Candling: what you should see on day 7 and 14

Spot fertile eggs, blood rings and quitters with a bright torch.

1. 1

   Candle in a dark room with a bright LED torch held to the blunt end.

2. 2

   Day 7: a spider of veins and a dark dot means fertile. Clear = infertile. A red ring = early death.

3. 3

   Day 14: the egg should be mostly dark with a clear air cell and visible movement.

4. 4

   Dark-shelled Marans eggs are hard to candle — judge by air cell size.