Candling Cortunix Eggs

[Tuxedo]

I've recently got back into breeding quail, and at the moment just have 2 quartets of Italian.
I'm hatching the eggs in an Octo20 and have the dividers set to the right size, each row will take 11 eggs and i put my first batch of 22 in last monday.(since then i've put in another 22) I want to candle the eggs because the quail are laying so well i could be using the extra space, but the normal torch way of candling isnt working for these eggs for obvious reasons (the markings/colours of the cortunix eggs). Is there anything special anyone uses to candle cortunix eggs? or do you just wait and see what hatches?  :?  All i can see when i candle is the air space, can this give any indication to fertility? I know it can help measure humidity in fertile eggs, but does it change if theyre not fertile?

Sorry for the long post  :roll:
Thanks

[recurveman]

my wife came up with a great way to candle bob white eggs.  We just used a mag light.  We took the mag light and pointed it towards the ceiling and put the egg on the lens of the light.  It worked great.  I'm not sure if that would work for your eggs.  My buddy had a candler that he made and it worked for my last batch of cortunix eggs.  I would think it would work though.  Give it a try and see.  I don't think you would have much to loose.  

We use one of those really small mag lights.  They take AA batteries and are only about 6 inches long.  Works great.  

Later,

recurveman

[IamTomm]

Those cheap 10 dollar egg candelers that you can buy from gqf or probably most any dealer work great for courtnix. I tried using flashlights and what not before for courtnix but it was next to impossible to tell for sure, but so far the best method was the candeler. I could see the veins and everything with the candler,  And for 10 bucks you can't beat that. I use it for ever batch of eggs I set. Every week I would candel and throw out what wasn't fertile.  Saved me tons of space in my incubator.

[pocketsierra]

You must have better eyes than I have.

I tried the $10 egg candler on 16 Coturnix eggs on Day 8.

Of a sample of 16, we found one with definite veins and an eye and movement. However, this is the egg that is pure white and like a bobwhite egg. One other, we judged a yolker and we were right. The rest, we just can't tell.  

We'll hold off on the rest of the candling for a few more days.

Some have said that the maglite will work and others, the econo candler. I found neither to work well.  I'm not sure I'll be able to tell anything in a few days either.  

Or perhaps we don't see anything happening because it's not. There is always next hatch if that is the case.

[Daan]

I build a candeling box to check the fertility of my eggs, i use a 120 watt light bulp enclosed in the box with just a small hole in the top, this is where you place the egg. because the light bulp is so hot i have a small computer fan that sucks fresh air into the box. i can see even through the thick shells of guineafowl. the box takes a lot of space but you can follow the development (if you want to) from day one. the size is about 35 cm around (its a cube).

[norseman]

This one is great for candling coturnix eggs. It is digital.  

[pocketsierra]

Tell us more!

[norseman]

Tell us more!

This digital candler show the heart rate. If you use a lamp for candling it will be near impossible to see if the chick is alive or not the last week before hatching. In this digital candler you se the heart rate until it hatches.

More pictures on my website.
 
It is a link to the manufacture at the bottom of the site.

[pocketsierra]

Here is a link to the product for the US:

http://www.avianbiotech.com/buddy.htm

I agree that it is really cool.

I can't justify $275 for it right now, so someone with a bigger operation please try it out for us.

Nathan