Many years ago, farmers and chicken rearers used actual candles to see into their eggs and find out if embryos were developing properly. Nowadays, thanks to modern technology, we have electronic and battery-powered egg candlers to carry out this same process more simply and conveniently. This guide will help you find the best egg candler for you.
We reviewed 34 of the best egg candlers on the market and found that the Magicfly is the best option for most people. With its variable light intensity, flexibility suitability for almost every kind of egg imaginable, reliable power source, and affordable price tag, this really is the perfect egg candler for most situations. We also looked at four more of the best egg candlers to suit every buyer and budget.
Our review team spent many hours analyzing and evaluating the top egg candlers on the market, considering a range of factors when reviewing each one in order to identify the very best models. We looked at the light intensity, for example, which tells us how powerful the egg candler is and what kind of interior image it can provide of each egg. We also considered the suitability of each egg candler to see what kinds of eggs it can work with, as well as the power source for each one and the dimensions, price, and other key factors too. The table below shows all the best egg candlers we found, followed by reviews of each one and a detailed buying guide to help you learn more.
Other features: 220-240LM light, American plug
Starting off our list of the best egg candlers is the Magicfly. A highly affordable, effective, and versatile model, the Magicfly offers all the basic features and functionality you could hope to find in a high quality egg candler. It comes with its own extra long electric cable with US plug, fitted with a simple on and off button on the side of the candler body for easy functionality.
The body itself has been durable designed for a long lifespan, and the light in the center is strong enough to illuminate fertilized eggs of varying sizes and colors, including dark shelled eggs and large eggs. Equally suitable for use on a farm or in a classroom, this egg candler is the perfect partner for all your needs. The only downside is that some users say it feels a little lightweight in the hands.
Other features: easy to use with a push of a button
Next up on our list of top quality egg candlers, we have the Titan Incubators High Intensity LED Chicken Egg Candler. Titan Incubators is a trusted name in the egg candling business, producing products of exceptional quality, and these candlers are a fine example of what the brand can do.
They’re very easy to operate, with the egg simply being placed on top of the central black ring and then a button on the top can be used to turn the light on or off to light up the inside.
Titan Incubators outputs high intensity but very cold light, so you won’t have to worry about any damage to the eggs, and it works with almost any egg type imaginable from budgies to ostrich eggs. Users do say, however, that you need to use this candler in a very dark space for best results.
Other features: money back guarantee, 220-240LM light
Next up, we have the HBlife. This is a cord-powered egg candler, and it comes with a 1.2m cord. It’s not the longest cord around, so you’ll need to be careful in terms of where you choose to plug the HBlife in, but once you get it all set up, it’s a very effective model to use.
It emits a cool light, so won’t cause any damage to your eggs, but is bright enough to offer powerful illumination of the embryos inside. It also ships with two rubber candler covers that can cover eggs of all sizes, from quails up to duck eggs.
The manufacturer offers a 100% money back guarantee on this item and one of the best things about the HBlife is its price tag: it’s one of the most affordable egg candlers available today.
Other features: 2-year warranty
The next entry on our list is the Brinsea Products Candling Lamp, and there’s a lot to love about this particular model. It’s a little different to some of the other egg candlers out there in terms of its size and shape, but the unique design allows it to be safely and comfortably set down on any flat surface, so you don’t need to hold it up all the time.
It’s battery powered too, requiring 4AA batteries (which are included with the item) and this allows you to use it anywhere you like without the need to find an outlet.
The Brinsea Products Candling Lamp emits a bright and high efficiency LED light which can provide a great interior look at your eggs, but it won’t work too well with dark shelled eggs and is only really suitable for light or plain shelled eggs. Another great advantage of this model is that it comes with a 2-year warranty.
Other features: smooth rotation, can be used with a webcam, scope for slight magnification
If you’re willing to pay a higher price for a more premium model with an array of interesting extra features and functionalities, the Brinsea Ovascope Egg Viewer is the right egg candler for you. It’s a little more expensive than the other entries in our list, but it justifies the high price tag with its flawless design, impressive durability rating, and strong selection of extra features.
For example, it can be connected to a webcam and comes with a magnifying scope to let you get a really close and in-depth look at the egg as it’s illuminated. The design cleverly blocks out ambient light too, so you don’t need to use it in a super dark space, and it’s an ideal model for use in schools and classrooms.
An egg candler can be a very useful tool to have in your kit if you plan on raising chickens and want to be able to effectively and efficiently track egg development over time, rather than wasting time and resources on eggs that aren’t going to develop. Now that you’ve read through our egg candler reviews, take a look through the buying guide and FAQ section to learn more about how to find the best egg candling light for your needs.
In the past, farmers and ranchers used actual candles to light up the insides of eggs and see whether or not an embryo was successfully developing inside. This is where the term ‘egg candler’ comes from. In the modern era, however, we have all the advantages of new technologies, so, in addition to modern devices helping an egg to develop properly, like cabinet incubators, we can use electrical power to observe an embryo.
Candles were the only option back in the day, but the heat produced by candles can actually harm the egg or embryo inside, so it’s much safer to use a modern LED light instead, as featured on many of the best egg candler models of modern times like the Magicfly and Brinsea Products Candling Lamp.
Put simply, an egg candler is used to illuminate the inside of an egg. It lets you see if the embryo is developing properly. If so, you can continue to look after the egg until it hatches. If not, you can simply remove the egg and move on, rather than wasting your time and resources. Basically, egg candlers are big time-savers for farmers and chicken owners.
The following steps will show you how to use an egg candler:
When shopping for an egg candler, we recommend taking your time, comparing a few different options, and thinking about how you’re going to use it. There are several key factors to consider, including the light intensity, the power source, the warranty, the price, and more. If you want a highly portable egg candler that can be used almost anywhere, for example, a battery-powered model like the Brinsea Ovascope Egg Viewer is a good choice, but if you want an egg candler that can help you to see into eggs of varying sizes and colors, something like the Magicfly is a better option. Read on to learn more.
The whole purpose of an egg candler is to use light in order to illuminate the inside of an egg and allow you to see what’s inside, so light is clearly a very important factor to consider when buying an egg candler, and you need a light that is strong and reliable enough to be able to light up the inside of the egg without any issues.
In the past, candles were used for the same purpose, but the heat generated by the flame could cause damage to the egg, and the same idea is true for modern egg candlers too.
Too much heat from the bulb could hurt the egg, so we always recommend searching for an egg candler with a cool or cold light, like the Titan Incubators or Magicfly.
Another big factor to consider when shopping for a chicken egg candler is what kinds of uses it offers and which eggs it will be suitable for. There are many different forms of eggs out there, from classic white shelled eggs to darker shelled eggs. Eggs can come in varying sizes and colors, and you may find that some egg candlers are only suitable for certain types of eggs.
Think about what sorts of eggs you’ll be looking at and try to find an egg candler that matches you needs. If you have lots of dark eggs, for example, you’ll want to find the best egg candler for dark eggs like the Brinsea Ovascope Egg Viewer.
Power is another very important issue to consider when buying an egg candler, and you basically have two main choices in this domain: a plug-in egg candler that can be connected to a power outlet, like the Magicfly, or a battery-powered egg candler that runs on batteries and doesn’t need to be connected to an outlet, like the Brinsea Products Candling Lamp.
Both kinds have their advantages. A corded egg candler will never need to have its batteries replaced, letting you use it as much as you want without worries. Meanwhile, a battery-powered egg candler will eventually run out of power but has the advantage of being usable anywhere, without the need for power outlets.
The overall size of your egg candler is another factor to think about too. Some egg candlers can have much more compact and convenient designs than others. The HBlife, for example, is one of the slimmest and most compact examples of a high quality egg candler on our list, measuring up at just 5.9 x 1.38 x 1.38 inches overall.
Smaller models like this one can be stored, carried, and used more comfortably in general. However, if you have a lot of large eggs, you also need to be careful when checking the dimensions to ensure that the candler is big enough to handle them. A model like the Brinsea Ovascope Egg Viewer, for example, features a large egg chamber that should be able to handle eggs of any size, even goose eggs.
It always helps when you’re buying an electronic device or tool like an egg candler to have a warranty. This means that if ever your egg candler breaks down or suffers some kind of technical fault, the manufacturer will be able to cover the costs of any repairs or provide you with a replacement, free of charge.
Some egg candler manufacturers don’t provide any kind of warranty, but others will offer you at least a year or two of protection for your purchase. The Brinsea Products Candling Lamp, for example, comes with a 2-year warranty.
If you’re struggling to decide between two or more models of egg candler, it can be helpful to take a closer look at any extra features offered by each of those models. These little bonus features can vastly improve the functionality of each egg candler, making it easier and more enjoyable to use in general.
The Titan Incubators, for example, feature a very simple single button operation, letting you illuminate eggs in an instant, while the HBlife comes with the added advantage of a money-back guarantee if you aren’t fully satisfied with the way it works.
The Brinsea Ovascope Egg Viewer, meanwhile, comes with a whole range of extra features like smooth rotation of the egg, the possibility to use the candler with a webcam, and even a scope in order to see inside the egg more clearly and in greater detail.
Last but certainly not least, we also recommend taking a look at the different price ranges of egg candlers in order to find a model that fits in with your budget. Egg candlers can be sold at all kinds of prices, with some being less than $20, like the Magicfly, for example, while others are closer to the $100 mark.
The variation in price depends on a range of factors, and more expensive models often tend to have lots of extra features, but you can still get a great egg candler without paying a high price, so you shouldn’t feel like you have to spend a lot in order to get the very best model on the market. There are some terrific value egg candlers out there like the HBlife.
Overall, our top rated egg candler is the Magicfly. Available at a great price and offering all the light intensity you need to safely and easily see inside eggs of various colors and sizes, this egg candler offers all the features and functionality you need.
The next best egg candler in our list is the Titan Incubators. Offering a high intensity yet totally safe light beam, these premium egg candlers are amazingly easy to use with their single button operation and battery powered functionality. Plus, they work with almost every egg type imaginable.
Our third favorite egg candler is the Hblife. With a slim and compact design and reliable power outlet connectivity, this egg candler works with any egg type and size. It ships with two rubber covers, a 1.2m power cord for your convenience, and a 100% money back guarantee, all at a very affordable price.
