Egg Candling

[Wrenflight]

Hello!
This is my first time incubating eggs.
I’m not sure if I’m doing it all right and I don’t know what to expect. Today is day 8 and I took some photos of a couple eggs I candled.
Some of them look like they are/were developing, but I’m not sure if they still are or if they quit. The others I haven’t seen development/veining at all so I don’t know if they’re fertile (though they should be)
I would appreciate some analysis on how the eggs are progressing - dead? Quitters? Infertile? Growing?
They are RIR/production red eggs so some are darker shelled. I’m concerned they’re getting stuck to the sides of the shell based on how they look. They are hand turned twice a day.

Photos 1-2 egg 1
Photo 3 egg 2
Photos 4-5 egg 3
Photo 6 egg 4
Photos 7-8 egg 5
Photos 9-10 egg 6

 

[007Sean]

Photo #1, 2 egg 1 might be developing?
Photo #3 egg 2 not fertile
Photo #4, 5 egg 3 not fertile
Photo #6 egg 4 not fertile
Photo # 7, 8 egg 5 might be developing?
Photo # 9, 10 egg 6 not fertile

Do you see any movement in egg #1 and egg #5 ?

 

[Sussex19]

I find it very hard to tell around day 8, I don't know why. If I were you, I would wait till around day 12 before tossing any. At that point, veins should be very obvious, and you should be able to see movement clearly, as well.

 

[Sussex19]

Oh, another thing is I have read, (no first hand experience as I usually leave it to the hens) that one should turn eggs 3 to 5 times a day.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hello!
This is my first time incubating eggs.
I’m not sure if I’m doing it all right and I don’t know what to expect. Today is day 8 and I took some photos of a couple eggs I candled.
Some of them look like they are/were developing, but I’m not sure if they still are or if they quit. The others I haven’t seen development/veining at all so I don’t know if they’re fertile (though they should be)
I would appreciate some analysis on how the eggs are progressing - dead? Quitters? Infertile? Growing?
They are RIR/production red eggs so some are darker shelled. I’m concerned they’re getting stuck to the sides of the shell based on how they look. They are hand turned twice a day.

Photos 1-2 egg 1
Photo 3 egg 2
Photos 4-5 egg 3
Photo 6 egg 4
Photos 7-8 egg 5
Photos 9-10 egg 6

Hello!
This is my first time incubating eggs.
I’m not sure if I’m doing it all right and I don’t know what to expect. Today is day 8 and I took some photos of a couple eggs I candled.
Some of them look like they are/were developing, but I’m not sure if they still are or if they quit. The others I haven’t seen development/veining at all so I don’t know if they’re fertile (though they should be)
I would appreciate some analysis on how the eggs are progressing - dead? Quitters? Infertile? Growing?
They are RIR/production red eggs so some are darker shelled. I’m concerned they’re getting stuck to the sides of the shell based on how they look. They are hand turned twice a day.

Photos 1-2 egg 1
Photo 3 egg 2
Photos 4-5 egg 3
Photo 6 egg 4
Photos 7-8 egg 5
Photos 9-10 egg 6

I can see embryos in most of these but some are really hard to see veins. Its too early to consider any unviable in my opinion, its best to wait until day ten. By then it should be really clear whether there is a baby growing and moving about.
As long as you can see veins and movement, its alive.

One concern here is turning twice a day, that is actually potentially harmful. They really need to be turned a minimum of 3 times a day, 5 is even better. And it should always be an odd number, otherwise the egg will end up sitting on the same side for prolonged periods of time.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I second what @BelovedBirds has said
I turn my eggs 3-5 times a day but push towards 5. I have also learned that each time you turn it opposite
One time to the right the next time to the left
With duck eggs or white chicken eggs it’s much easier to see veins
With some chicken eggs that are darker it can be tricky
I would watch for movement and veins in the coming days
I candle me eggs everyday it doesn’t hurt them and this way I can monitor the growth and know they are viable and nobody is quitting. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Ridgerunner]

One concern here is turning twice a day, that is actually potentially harmful.

Could you please explain why turning twice a day is considered harmful?

Turning "helps" keep the yolk and developing embryo from touching the inside of the shell where it can get stuck. Turning "helps" body parts develop in the right places. Turning "helps" with the function of the embryotic fluids. Helps. That doesn't mean the egg absolutely won't hatch if you never turn it, but the odds of it hatching increase some if you do turn. From one study I saw it is not a tremendous amount but it is noticeable.

The more often you turn them the more it helps, to a certain extent. The commercial operations that may hatch 1,000,000 chicks a week in each of their several hatcheries will see a difference in turning 5 times a day instead of 3 but with our smaller hatches we won't see any significant difference. They use automatic turners and turn many more times a day than 3 or 5. The commercial operations are the ones paying for the studies so the results are tailored to their operations, not ours. There are different things on this forum from their studies that are "better" at their scale but aren't noticeable at out scale. I still try to follow most of them within reason but don't always obsess about them.

Where the odd number of turns a day comes from is that we typically turn on a schedule. We turn the same time each day. Say for a three times a day schedule you turn when you get up, when you get home from work or school, and when you go to bed. These are different times spans. Over a two day period of turning on this schedule one certain side of the egg spends half the time up and half the time down. If you turn an even number of times a day one side may spend more time up every day. I don't know where this has been studied, the people paying for the studies use auto turners so they don't worry about this type of thing, but it is logical to assume it's a good idea to sort of balance it out. When I hand turn it is three times a day on a specific schedule.

As far as I'm concerned turning once a day is better than not turning at all. Twice a day is marginally better, especially if the time spans are somewhat equal. Three times a day is again marginally better but that margin is getting pretty thin.

@Wrenflight don't let somebody make you feel guilty and that you have hurt your eggs by turning twice a day. As far as I am concerned you have not.

I personally do not toss any eggs from candling until day 18, when I go into lockdown. I remove the ones I am sure of then to make it easier to follow the pipping and hatching of the others. If there is any question at all I leave it in through hatch. Use this first time to gain experience in candling.

I typically candle twice. On day 7 I'm mostly looking for veining. I use a black or red sharpie to mark which ones I think are developing and which are not. I put them all back. With my dark green eggs it can be hard to see much. Then at day 18 when I go into lockdown I remove the clears. There is nothing wrong with candling more often, it can be a learning experience and is fascinating when you see movement.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Could you please explain why turning twice a day is considered harmful?

Turning "helps" keep the yolk and developing embryo from touching the inside of the shell where it can get stuck. Turning "helps" body parts develop in the right places. Turning "helps" with the function of the embryotic fluids. Helps. That doesn't mean the egg absolutely won't hatch if you never turn it, but the odds of it hatching increase some if you do turn. From one study I saw it is not a tremendous amount but it is noticeable.

The more often you turn them the more it helps, to a certain extent. The commercial operations that may hatch 1,000,000 chicks a week in each of their several hatcheries will see a difference in turning 5 times a day instead of 3 but with our smaller hatches we won't see any significant difference. They use automatic turners and turn many more times a day than 3 or 5. The commercial operations are the ones paying for the studies so the results are tailored to their operations, not ours. There are different things on this forum from their studies that are "better" at their scale but aren't noticeable at out scale. I still try to follow most of them within reason but don't always obsess about them.

Where the odd number of turns a day comes from is that we typically turn on a schedule. We turn the same time each day. Say for a three times a day schedule you turn when you get up, when you get home from work or school, and when you go to bed. These are different times spans. Over a two day period of turning on this schedule one certain side of the egg spends half the time up and half the time down. If you turn an even number of times a day one side may spend more time up every day. I don't know where this has been studied, the people paying for the studies use auto turners so they don't worry about this type of thing, but it is logical to assume it's a good idea to sort of balance it out. When I hand turn it is three times a day on a specific schedule.

As far as I'm concerned turning once a day is better than not turning at all. Twice a day is marginally better, especially if the time spans are somewhat equal. Three times a day is again marginally better but that margin is getting pretty thin.

@Wrenflight don't let somebody make you feel guilty and that you have hurt your eggs by turning twice a day. As far as I am concerned you have not.

I personally do not toss any eggs from candling until day 18, when I go into lockdown. I remove the ones I am sure of then to make it easier to follow the pipping and hatching of the others. If there is any question at all I leave it in through hatch. Use this first time to gain experience in candling.

I typically candle twice. On day 7 I'm mostly looking for veining. I use a black or red sharpie to mark which ones I think are developing and which are not. I put them all back. With my dark green eggs it can be hard to see much. Then at day 18 when I go into lockdown I remove the clears. There is nothing wrong with candling more often, it can be a learning experience and is fascinating when you see movement.

i said it can "potentially" be harmful. I'm well aware of the necessity of turning eggs, which is why I said 3 times per day is a good minimum. And I'm not making anyone feel "guilty", merely giving a tip that would better ensure healthy growth.

When you turn an egg an even amount of times, say, twice, per day, the egg is left resting on the same side for prolonged periods of time especially overnight. Turning the egg an uneven amount of the times, ensures the egg is not left too long on the same side. It's a small mistake, as far as things so, but it is still something to consider. I made this mistake and only learned this informarion fairly recently. It makes sense to me, so I stick with it. You may have a different method/experience, and thats fine, thats the beauty of this forum.

Two turns per day, regardless of how you feel about the "even, odd" thing, is below the recomended minimum amount, anyway, so I would always suggest turning more often. Better than nothing? of course. But sometimes people aren't aware that it should be more often, and telling them that isn't wrong. The more the egg is turned, the better, to simulate the hen doing this (far more often than we do).

 

[Wrenflight]

Thank you all for your responses. I’ll wait some more before I decide to toss any. I’ve just heard of eggs exploding if they aren’t growing and left in the incubator for too long

As for egg turning, unfortunately turning 2 times a day is the only thing that works best for my current schedule. Definitely looking into automatic turners for future hatches though

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve just heard of eggs exploding if they aren’t growing and left in the incubator for too long

What causes an egg to explode has nothing to do with whether it is growing or not. If bacteria gets inside the porous shell the egg material inside is perfect for its growth and incubation temperature is perfect for rapid growth. Egg is often used in the laboratory to culture bacteria.

If the embryo is developing and bacteria gets inside, the bacteria kills the embryo. It doesn't matter if it is growing or not.


One of the last things a hen does when laying an egg is put a liquid layer we call bloom on the egg. That's why the egg looks wet when it is laid, but it quickly dries. As long as the bloom stays intact it is very good at keeping bacteria out of the egg. A hen can lay eggs in a nest for two weeks until she gets a clutch and them incubate them for another three weeks without bacteria getting inside. Other fowl, like ducks and turkeys, can go 4 to 5 weeks of incubating and the bloom still works.

if the bloom is compromised then bacteria can get inside. Can, doesn't always. Don't wash the eggs or rub the bloom off before you start incubating. Don't set dirty eggs. Thick mud or blobs of poop can let bacteria in. Keep your hands clean when handling the eggs, oily hands are not good. Sterilize your incubator before you set eggs.

When bacteria get inside the eggs it can be horrible. Have you ever smelled the rotten egg smell? I don't know how candling tells you that bacteria is inside the egg. You should be able to smell that rotten egg smell if the egg is infected. That's what I use, smell. If you use reasonable precautions a rotten egg is really rare, whether in an incubator or under a broody hen. They can occur so I don't lightly blow them off, but it's not something I am very concerned about.

Where are my manners. Welcome to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined.