Are my ducks alive?

[PirateGirl]

They look better than the others. Time will tell.

 

[chickens really]

If you can see red blood vessels then alive. If dark vessels then no longer alive.

 

[Jbently28]

I hate to say it, but the eggs don't look viable to me. At that age size, you would still be able to see tons of movement and red veining.

 

[boxermizer]

So I made a few videos and they aren’t loading but here’s some pics of my best looking one I think hehe. This is the one that had the large dark mass I was talking about.

I've had some look like this and I thought this meant they were no good, but I left them for several more days and they ended up hatching.

 

[Mara620]

OMG THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!!!!

 

[Jbently28]

If you have been incubating them for 28 days already than I'm sorry but they are not viable. The eggs would be completely dark with a large air cell. There's no way possible that they are still alive if you have been incubating them for that long and this is as far as development has gotten. If mama had abandoned them as you stated, than I'm almost certain that they were already quitters long before you found them. I've had eggs before that I thought were more developed than they actually were. Turns out the dark mass inside was just a rotting yolk.

 

[chickens really]

It's a tough call if you don't know what to look for...

 

[Jbently28]

It's a tough call if you don't know what to look for...

I agree! It took a while to really perfect the whole candling thing. Definitely something that comes with experience.

 

[chickens really]

I agree! It took a while to really perfect the whole candling thing. Definitely something that comes with experience.

Not really experience but knowledge of what to look for when candling and the proper way of doing it.

 

[Jbently28]

Not really experience but knowledge of what to look for when candling and the proper way of doing it.

YouTube was definitely my best friend when learning to candle properly. I would definitely recommend watching experienced homesteader's candling videos. When I started put I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, but with the help of those videos and advice from the wonderful people on here it became much easier.