Patent ID: 8339588

Claim:
A portable egg candling and containment transfer apparatus for use with incubator trays and hatchery baskets, the portable egg candling and containment transfer apparatus comprising: a movable frame; a movable elevator deck supported upon the movable frame mounted for translation between an elevated position and a lowered position; a lever for raising and lowering the movable elevator deck; an inverting candling table pivotally mounted to the frame and positioned over the movable elevator deck and having a pan with sidewalls and a floor, the pan being adapted for supporting incubator trays positioned thereover, the pan housing at least one electric light fixture with at least one lamp for producing light for candling eggs positioned over the inverting candling table, the inverting candling table pivotally mounted for movement between a first, faceup orientation and a second facedown orientation; at least one clamp for securing a hatchery basket over the pan; and at least one latch for securing the inverting candling table in faceup/facedown orientations, wherein the movable elevator deck and the inverting candling table are configured and operable to allow an operator to place eggs in the inverting candling table, to candle the eggs, to invert the eggs to transfer the eggs from an incubator tray to a hatchery basket, to raise the movable elevator deck to allow the eggs and hatchery basket to be released safely from the inverting candling table, and to lower the movable elevator deck to allow the eggs and hatchery basket to be removed.