Are the eggs fertile

[jayjay]

Hi all,

My duck has laid 15 eggs over the last 3 weeks and has just started to sit on them. She has been sitting for the last week, not all the time.
She is in with another hen and 2 drakes. She is still laying every morning. As it had been a week i took a couple of eggs and did a tourch test to see if i could see anything but i couldn't. Is it too early or do you think the eggs are not fertilized? I have seen them mating on many occasions.

Thanks
Jay

 

[dawg53]

Hi all,

My duck has laid 15 eggs over the last 3 weeks and has just started to sit on them. She has been sitting for the last week, not all the time.
She is in with another hen and 2 drakes. She is still laying every morning. As it had been a week i took a couple of eggs and did a tourch test to see if i could see anything but i couldn't. Is it too early or do you think the eggs are not fertilized? I have seen them mating on many occasions.

Thanks
Jay

Welcome to BYC. They should be fertile. I'm not all that familiar with ducks nor hatching.

 

[greymane]

I have not hatched any duck eggs yet, but three weeks seems like a long time to start sitting.

 

[Kevin565]

How old are your birds?

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us. The eggs should be fertile with mature drakes in there. But you might want to wait a few days to candle again or until she starts setting on them full time, then you should be able to see veins if they're developing.

This is one of my goose eggs candled at 7 days. The blood vessels were just becoming visible - they're much harder to see in the pic than in real life. Since most ducks take around 28 days, too, they should look similar.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hi and from Ohio. So glad you joined. For further reference, I always mark eggs with a pencil the date of the egg, that way I know what is newly laid. Then I candle every egg on day 7 to see if it is fertile. The ones that aren't, I take out.

 

[jayjay]

Thanks, the picture really helps me. This is my first lot of eggs and i am a bit nervous. Today she has hardly left her nest at all. Normally when i go to feed they are all there but today she stayed inside. I didn't want to disturb her so have left her alone. I will candle again in a couple of days and see what i can find. I work in a school and the children are all very interested but at the moment i have not allowed them in in case it puts her off. I feel like i'm expecting my kids all over again.

I am still thinking of taking the drakes out though, daddy is not giving the other one a break.

Thanks also for the tip about marking them. I did mark them with an ordinary pencil but where she keeps turning them it has worn off. I know marker pens are a no no so am now trying small stickers. Hope this is ok.

 

[Marthab1953]

Welcome ! If you have saw them mating I would say they are fertile. Congrats and hope you get a good hatch.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

 

[aoxa]

I just candled my eggs today, and I couldn't see anything until they were over 10 days of constant sitting. Now they are for sure alive and growing!

@ 16 days