Brand/type of flashlight for candling green/blue eggs?

[donrae]

Hey folks, I'm hoping one of you regular candlers can help me out. I've been using a Mag light, and it does just fine on my brown eggs and some of my green eggs. But, I've got a batch of green eggs under a broody that I really want to get an accurate read on. She was on day 4 when a fiasco in the coop made me decide to move her. Well, she didn't take the move well and was more off the eggs than on for over a day. I did set her on them at night, and now after 2 days she's pretty tight to the nest. The fiasco involved a cracked egg that I broke open, and it was developing nicely, with a good area of veins. I don't really want to toss these eggs, but I'm not sure how they handled the transition. So, long story short, I need advice on a good flashlight, available at a big box or hardware store, that will shine through nice thick shelled dark green or blue eggs. Suggestions?

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi I know you asked for a brand of flash light for a candler but I have to recommend the Brinsea ova view candler. After struggling with a flash light I decided to invest in an ova view I know it's a little more expensive but really not that much more than a good flash light. It works well and is easy to handle and also has a good rubber seal on it that doesn't let the light escape therefore giving good results at candling. http://www.brinsea.co.uk/.

 

[donrae]

Thanks for the response. I may have to step up and get something like that. I was just trying to have to avoid ordering something.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hey folks, I'm hoping one of you regular candlers can help me out. I've been using a Mag light, and it does just fine on my brown eggs and some of my green eggs. But, I've got a batch of green eggs under a broody that I really want to get an accurate read on. She was on day 4 when a fiasco in the coop made me decide to move her...... So, long story short, I need advice on a good flashlight, available at a big box or hardware store, that will shine through nice thick shelled dark green or blue eggs. Suggestions?

Why not use a No. 10 tin can or similar sized metal coffee can with a proper sized electric light bulb socket and an intense bulb like one from a projector. Also it helps loads to see inside the egg if you do all of your candling in a very dark place or room. Suspend the bulb in the middle of the tin can close to the open end and cut or drill a proper sized round hole in the bottom to hold the eggs over one at a time. If you look directly at the light even for a moment you will degrade your candling efficiency until your eyes grow use to the dark again.

 

[donrae]

That would probably work, but my idea was to look for something simple I could just purchase, no assembly required. Now, I'm just sitting in the dark dining room with a towel over my head

 

[Hannah15]

I've never candled blue or green eggs, but I use a Dewalt flashlight. I purchased it at a farm store, but I would assume you could get one anywhere that sells Dewalt tools. I went to purchase a Maglight, but the Dewalt had higher lumens for about the same price. It wasn't real cheap, but of course it can be used for things other than candling eggs, unlike a dedicated egg candler. As stated, I have never had a reason to candle blue or green eggs, but this light is BRIGHT. I can use it to detect development in peafowl eggs easily and by about 5 days, and I can see development in most of my chicken eggs by day 3. It is bright enough that I can candle my chicken eggs during the daylight. Unfortunately, it does burn through batteries very quickly (the light is dimmer, and I realize I can't see through them as well), so I think I will be trying rechargeable batteries with it.

ETA: I figured I would come back to this quick with the model, though I am not sure if it is still available. It is a DWHT70645 and is 120 lumens.

 

[donrae]

Thanks Hannah, I'll look into that. My honey would probably love me buying a Dewalt anything

I candled them tonight with a small high-lumen light, just one of the little cheapies they have at the check out at the feed store. It worked fairly well, but I need more practice knowing what I'm looking at. Two eggs are possibly infertile, the rest all looked to have something going on. Definite movement in two, and what could be early death? rings on two. I just need to do this more to really know what I'm looking at. For now, I'm leaving all the eggs under the hen and will pull them in a few more days and try again.