Candling duck eggs by day: how to check development at home

When hatching ducklings in an incubator, it becomes necessary to check whether the embryos in the egg develop correctly. Control allows you to identify how development is going, whether there are problems, makes it possible to reject unsuitable specimens. Consider the features of candling duck eggs by day, how and with what devices this can be done at home.

Subtleties of the procedure

Candling is the translucence of poultry eggs under an ovoscope - a special device with a lamp. In a translucent egg, you can see if it is suitable for laying in an incubator, and then determine how the embryo develops.If there are no deviations in development, you can continue its incubation, if there are, throw it away.

You can check duck eggs for embryos at home using an ovoscope, which is easy to purchase. But you can also make it yourself - from a cardboard box and a lamp with a power of at least 100 watts. At the top of the box, make a hole, slightly smaller than the size of a standard egg, on which the eggs will then be placed. At the bottom you need to put a reflector to increase the power of light. You can see through the eggs of ducks and musky ducks, or indo-ducks, as they are called.

Candling duck eggs by day

The first time the procedure must be carried out even before laying in the incubator. Then it is done 1 time during 4 periods in which the development of the embryo occurs, and a few days before the ducklings hatch.

Before bookmark

Transillumination allows you to determine the quality and unsuitable for incubation material. You can determine whether the egg is fertilized or not, and its other characteristics.

A good egg should be large, weigh at least 75-95 g, the correct oval shape, with a strong, smooth, without cracks and sagging shell. When translucent, you can find out the mobility of the yolk, its placement inside the shell, the clarity of its edges. You can see where the air chamber is located and its dimensions, whether there are stains, stripes and foreign matter in the content of the protein, such as sand or parasites.

Any defect means that the copy is unsuitable for bookmarking. Not only will it not develop into a he althy duckling, but it can deteriorate in the process, burst, and its contents fall on the others.

On the 7th day

When a week has passed from the start of incubation, the 1st transillumination is carried out. The procedure should take as little time as possible, since the eggs should not be chilled. The sequence of work: put the egg on the ovoscope with a blunt end and, scrolling around the axis, inspect the contents through the shell.The bulk should have a pleasant pinkish color, in the center there will be a noticeably darkish spot in the shape of a comma. The stain will move easily if the egg is stirred. You can see an air chamber and a network of blood vessels inside.

If the shell is light, the embryo is not found in the middle or it is dark, placed close to the shell, this indicates the death of the embryo. If there are no signs of development of the circulatory system, this means that the egg most likely was not fertilized and the embryo did not develop.

On the 16th day

The second transillumination can be combined with cooling, its duration can be 20 minutes. You can take your time and take a good look at all the contents. At this time, the duck embryo is already so developed that even its outline can be seen. The circulatory network and the light air chamber are clearly visible. At the 2nd stage, it is already easy to identify dead embryos and discard them.

You can learn about frozen development by the immobility of the dark spot and minimally developed vessels. If the shell is translucent without problems, the air chamber is excessively large, this is also a sign that there is no duckling in it. After examining the eggs, you need to sprinkle it with water and return it to the incubator, putting it on the other side.

On the 19th day

The next candling is when the duck embryo is almost formed. Many poultry farmers recommend scanning the material on the 19th day, although the procedure is allowed on the 25th.

This time, eggs that did not pass the selection according to the characteristics noted in the previous version are also rejected. However, there are also differences. If the embryo is visible, but it does not move, this may mean that it has died. Such an instance needs to be checked again.

After translucent, which also lasts 20 minutes, the eggs must be sprinkled with water and put back in the incubator.

In the last days

The last time candling is done 2-3 days before hatching. When translucent, dark contents should be visible, which occupies almost the entire space, and a bright, clearly demarcated chamber with air. Suspicious signs: no movement, that is, the embryo does not move at all. The air chamber takes up more space than it should, an empty area may glow at the sharp end, blood vessels are poorly developed.

Signs of abnormality

At various stages, developmental disorders may look like this:

• offset of the chamber with air to the side or sharp end;
• Egg contents are orange or red-orange;
• the yolk moves freely inside the shell due to broken hailstones or stuck to one wall;
• blood rings;
• embryo stuck to the shell wall;
• underdeveloped or absent blood vessels.

When such violations are detected, the probability of embryo death is high. Violations of the rules of incubation lead to this: incorrect humidity and temperature, as well as the fact that the material is not turned over on time.

Candling of duck eggs allows at home, when using an incubator, to determine if there are disturbances in the development of duck embryos or if everything is going well. And also choose the most suitable material for bookmarking. An ovoscope is a simple device that you can buy or make yourself.

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