An egg and a light?

[LoveBug12]

I don't know what this is really called but I'll try to explain it the best I can.
When my mom was little, her mom and dad used to buy chicken eggs from a farm. They would bring the chicken egg home, put it in a warm area where it can grow and watch it from there. They would take a flash light or a candle and put it under the egg and they can see the chicken inside. I thought this story was really cool and it has sparked my interest in trying it. Has anyone done this before? My grandma is moving back to California and she says she would like to show me but doesn't quite remember what to do. So if anyone has ever done this and can give me any advice, that would be great. I wouldn't mind raising a duck or chicken either...I hear they make good pets! :)

[Flapjack]

It's called candling.

If you had a mated pair of lovies, and the female had eggs, you would be able to tell throught the shell if there was a chick growing inside.

At first, it would just look like a spider web of veins. As the chick grew, it would just be a dark shadow in the egg with an air space at one end.

When I was little, I had a pair of budgies. They laid fertile eggs, and at one point, I could see a little heartbeat.

[LoveBug12]

It's called candling.

If you had a mated pair of lovies, and the female had eggs, you would be able to tell throught the shell if there was a chick growing inside.

At first, it would just look like a spider web of veins. As the chick grew, it would just be a dark shadow in the egg with an air space at one end.

When I was little, I had a pair of budgies. They laid fertile eggs, and at one point, I could see a little heartbeat.


I would love to have a pair of lovebirds and get to experience that..maybe I will get lucky and actually get another lovebird the opposite sex of Junior :).

[Flapjack]

Whoa, slow down a little, speedy:)

While little babies are really cute, there is SO much more to making a decision to breed your birds than wanting to candle eggs.

There are possible medical concerns for your hen, the possibility of problems with the new chicks, trying to find good homes, more vet visits, more food, more toys, etc.

Have you done any research about breeding? There are several wonderful folks on this board who breed and I'm sure would be happy to discuss it with you.

By the way, Junior is a real cutie :blush:

[LoveBug12]

Whoa, slow down a little, speedy:)

While little babies are really cute, there is SO much more to making a decision to breed your birds than wanting to candle eggs.

There are possible medical concerns for your hen, the possibility of problems with the new chicks, trying to find good homes, more vet visits, more food, more toys, etc.

Have you done any research about breeding? There are several wonderful folks on this board who breed and I'm sure would be happy to discuss it with you.

By the way, Junior is a real cutie :blush:

I haven't done research yet, but I will if I ever get another lovebird that may possibly be the opposite sex of Junior just in case. I know it's alot of work because it's basically a 24/7 job. My grandma hand fed a baby sparrow she found in her backyard and that little thing ate at least 5 times an hour. The bird was growing and doing great until she let the cage sit in her backyard and it fell over with the bird in it....not a smart idea. Let's just say, the little guy is in a better place now. My mom was thinking hand feeding would be a wonderful experience to and she said she would love to do that. But, I know it's tough and I think just having 2 lovebirds would be a better idea :).

[linda040899]

Katelyn,
I'm a breeder and I've been breeding birds since late 1990. I, for one, can tell you that it's a huge responsibility and it can get expensive. Under no circumstances would I even consider trying to hatch babies any other way but letting the hen incubate them. I know a lot of breeders use commerically built incubators but then you are locked into hand feeding day 1 babies and you would not believe the number of things that can go wrong! Yes, I can hand feeding a baby right after it's hatched but babies are the responsibility of my parent birds and they do a much better job of caring for the wee ones than I could ever do. I'm good but I'm no match for momma bird. When you read that I'm hand feeding, it's because there's some kind of problem where my parents don't/won't feed and I don't have any available foster hens to help me out. After a week of feeding a baby bird every 2 hrs around the clock, the human body finds itself quite exhausted but that human is still responsible for the life/well being of its feathered charge.

Read through some of the posts in the breeding section and also go through the thread by HeatherJ in I Need Help NOW! entitled The Little One. What you will read is the reality of breeding.