How Do You Tell If A Fertilised Egg Is Developing?

The old fashioned process of "candling" is still the best way to assess the development of an embryo in an egg. This simply means shining a bright light through the egg revealing its contents. Candles were the only means available, hence the name, but now a 75 watt light bulb does the job. You can buy a ready made candling gadget from specialist suppliers or make your own. Eggs are usually candled at the end of the first and second weeks to check for infertile eggs and those in which an embryo has died. After that it is best to leave the eggs incubating at steady temperature and humidity levels. In a bright light the translucent shell will reveal the embryo and a spidering of blood vessels. A dead embryo will not be surrounded by this spidering but will show a distinctive "blood ring" which signals the blood has moves out and away from the embryo.

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You put it in front of a light, and just look!

If you think it's gone bad just put it in water, and if one end floats up off the bottom then it's bad!

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