In my experience, turkey eggs are some of the easiest poultry to hatch–even if youre a beginner. In this article, Im going to walk you step-by-step through the method Ive used to repeatedly achieve 100% hatch rates, using small tabletop incubators. Photo Credit: Salt in My Coffee.
Ive been hearing from a lot of fellow homesteaders lately, that theyre finding turkey eggs especially hard to hatch. Watching a broody hen hatch out a fluffy little brood can be especially heartwarming, but females of any poultry species arent always broody when you need them to be, and sometimes you really do need to be able to reliably hatch out eggs yourself!
Im hoping this post might help anybody who wants to confidently and successfully hatch their own turkey poults, using an incubator. Its so much fun, and so rewarding! Photo Credit: Salt in My Coffee.
This post is going to be a longer one, because I want to be thorough, and am going to talk the whole process through, right from the beginning. If youd just like to quickly get the temperature and incubator humidity settings, please feel free to tap that “jump to” button below, and it will take you right to the printable cheat sheet.
For the rest of you, lets start at the very beginning. Photo Credit: Salt in My Coffee.
If youre hatching turkey eggs, theyre going to come from one of two places: your flock, or someone elses flock. If youre looking to hatch eggs from your own flock, you definitely have an advantage of being able to control the feed and living conditions of your mother hen, as well as the way you handle the eggs once you gather them.
Candling turkey eggs during incubation is an essential step for successfully hatching healthy poults. Knowing when to candle the eggs and what to look for can make all the difference. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about candling turkey eggs.
What is Candling?
Candling is the process of shining a bright light through an egg to see inside it. It allows you to monitor the development of the embryo and identify any potential issues.
When candling you are looking for a few key things
- Signs of fertility – a small, dark spot with spiderlike veins indicates a developing embryo
- Stage of development – the size and features of the embryo give clues to its growth
- Dead embryos – clouding or a dark ring mean the embryo died early on
- Cracks, blood spots or other flaws – imperfections that could hamper development
Candling provides valuable information but should be done carefully. Don’t keep eggs out of the incubator for long and avoid excessive light or heat.
When to Candle Turkey Eggs
Candling schedule can vary a bit depending on factors like egg size and incubator type But generally
- Candle after 1 week of incubation – Assess fertility and check for early embryo death
- Candle again at 14 days – Confirm ongoing development, remove any quitters
- Candle a final time at 24 days – Check air cell size before hatch
The first candling at 7 days is the most important. But avoid candling in the first few days as the embryo is fragile. And don’t candle in the last 3 days before hatching.
What to Look for When Candling
Here’s what you should look for at each candling session
7 Days
- Dark spot with spider veins – Signs of a developing embryo
- Clear, empty interior – Likely an infertile egg
- Dark ring around interior – Early embryo death
- Cloudy interior – Quitter embryo died after starting to develop
14 Days
- Embryo size filling most of interior – Normal growth
- Visible veins but no embryo – Likely a quitters
- Enlarged air cell at broad end – Also indicates proper growth
24 Days
- Chick nearly fills interior – Ready to hatch soon
- Air cell over 1/3 interior space – Good for hatching
Candling Tips and Tricks
- Candle in dark room with bright focused light
- Rotate egg to see all angles and locate embryo
- Mark eggs with pencil to track changes between candling
- Monitor air cell size for humidity – Small means too wet
- Dark shells are harder to see through – Use strongest light
When Not to Candle
Avoid candling turkey eggs during these times:
- First 3 days – Embryo is extremely fragile
- Last 3 days – Chick is moving into hatch position
- Extended periods – Don’t risk temperature changes
Candle quickly and carefully to get a glimpse inside without disturbing development.
Signs of Trouble
Use candling to watch for these potentially troubling signs:
- No dark embryo spot – Likely infertile
- Cloudy spot with no veins – Quitter embryo
- Blood ring inside – Early embryo death
- No change between candling – Stalled development
- Excessive piping – Chick struggling to hatch
Candling for Success
Candling fills a critical role in the incubation process. When done properly at the right times, it provides valuable insights into fertility, embryo growth and hatch readiness.
Following these guidelines will help set your turkey eggs up for the best possible hatch. Pay close attention at that first candling session, and be prepared to remove any clearly non-viable eggs.
If in doubt on what you see inside the shell, give it a few more days before making any decisions. Track changes between candlings, and adjust your incubator conditions as needed.
With some practice reading turkey egg interiors, you’ll have a much better feel for when each embryo is thriving or struggling. Use candling to identify potential issues early and take corrective actions if needed.
The poults that do fully hatch will be healthier and stronger thanks to your diligent candling efforts. So take the time to candle, learn what to look for, and set your incubating turkey eggs up for success!
Should you help a turkey poult hatch?
Usually a poult will hatch just fine on its own. Its very easy to do more harm than good when helping poultry of any kind to hatch.
If youre concerned about whether your poults are progressing adequately, start by double checking your temperature and humidity levels. Is the temperature no higher than 98.5? Is the humidity no higher than 65%? If the answer is no to either of those questions, Id encourage you to fix that first.
If its been more than 24 hours since the poult broke through the shell, or if its been more than 8 hours since it made any progress after having begun to zip, I might start to consider whether assistance might be necessary.
If you do feel like you might need to intervene, begin by chipping through both the outer shell and the inside membrane, just a tiny bit at a time. Try widening the existing hole in the shell just a little bit on each side, helping to get a “zip line” going around the circumference of the shell.
If at any point you see blood, immediately put the egg back in the incubator, and wait at least half an hour before trying again. Sometimes, just a little bit of help is enough to get a baby “unstuck” and making progress again.
One of the most important things to keep in mind if you do help, is that you dont want to chip off pieces of the outer shell, while leaving the membrane underneath in tact. This exposes the membrane to the air, which allows it to harden, and turn leather-like…trapping the poult in the shell.
What can you do to help your turkey hen lay the best fertile hatching eggs?
To get fertile eggs, the most important thing youll need is a tom turkey. In my experience, most male turkeys begin mating activity in the spring, once there are enough hours of daylight. Usually, I expect to start seeing turkey eggs a few weeks after observing mating behavior. Photo Credit: Salt in My Coffee.
Unlike chickens, you probably wont see your tom mounting the hens every day. (This is a good thing, since toms can be huge and mating takes a greater toll on turkey hens than it does with chickens). Rest assured that just a few matings over the course of the laying season is generally adequate to ensure that youre continually getting fertile eggs from your hens.
Feeding a high-quality diet to your turkey flock is one of the earliest investments you can make in ensuring a successful outcome with your hatching endeavors. Healthy hens lay healthy eggs!
Allowing the hens to free-range and adjust their diet to their current nutritional demands is definitely beneficial, if you can.
Make sure your hens have clean nests, with abundant bedding material. Hatching clean, unwashed eggs generally gives the best results.
So to help ensure clean eggs, youll want to keep an eye on the nesting areas and make sure theyre fastidiously free of mud and poop.
If you do have your own fertile turkey eggs, you may want to consider advertising any extras for sale–its a great way of bringing in extra income a small homestead. Turkey hatching eggs are harder to find than many other types of hatching eggs, and can command a really strong price, whether sold by the egg, or by the dozen. The best eggs for hatching are clean, unwashed eggs. Photo Credit: Salt in My Coffee.
Candling The Turkey Eggs!
FAQ
How long can you keep turkey eggs before incubating?
- Keep eggs in a cool, dark place like a cupboard or pantry
- Store eggs in cartons with the broad end facing up
- Maintain a temperature of 50–65°F (10–12°C)
- Maintain a humidity of 70%
- Turn eggs daily to prevent the yolk from sticking to the shell
- Discard any cracked, damaged, or misshapen eggs
When should eggs be candled?
- Best time to candle: Around day 7 of incubation.
- Why candle at day 7: This is when the embryo is developing significantly and you can accurately determine viability.
- Potential second candling: Some people may candle again around day 14 to remove any dead embryos.
- Avoid early candling: Don’t candle eggs too early in incubation as it can disturb the embryo and may not show much development.
- Avoid late candling: Limit candling near the end of incubation as the chick is preparing to hatch.
When should you candle turkey eggs?
Candling your turkey eggs on the 7th day of incubation is an important part of the process. It will help you determine whether or not your eggs are viable and allows you to discard non-viable eggs before they become a health risk. More on candling turkey eggs later in this article. Keep Reading: Why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
How long after turning eggs can you candle a chick?
You can candle again after 14 days but not after you’ve stopped turning your eggs during the last few days before they hatch. We finish rotating chicken eggs at 18 days and duck eggs at 25 days. After this time, the chick is positioning itself, ready to emerge.
How long after incubation should a duck egg be candled?
The last few days of incubation are also not recommended for candling since the chick moves into position to hatch. I recommend candling chicken and duck eggs after 7 days of incubation and again at 14 days. After a week of incubation, you can be reasonably precise about the viability of the embryo.
Do turkey eggs need to be cooled before incubation?
Unlike chickens or ducks, your incubator temperature does not need to be reduced for turkeys. Candling your turkey eggs on the 7th day of incubation is an important part of the process. It will help you determine whether or not your eggs are viable and allows you to discard non-viable eggs before they become a health risk.
How do you candle eggs of birds?
Candling can be done with a special candling light or even a flashlight. The light allows you to see the shadows of the embryo inside the eggshell. Various devices are built or designed specifically for candling eggs of birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and quails.
Why do we candle eggs before incubation?
We candle eggs before incubation to look for cracks. These allow bacteria to enter during incubation. Cracked eggs are likely to become infected, causing the embryos to die prematurely. During incubation, we can use egg candling to identify fertile eggs.