Duck eggs turning black? HELP! (pic)

[keyt1969]

I set 21 duck eggs April 25th. Most are due to hatch the 21st (Monday), although some may be Muskovy which means a little longer.

I have turned them myself this whole time (because i dont like auto turners) and had them propped big side up. Everything was perfect up until my last candling on Thurs. Because yesterday was the last day to turn them, I laid them flat and went into lockdown.

Now today some of them the eggshells are stained black, looking like something that has a water stain. I don't know how else to explain it. Does this mean they're dead? Should I leave them and wait and see? The last batch I had one explode in my face and all over the incubator so I'm scared of that happening again. They're not leaking though.

HELP!

I was so freaked out i opened it up to take a pic

 

[gameboygal12]

Have you tried to candle it? it could be a blood ring showing through the shell, But I would candle and see what's going on in there.

 

[keyt1969]

I candled all of them Thurs and everyone was moving. I candled that one while we had it out and i didn't see anything, but at this point everything is so big it's hard to tell anyway. I didn't see or feel anything moving but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. They weren't due to hatch but one in the same batch has already pipped and some others are moving in the incubator

 

[heathersboers]

Some of ours have done that and usually they are dead...or rotting...does it smell????

 

[keyt1969]

Quote:
No, none of them smell, did that test since I had one explode last month!

 

[RaspberryMommy]

I am having the same problem right now with some of my eggs turning dark. What happened with yours? I can't seem to find any info on this anywhere. I had five hatch yesterday but not sure if the other 8 are still alive especially since I am seeing color change! Thanks for your help.

 

[chickmashnoon]

I don't know if it was the same thing, and I'm a newbie to hatching, but my first hatch out of my own chicken eggs I had 3 or 4 that developed dark specking toward the end and in a ring around the egg, almost looked like something seeping thru. they passed the sniff test and I left them in because they were the blue/green EE shell that I had a hard time candleing thru. They ended up hatching. The one that was the dud and didn't hatch had looked fine. If they sniff okay, I'd be tempted to leave them, but then again, I've never had an egg blow up on me. Sounds traumatic!

 

[RaspberryMommy]

None of them smell. (I was terrified one would explode everytime I put an egg by my face...eewww!) The ducks are now on day 30 and there is still nothing; no pipping, movement when candled yesterday, shaking or peeping. My one chick egg that I know is alive still has not started. (Today is her day.) Is it possible with my interupting lockdown that it will extend their incubation? The dark areas on the eggs are getting darker and bigger. How long should I leave them in for?

 

[chickmashnoon]

hey, what ever happened with your duck eggs? Did any of the ones with the dark areas hatch? just curious if it is the same thing I noticed on my chicken eggs

 

[ABCfamily]

i had a muscovy egg turn dark like that, i thought for sure it meant it was dead, but i candled it and duckling was wiggling away!
It ended up pipping through that darkened area a couple days later!