Are these duck eggs alive?

[Littleducklinghelper1001]

I got 2 duck eggs that were pretty much developed and they looked fine when I got them and they were moving for about for the first 4 days but then for the last 3 days I can’t see the moving any more. I’m really worried and I’m not sure if there alive. I took 4 pics of the two eggs. The first 2 pics are of one egg and the other 2 pics are of the other egg. One of them has a weird black mark on the side. They both smell fine too. There air cells are yellow and I’m not sure if that’s ok. Plz help!

 

[MGG]

I got 2 duck eggs that were pretty much developed and they looked fine when I got them and they were moving for about for the first 4 days but then for the last 3 days I can’t see the moving any more. I’m really worried and I’m not sure if there alive. I took 4 pics of the two eggs. The first 2 pics are of one egg and the other 2 pics are of the other egg. One of them has a weird black mark on the side. They both smell fine too. There air cells are yellow and I’m not sure if that’s ok. Plz help!

What breed are they? Any guesses what day they're on? Watch really close for any movement, it's very subtle in the last stages of incubation.

 

[JaeG]

I found that, at this stage, a dead egg begins to discolour on the outside of the shell very quickly. It develops a bruised look. I have only incubated duck eggs once, so I'm no expert, but your eggs still look good to me. They still have a nice red look (which indicates blood in the veins) above the duckling which is what you want to see. Yellow air cells are completely normal.

 

[StormsnSaugeye]

One thing you can try is filling a cup with warm water, then placing the egg inside.
As it settles in the water, it will twitch slightly if it's still alive.

 

[MGG]

One thing you can try is filling a cup with warm water, then placing the egg inside.
As it settles in the water, it will twitch slightly if it's still alive.

@Littleducklinghelper1001 please don't float test your eggs. It will kill them. Never put a live egg in water. It is unreliable, and eggs that far along won't twitch.

 

[Littleducklinghelper1001]

What breed are they? Any guesses what day they're on? Watch really close for any movement, it's very subtle in the last stages of incubation.

I think about day 20 and there wild ducks so I think mallard

 

[Littleducklinghelper1001]

I found that, at this stage, a dead egg begins to discolour on the outside of the shell very quickly. It develops a bruised look. I have only incubated duck eggs once, so I'm no expert, but your eggs still look good to me. They still have a nice red look (which indicates blood in the veins) above the duckling which is what you want to see. Yellow air cells are completely normal.

Only one of them has like a dark circle so I’m not sure about that but the other one dosent so hopefully it’ll be ok

 

[StormsnSaugeye]

@Littleducklinghelper1001 please don't float test your eggs. It will kill them. Never put a live egg in water. It is unreliable, and eggs that far along won't twitch.

It's very much a tried and reliable method though...

The only time it is a risk is if the egg is pipped internally or externally. At the stage in the pictures, it's perfectly safe. Especially if you are not leaving them in for long. I've not seen risk studies on them and all the more academic sites give a rather optimistic 99% on post float viability. And, according to a history check, it was a very common method before high intensity low heat lights became common.

And tbh based off the multitude of threads on the subject it's a non risk procedure as well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...iability-for-late-or-overdue-hatching.383525/ for instance.

So I don'tk now where the push back against it is coming from since it has always been held up as safe and no real risks have ever been described.

 

[MGG]

It's very much a tried and reliable method though...

The only time it is a risk is if the egg is pipped internally or externally. At the stage in the pictures, it's perfectly safe. Especially if you are not leaving them in for long. I've not seen risk studies on them and all the more academic sites give a rather optimistic 99% on post float viability. And, according to a history check, it was a very common method before high intensity low heat lights became common.

And tbh based off the multitude of threads on the subject it's a non risk procedure as well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...iability-for-late-or-overdue-hatching.383525/ for instance.

So I don'tk now where the push back against it is coming from since it has always been held up as safe and no real risks have ever been described.

Bacteria can seep in through the pores of the egg, and it is so unreliable. Maybe it's somewhat safe, but it is not reliable at all. I used the float test on my first batch of chicken eggs that were on day 12. I couldn't tell anything by candling, and i was pretty inexperienced anyway. I did them all, and they all sunk. No movement, nothing. I was going to remove any duds and set new eggs, so I wanted to float test. I tossed them all. I took one out, and broke it open, and the little baby was alive. I couldn't do anything, I had to just watch it die. I'm sure a number of the other ones were alive too. So I will never use the float test again, even if it is "safe". It will only indicate the size of the air cell. More air = more buoyancy. Putting the egg in a gravity free environment makes it easier to see any movement. BUT... the chick may be resting... and not moving. So, if that's the case, the whole test is a waste of time. Not to mention: very porous eggs will absorb water through those pores, which may make an already too wet egg even wetter inside. And, if your humidity was too high or too low it will cause the egg to either ride lower in the water or totally float. Which will make the test results even more inaccurate. Candling is the only reliable method. If you can't see anything inside the egg, just leave it in. You can't change the results anyway, unless the chick is already internally or externally pipped. By then you could start assisting, but it might die from premature assisting too. Just leave them be for a little longer, and cross your fingers.

 

[Isaac 0]

@Littleducklinghelper1001 please don't float test your eggs. It will kill them. Never put a live egg in water. It is unreliable, and eggs that far along won't twitch.

Bacteria can seep in through the pores of the egg, and it is so unreliable. Maybe it's somewhat safe, but it is not reliable at all. I used the float test on my first batch of chicken eggs that were on day 12. I couldn't tell anything by candling, and i was pretty inexperienced anyway. I did them all, and they all sunk. No movement, nothing. I was going to remove any duds and set new eggs, so I wanted to float test. I tossed them all. I took one out, and broke it open, and the little baby was alive. I couldn't do anything, I had to just watch it die. I'm sure a number of the other ones were alive too. So I will never use the float test again, even if it is "safe". It will only indicate the size of the air cell. More air = more buoyancy. Putting the egg in a gravity free environment makes it easier to see any movement. BUT... the chick may be resting... and not moving. So, if that's the case, the whole test is a waste of time. Not to mention: very porous eggs will absorb water through those pores, which may make an already too wet egg even wetter inside. And, if your humidity was too high or too low it will cause the egg to either ride lower in the water or totally float. Which will make the test results even more inaccurate. Candling is the only reliable method. If you can't see anything inside the egg, just leave it in. You can't change the results anyway, unless the chick is already internally or externally pipped. By then you could start assisting, but it might die from premature assisting too. Just leave them be for a little longer, and cross your fingers.

Thanks for explaining why it's a bad idea so well!