People who hatch eggs at home know how crucial it is to have an egg candler. Egg Candler is useful in watching the stages of fertilization in the eggs during its incubation period. Making an egg candler is an easy and quick process. Before learning different ways to make an egg candler let us understand what you need to make an egg candler.
DIY Egg Candler
The instrument consists of a light source and one hole through which the light can pass. The size of the hole should be such that it can hold the egg and allow the light to pass through it.
Make a schedule for candling the eggs
A lot of people are confused and have frequently asked that when should they start candling the eggs. It is very irritating when you waste your time on an unfertilized egg and hence candling is essential because not only it tells whether the egg is fertilized or not it also shows the stages of development and fertilization.
When you keep your eggs on an incubator, call it Day Zero and mark in your calendar the date.
You should candle your eggs before keeping it on an incubator so that you can know the progress and development.
For better understanding, you can also click pictures while candling it on Day Zero.
Candling on this day will show you tiny crack that is generally not visible.
Now many people like to candle their eggs every single day which is not required. You can candle your eggs on Day Seven.
This will give you the proper idea of the development in the embryo.
You can observe the cracks if there are any, these cracks are not good for the embryo as it can cause bacterial infection and can hamper the progress in the development.
Next, you can candle the eggs on the Day Fourteen, this will give you the final idea of the embryo in the egg, and you will be able to see a mass in the egg when the light passes through it.
After this, it is advised not to candle or touch and turn the eggs as it is just a few days away from hatching.
One shouldn’t candle after Day 16 and 17.
Tips: You shouldn’t candle the eggs daily as the temperature fluctuates when you take it away from the incubator, and the process of hatching is heat sensitive. Candling eggs on Day 0, Day 7 and Day 14 is sufficient to give you an idea of the development of the embryo.
Egg candlers are easily available in the poultry farms and you can purchase it. But I would suggest you to make an egg handler on your own with the help of the supplies that are available in your house. Do It Yourself (DIYs) are the quick methods to make the candler and I am going to list three such DIYs that will no take more than five minutes to make.
Easiest DIY that takes five minutes to make Egg Candler :
1. Use an empty can to make the candler
For making this candler, you need an empty can. It can be readily available in your kitchen as a lot of chips and coffee manufacturer companies use cans for packaging. Now you can keep a bulb inside this can or also can keep a torchlight. Cover its one end with the cardboard and make sure that the other end is also covered. Make a hole in the cardboard such that it matches the size of the egg. Now keep the egg on the hole and allow the light to pass through the egg to give you an idea about the development stage of the embryo.
2. Use an empty toilet paper roll and torch!
Take an empty toilet paper roll and your phone or a torch. Keep one end of the toilet paper roll on the table and keep a torch covering in it entirely or keep it on the flashlight of your phone. Now keep the egg on the other side of the roll. This DIY is one of the easiest DIYs you can try for making a quick Egg Candler.
As the holes of toilet paper roll are generally smaller in size, this candler can be easily made.
3. Use a candle and the jar
Take an empty jar with a lid that has a hole. Place the candle inside the jar and close the lid. Now take the egg and keep it on the top where there is the hole. Using Candle for candling the eggs is one of the oldest methods.
Candling can give you the idea if the egg is of the excellent quality and will develop or the egg will not be able to develop. Generally one can notice the spreading of blood vessels when the egg is developing and if you don’t observe such vessels that indicates that the egg is not developing and there is some problem with the egg fertilization process.