Candling eggs

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:00 am

I haven't quite got the candling thing down yet.

I KNOW an egg is fertile once it becomes dark, but can't really tell otherwise. I have tried every method I have read.

If an egg has a sediment in one end of it...(for lack of knowing any other way to explain that" does that mean anything? I have a few eggs that have this....It sortof looks like the yoke is on the end. Does that make sense?

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 10:42 am

My "typical" finch egg has a white spot at one end - this is the air pocket. As I understand it, if you shine a bright light on the back side of the egg towards yourself (hold the egg between you and the light, and shine the light onto the egg), you should see, around day 5 a red spot and possibly reddish veins running out from that. That red spot is the beginning of the embyro... as I understand it. Sorry if I confused you - maybe others can explain it clearer. I've never done it to see actual veins growing out of the spot although I believe I've seen the reddish spot a couple of times.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 11:26 am

Thanks Liz..... I knew you would help me.

I have never seen the veins either. I usually wait and if the egg is dark colored, I KNOW it was fertile. The "air pocket" is what I wondered about. If you see that it doesn't have anything to do with fertility, right?

Also, is there a way of doing if it is DIS other than not hatching.

Sorry for the silly questions......

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:16 pm

I've read/heard if the egg turns a 'pearly' colour - then it is fertile. But I've seen them go really, really dark and they are DIS then.

No the airpocket has nothing to do with fertility. The eggs are laid with an airpocket already in there. Isn't nature awesome?!

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:02 pm

I've experienced DIS eggs that take on a brownish appearance if the embryo dies later in the incubation. If it's earlier, the inside looks yellow where you can't tell where the yolk is. The entire insides look yellow.
From the 5th day on, you should see veins and the chicks heart beating. Then it gets darker and darker and the shell looks porcelain.

Post by **Hilary** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:19 pm

I can't tell from a distance, but shining a light on the egg makes it pretty obvious - red veins early on, all over red glow later. In old infertile eggs the air pocket and contents of the egg look "set" in place.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:04 pm

Thanks for posting this question Donna, I have been wondering the exact nature of egg candling myself. From all these descriptions I think I can safely get my hopes up for one good egg. I thought with the inside turning so dark that it wasnt fertile, but the shell looks so pearly white and its a dark color inside so maybe in the next few days it will hatch...

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:24 pm

Your welcome. You would think with all these eggs I have had hatching I would know. But I never can tell if they are fertile until they turn really dark and by that time they are about to hatch. I can never catch it early and I hate it when my birds sit and sit for nothing.

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:28 pm

after you see them turn dark red, how long till they hatch. I was checking them today because I was going to toss them as it seems a little past when they should have hatched, but I have no idea when this egg was laid as it was dropped at least 7 to 10 days after the first three eggs. I expected the first eggs to hatch between x-mas and new years so this one is pushing the time...so confused and hopeful.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:09 pm

I didn't notice eggs being dark red. Just dark on the inside. I wouldn 't toss them yet. I just had three more courdons to hatch today that I thought might be DIS>

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:13 pm

**grrr** patience has never been a virtue of mine...leave it to a finch to make me learn a lesson my parents tried so hard to teach me.

FinchezRule · Post by **FinchezRule** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:22 pm

I used to turn on a flashlight in a dark room, and hold the egg above it....I could always see veins and a heart beating. Lately I haven't been candling as I know that my pairs have always had fertile eggs so I don't see a need to. I figure the less I bother them the better off they'll be.