Quail eggs are very difficult to candle, especially for a beginner who probably doesn't own a really good candler, but most people own a phone that just happens to have a decent light source. This is a guide for the beginner for what is normal for developing coturnix quail eggs candled with a phone light. Most especially it is a reassurance not to panic when you can't see veining/embryos in most (or any!) of your eggs. This is what normal/typical phone candled quail eggs look like, not outstanding pictures of embryos and veining that you probably need a great candler and some skill/experience to see.
When in doubt, compare your eggs to others in the same batch, any guide is only guidelines, and if you aren't sure, wait a few days before discarding eggs (unless obviously stinky). Have clean dry hands, be gentle and quick, candle in a dark room, have a flashlight handy if you need to visualize something, don't let the eggs get cold or over heated. Candle from the narrow end days 7-12 for best visibility, after day 13 you can't see much in a good egg. The more you practice, the better you will get. Opening up reject eggs is a great way to learn more about embryo development and the incubation process. You will have a certain number of eggs that fail no matter how good your technique, learn from them and keep incubating!
(That should be grow, not shrink!)
When in doubt, compare your eggs to others in the same batch, any guide is only guidelines, and if you aren't sure, wait a few days before discarding eggs (unless obviously stinky). Have clean dry hands, be gentle and quick, candle in a dark room, have a flashlight handy if you need to visualize something, don't let the eggs get cold or over heated. Candle from the narrow end days 7-12 for best visibility, after day 13 you can't see much in a good egg. The more you practice, the better you will get. Opening up reject eggs is a great way to learn more about embryo development and the incubation process. You will have a certain number of eggs that fail no matter how good your technique, learn from them and keep incubating!
(That should be grow, not shrink!)
