2 duck eggs - day 22 and day 24 - are they ready to hatch??

[Mitchellnc]

I have 2 ducks in a homemade incubator. 99 degrees/50% humidity pretty constant. No weird smells. Just realized a day and a half ago I should have elevated humidity levels in the last week or so, so working on that. I'm not sure if they are ready at all to hatch. The last 2 eggs I tried assisting weren't in this time frame/drowned/I messed up. They didn't survive. This is my first time doing this and I'm terrified of harming these guys. Day 22 has a bruise thats been there for a week or so. Not sure if its anything. Help?

 

[AltonaAcres]

They both look dead

 

[AltonaAcres]

Day 22 could be alive (the bruise makes me think it is)

 

[Mitchellnc]

Day 22 could be alive (the bruise makes me think it is)

Do I try to assist or let it be?

 

[AltonaAcres]

Make a safety hole over the air cell. I believe the bruise means it's ready to hatch, although it clearly isn't. @MGG , can you help??

 

[MGG]

They both look dead. I'm sorry. What breed of ducks are they @Mitchellnc ?
The bruise means it either tried to pip and pipped a vein, or is malpositioned and tried to pip that end.

 

[Trisseh]

The bruising could also actually be bacteria growth... I wouldn’t do anything with it inside the house. If you’re going to make a safety hole take it outside just in case...

Are you seeing any veins or movement in the eggs when you candled them? They look very dead to me but often pictures are hard to see, way different than when you have the egg in front of you.

 

[MGG]

The bruising could also actually be bacteria growth... I wouldn’t do anything with it inside the house. If you’re going to make a safety hole take it outside just in case...

Are you seeing any veins or movement in the eggs when you candled them? They look very dead to me but often pictures are hard to see, way different than when you have the egg in front of you.

Oh! I've never heard that it indicates bacteria growth. That is very interesting, and definitely makes sense. I'd be willing to bet that's what happened then.

 

[Trisseh]

@MGG Bacteria, fungi... things that shouldn’t be in there. I had some duck eggs on the counter (for eating) during the hottest week we had this summer, and one had a funny spot like that on it. Didn’t smell, but it weirded me out, so I took it outside and cracked it open and it had a nice colony or something growing in there. lol.

 

[MGG]

@MGG Bacteria, fungi... things that shouldn’t be in there. I had some duck eggs on the counter (for eating) during the hottest week we had this summer, and one had a funny spot like that on it. Didn’t smell, but it weirded me out, so I took it outside and cracked it open and it had a nice colony or something growing in there. lol.

Hm, that's so interesting. Learn something new everyday, huh? Thank you.
Yuck
Good thing you didn't crack that one into the pan. So nasty.