Q&A for How to Candle an Egg

Yes, or you can get the flashlight app for your phone.

It may not be a bad egg, but could be a hairline crack that cannot be felt. It's best to look for defects in the eggs before the start of incubation to help avoid problems and ensure the healthiest chicks.

Turn the eggs three times a day. Stop turning them on day 18 and raise the humidity level to around 70%.

Yes, it's fine to collect fertilized eggs for a few days to build up a clutch before giving them to a broody. Just shift the eggs around a bit each day, and don't use eggs over a week old.

No, every egg that has been in an incubator but has not developed runs the risk of bacterial infection that could make you very ill if you ate it. There are plenty of healthy eggs to eat out there, choose one of those instead.

They might hatch, but extreme temperature fluctuations can cause poorly developed chicks with foot and leg problems, among other things.

Any type of flashlight can work, but you'll have more luck with stronger flashlights.

Yes, usually she will do that with a bad egg, but not always. It's important to candle the eggs so make sure they are all developing so you don't end up with a bad egg exploding.

Put them back into the incubator and relax. Some eggs take longer to develop, and some species have thicker shells so it's harder to see inside them.

No. Any eggs that have quit are probably not healthy to eat. Generally, you do not want to eat eggs that have met an incubator or a brooding hen, as the actual edible egg part is no more, or has begun to develop. These eggs are not safe for consumption.

You'll have to make an incubator, or find a broody hen. Those are the only ways to incubate a chick.

No, do not crack the egg and only handle with caution. A cracked egg or one with a whole poked in it will not develop!

Yes, give her a full 3 weeks.

Guinea fowl eggs usually hatch at the twenty eighth day (day 28), but it's not rare for the chicks to hatch later. In fact, many bird eggs are know to hatch a little late. Wait about two to three days for any signs of hatching and if no chicks hatch by then, throw the eggs away.

As long as you wash your hands before touching them and do it quickly and gently, this should be fine, but keep in mind that developing embryos are very fragile and you risk the safety of the eggs when you handle them excessively. Once on day 7 and once on day 18 are really all you need.

It is fine. The black spot is the developing eye of the chick. This usually happens at around 3-4 days. The black spot wouldn't be there if the egg was not fertilized.

If you found it four days ago, there is sadly no way that the embryos are still alive - that's way too long to sit out.

No, once the chick has developed there's no egg contents inside. If you do crack the egg, blood and the unborn chick will come out. If you no longer want the developed egg then throw it in the bin but do not crack it at all!

It means temperature inside and outside. Use inside for your incubator.

Leave it for about 3 - 4 more days, as the outage could have caused a slow development.

It's generally best to wait to candle the eggs until they've been incubating for a week so that you can really see the development.

No, that's simply the coloration of the egg. Don't worry, color has nothing to do with the fertility. It's what's inside the egg that counts. If the splotches are inside, then that's the nerves, so don't worry either way.

Simply by candling them. You should see the developed chick inside. Also, never eat eggs that your broody hen has been sitting on or eggs that have come from the incubator. You can eat fertilised eggs but once the chick has developed inside, it is no longer edible.

It can be, but it also might be a result of you moving the egg from the incubator. Mark those eggs so if they have problems with hatching, you know the symptoms for the next time.

No. If it's fertile, the yolk itself will contain what is called a "bullseye." It's a sometimes faint, and sometimes considerably darker white circle on the yolk itself. A larger white piece (called chalazae) in your yolk can indicate that the egg was not fertilized, but its primary job is to anchor the yolk to the egg.

No. There wouldn't be any roosters around the egg-layers, and even if there inexplicably were, the refrigeration would have killed any potential embryo.

By days five and six, you should start to candle your chicken eggs. By these days, if the chick is growing, you should see a spider web, and by day eight, your egg should have a full spider web.

In means the temperature of the area where your device is actually placed, while out is the temperature reading by the sensor which is usually connected outside via cable.

You'll have to either purchase one, hope that the hen sits on the egg, or check how to Make a Simple Homemade Incubator for Chicks .

The eggs cannot be away from the mother for more than 20-30 minutes, or you'll risk the development of the eggs. Mother hens often leave the nest for 15-20 minutes during the day to eat, drink, and poop, so cooling the eggs for a short amount of time is no problem, but make sure to only remove them at night when the hen is drowsy.