When to candle eggs that im selling

[Cluckingham Palace Ranch]

I'm new to this and do NOT want to incubate, or hatch. I'm just eating my eggs myself and selling them. I've been candling them, with my flashlight, right after I collect them from the nesting boxes, to make sure neither of my roosters have fertilized them, before storing on my shelf to eat, or sell. But every comment, Google search, and video I see, says to wait 3-7 days before candling them. ????? Is that just if you want to hatch/incubate? I usually candle right away and then put them in cartons, with the larger end down and the smaller end pointing up, that I store (unwashed) on shelves in my spare bedroom. I WAS storing them in the garage refrigerator (unwashed), but was told not to do that. ??? Any help would be much appreciated. I'm so confused with what the correct thing to do is.

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

I'm new to this and do NOT want to incubate, or hatch. I'm just eating my eggs myself and selling them. I've been candling them, with my flashlight, right after I collect them from the nesting boxes, to make sure neither of my roosters have fertilized them, before storing on my shelf to eat, or sell. But every comment, Google search, and video I see, says to wait 3-7 days before candling them. ????? Is that just if you want to hatch/incubate? I usually candle right away and then put them in cartons, with the larger end down and the smaller end pointing up, that I store (unwashed) on shelves in my spare bedroom. I WAS storing them in the garage refrigerator (unwashed), but was told not to do that. ??? Any help would be much appreciated. I'm so confused with what the correct thing to do is.

Are you selling for hatching/incubating or for eating?

 

[PioneerChicks]

You cannot tell if an egg is fertile by candling. Candling is only for checking if the chick is developing in the egg during the hatch.

Fertile eggs are completely edible! Fertile eggs have the potential to become a chick, but won't become one unless they have been kept in temps of 99 degrees for over 24 hours. So they won't be developing inside your fridge or on your counter.

Your eggs are probably already fertile if you have roosters. You can look for the "bullseye" on the yolk of a cracked egg to tell. I don't have any pictures of this, but I'm sure somebody else does.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Have a great day!

 

[Fallenone05]

I don't remember why you need to put the pointy end down in the carton but storing them unwashed is fine. I stored eggs with the round end down for years and never had any problems. Washing them removes the bloom, or an anti-bacterial coating, that the hen leaves when she lays them. Unwashed eggs, unless super poopy, are completely fine.

And like the others have mentioned, if you're gathering eggs *every day* your eggs have not had the time to become embryos. Candling them is completely unnecessary.

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

I don't remember why you need to put the pointy end down in the carton but storing them unwashed is fine. I stored eggs with the round end down for years and never had any problems. Washing them removes the bloom, or an anti-bacterial coating, that the hen leaves when she lays them. Unwashed eggs, unless super poopy, are completely fine.

And like the others have mentioned, if you're gathering eggs *every day* your eggs have not had the time to become embryos. Candling them is completely unnecessary.

I was told pointy end down because of the air sac.

 

[50-45-1]

I store (unwashed) on shelves in my spare bedroom. I WAS storing them in the garage refrigerator (unwashed), but was told not to do that. ???

Pointy end down is universaly accepted as best practice because it keeps the yolk centered an from adhering to the inner egg shell.
Why do you not refigerate?
Refrigeration is proven to keep food fresher longer. Period...
No, you dont have to wash or refigerate YOUR eggs but I think you must disclose this to your egg buyers so they are aware of there foods handling.
Candling your eggs is a waste of time and effort as long as your eggs are gathered every day when fresh.
I gather my eggs daily, wash and refrigerate. My customers always get the freshest eggs. I use my older ones for my family. Still never a bad egg.

 

[FernbergFarms]

Candling then would be if you had them in the incubator for 3-7 days.
If your not incubating them your not gonna see anything in the eggs. You can eat fertilized eggs so if your worried about that it’s not a problem. I’m not quite sure why you were actually candling them but your not gonna see if they’re fertile by that unless you’ve been incubating them and then you’d see a chick form... so you only need to candle them if your hatching them. And if you are shipping them to hatch then pointy end down but if their just eating eggs it doesn’t matter

 

[gandalf_of_chickens]

Not sure what the etiquette is on bumping old threads but I had this same question and it doesn't seem like there's a clear answer to the original question. My state "requires" candling if you are selling to a store because candling is apparently how you establish grade - by looking at the air gap in the egg and looking for any blood spots.

We've just washed our first batch of for-sale eggs and weren't sure if we need to candle them immediately or if it's okay to go ahead and refrigerate them and candle them later if we don't have time right now.

 

[aart]

Not sure what the etiquette is on bumping old threads but I had this same question and it doesn't seem like there's a clear answer to the original question. My state "requires" candling if you are selling to a store because candling is apparently how you establish grade - by looking at the air gap in the egg and looking for any blood spots.

We've just washed our first batch of for-sale eggs and weren't sure if we need to candle them immediately or if it's okay to go ahead and refrigerate them and candle them later if we don't have time right now.

I would think that if candling is necessary for selling, you'd want to candle just before you sell them. Storage can change the status of the air cell.