Bad egg at 3 weeks?

[DuckiesAndBees]

I have a cayuga duck sitting on four eggs, and from my best guess they're due this weekend. She started with 6 eggs and has tossed out two so far, one of which was infertile and one which died (I think). When I candled this morning there were two that looked almost all opaque except a small air sac toward the larger end. I'm assuming this is normal? The third one's air sac was a little larger and kind of curved around toward the bottom (or top) of the egg, but not all the way to the small end. I've noticed this since about week 2. The fourth one has no air cell at all, is totally opaque. Does this mean that it's dead and about to explode? This is my first time hatching (and the duck's as well) so any advice is appreciated!

I have another girl in there who was kind of half-sitting and not laying anymore, but this morning I discovered 3 of her new eggs in with the nest. Sneaky ducks!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

If you don't see an air cell or shadow moving inside where the air cell should be (fat end) then yep that's a stinker and should handled with care and tossed so she doesn't have a stink bomb go off.

 

[DuckiesAndBees]

Thanks! That was my instinct, but I didn't want to throw away a viable egg. Hopefully it won't explode by the time I get home from work!

 

[ariel4birds]

If there is no air cell, the egg has probably died and has gotten rotten. Sometimes it's difficult to see the air cell when the ducklings has broken out of it, but that happens in the last couple days of incubation (you'd hear peeping from inside the egg). It sounds like this egg is just bad.