Candling/checking eggs

[adamfritzsche]

After thinking about it more, I'm sure there is no need for air exchange until they hatch. I don't see how air could be exchanged through the shell of the egg. This just proves it I guess!

They do actually obtain oxygen from the outside air. The inside of an egg does indeed have an air sac, but needs to be replenished from time to time. If you could look at an egg under a microscope, they are actually porous.

Ever boil eggs and notice air bubbles coming from the egg? That is the air in the egg expanding and being forced out the pores.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...e-inside-shell

Now having said that, I do not think that a few eggs inside a 6qt box are going to burn through all the oxygen in the tub in the first 45 days of development. The last week or two? Maybe if it were airtight, but who does that?