hey, was reading in that guide to better hatching book and got some suggestions for you. be right back...
from A Guide to Better Hatching by Janet Stromberg... from the section on Natural Hatching...
[some of this you already know im sure]
"... it is better to delay the first testing of eggs until the ninth day, when all clears should be removed. Eggs should be teseted again at the fifteenth or sixteenth day, and any dead in shell removed."
forgive my terrbile typing. i guess you also know [i didn't] to be sure there are no eggs tucked under her wings before lifitn the hen out...
Guess what everybody? I got too excited to wait, and out of my four eggs under her, 2 have small spidery red veins and a tiny blob! The other two I can't tell yet.
I'm so excited!
I hid in the bathroom, which is pitch dark, with my high powered flashlight. I'm just so thrilled!
I also found this little site which I thought was nice
http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html it has some examples
AWESOME!
Great news! soon you will have new lil one!