We are candling an egg using a simple AA maglite You can see a shadow see the embryo moving
near the top you can also see the air cell at the top this shows how much moisture has
been lost due to evaporation this is the right size for one week of incubation.
Move the flashlight up and down the side of the egg.
If there is a shadow cast any shadow at all this egg should continue to incubate.
In this egg you can see the embryo clearly moving.
When you turn the egg while candling...
TURN SLOWLY make sure your hands have been washed.
Skin oil can block the pores on the shell.
Remember...
any shadow cast and the egg should be continued in the incubator.
You can see vascular development against the shell...
This is a DUD, no shadow is cast...
It's safe to remove this egg from the incubator.
Probably not fertile at all.
If in doubt, you can keep the egg until the second week.
You can see the embryo swimming in this egg.
See it?
These are one week into incubation...
Bantam Chicken Eggs The flashlight does not generate heat...
Another very active one.
All Healthy and Active embryos...
Just a shadow is enough to let us know it's a good egg.
Fertile...
Look carefully for blood vessels this is how the embryo gets nutrition from the albumen...
Lighting from the side is better than lighting from the top or bottom...
Never EVER spin the egg quickly...
the contents may spin and damage the embryo...
Check the air cell at the top... this indicates proper dehydration rate.
This incubator is being run DRY...
This one is really moving around a lot...
At two weeks, non-developing eggs MUST be removed and thrown away...