Egg Candling

Candled egg at 9 days gestation

After about a week or so into incubation, I like to see how my embryos are coming along.  At this point you should be able to visualize the chick and vessels within the egg.  A good egg will glow a reddish-orange when the beam of the flashlight or egg candler is placed against it.  You should be able to see movement as the chick kicks and squirms inside the egg.  Some chicks move around more than others.  This little guy was moving up a storm so I decided to get a video.  (The video is of the same egg as pictured above at 9 days gestation). 

 

Egg candling is very easy.  All you need is a flashlight, a dark room, and of course an egg (or eggs).  I use a small flashlight but it has a very strong beam.   Just place the beam against the egg and behold.  Before your very eyes you can watch your chicks grow and develop.  I usually candle at least 2-3 times during the 21 days of incubation.  I always try to at least candle after the first week and then again at day 18 before they go into the hatching tray.  After that I don't like to bother them a lot.  After the first week you can easily see which eggs are good and which are bad.  At this point I throw away any bad eggs.  Bad eggs will be clear with only the yolk and air cell visible.  You may also see some blood spots or streaks indicating that the egg began to develop but stopped very early during incubation.  If you are unsure about any eggs and can't tell whether they are good or bad, leave them for another week and check back again then.  Eggs that appear porous when candled or have thicker or darker shells can sometimes make it difficult to see what is going on inside the egg.  I always like to draw a dot or a question mark on the top of any eggs I'm unsure about.  If I candle them again in a week and there has been no change, I'll throw them away.  

Small flashlight