What a bummer...

[katlovesaandw]

We had the 6 free eggs we got from the EE's we bought that had been with a roo prior to purchase.
We got those by taking 2 days of laid eggs and giving them to our broody duck.
She patiently sat on them for 22 days. We lost 1 egg at day 8/9. Not sure what happened.
5 left.
Thursday was day 21 for 2 of them. Nothing.
Woke up Friday morning to 1 fluffy chick, 1 smothered wet, barely made it out of egg chick that was dead.
Our plan was to remove chicks to be raised in a brooder to be safe from our flock of chickens and ducks plus the goats that share the pen. And we could imprint on them.
Quickly got that ready, transferred the 1 chick, disposed of the dead chick.
Later that morning, our flock killed another chick before we found it.
2 eggs left.
We put them in the brooder and are hoping for the best but I don't think anything will happen.....

We didnt turn them, picked them up and laid them same side up, etc. in brooder.
We have the temp right, we have humidity in there, we have the 1 chick plus we grabbed another chick for it to have a friend at the feed store so it wasn't alone.
And yet they sit..... they were laid on July 19 and 20. We have 1 egg left from each date(I dated them when they were laid)
We are giving them until Monday night, then will dispose. That is 3-4 days past due date for them.

*sigh
I don't think we will be doing fertilized eggs again, it is to heart-breaking. We love the chicks and that is fun and I was REALLY hoping to get to see an egg hatch and watch a chick come out and for my boys to see that but finding a dead chick and then watching your flock flip around a chick they were killing.....UGH!
Is there anything else we can or should do?

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have had hens hatch out duck eggs before but not the other way around
I think ducks are just too wet. duck eggs probably like the wet and need it. chick eggs should be drier. sorry.

 

[katlovesaandw]

It was a Muscovy duck, she barely left the nest for poop and water. So wettness wasnt a worry.
She was great at broody and watching nest and covering it and turning eggs.
I think the 1st dead chick was smothered by her weight, which was a concern via other posts and responses.
Don't know what happened with 2nd chick that died. We found it when the flock was tossing it around. YUCK
So, Uno sits in the brooder with her friend from the feed store, Foghorn(my kids named her...) along with 2 eggs.....
Like I said, this was our 1st time for this. We were picking up the EE hens and realized they were with a roo when we got there to pick them up. Hmmm, we have a broody duck.....maybe we can try and maybe get some free chickens out of it.
I don't think the stress and worry is worth it AND we didn't even get to see a chick hatch or work on hatching from an egg.
MAYBE we might get a small incubator and try it with a few eggs next time but at this point.....

Hope they or at least 1 hatches but as the weekend goes on....we think maybe not.

 

[gimmie birdies]

your duck sounds like she would have been a good mom. I put eggs under broody but it has been so hot here who knows how many will make it. plus today I just found my lovely naked neck *fancy Nancy* dead under a tipped over planting bucket, she must have tried to stand on the rim. so I am bummed.

 

[theoldchick]

Aw, how sad. Very sorry for your loss.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Happens to the good ones. mean-ol' nasty hens will last forever., but thanks

 

[katlovesaandw]

Bummer on your Naked Neck.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Thanks