Candling question

I have a few odds and ends in the incubator coming to the hatch date and was wondering, can someone articulate how to tell the difference between a fertile, full egg ready to hatch and a nasty rotted one ready to explode in the last few days of the incubation period. Some I suspect are rotted but I am reluctant to throw them out incase I am wrong...

I'm trying to find photos of "good egg vs. bad egg" in the last few days of incubation...

First, smell it. Right up under your nose and inhale. IF it's a rotting egg..you will know!

Second, crisp definition of light above and below air space. An egg that is alive has the light end and dark full end defined by a clear, definite, sharp, light and dark line. No fuzziness, no murkiness.

A dead egg is still dark below and light above, but the line that defines the two looks wet, hazy, soggy, not so crisp and clear. (when you are shining a light into the fat end)

I will put in one exception. ONCE, and only once, I had an accident with the air sac that allowed some liquid to seep into the air space, the line became murky and hazy, but the chick was alive. I knew it was because I could see 'bumping', that's when the chick pushes up into the air space. In 99.9% of the cases where a clear and distinct light and dark line turns murky, that chick has died.

Hope this makes sense. Good luck!

Hope these help

http://www.nzfarmstays.com/candle.html

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=73884.0

I use a 8 watt flashlite and I can see the chick moving a day before hatch day ..........so look at the egg and see if you see movement

Thank you! Three very helpful suggestions. Time to take another look at these eggs.

I'm not optimistic but don't want to rush to judgment before i am confidant...

So several of the turkey eggs had a murky margin between dark and light end and the light end was yellowish and the eggs smelled - not bad, but just "not right". So 11 year old nephew, being fearless, took them out and smashed them on a far part of the drive. They were mostly formed poults who had died a few days ago. Not a nice smell but not rotted.

So thanks for all the support. Think I need to check the heat on the incubator.