Can a whole nest be rotten?

[Roscoe Mandella]

I have 2 ducks, a male Blue Swedish and a female Muscovy. I know that they can cross, but I have heard that the eggs have a low chance of being fertile. My Muscovy started laying on 16 eggs 26 days ago. Yesterday I found 1 rotten egg in the corner of her nest and today I found another! Are 2 rotten eggs a lot? I'm worried now that the whole nest might be rotten! Is that possible? I got a look at the eggs today and they all seemed normal color unlike the black rotten eggs but does normal color mean anything? Thank you for your help!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 2 ducks, a male Blue Swedish and a female Muscovy. I know that they can cross, but I have heard that the eggs have a low chance of being fertile. My Muscovy started laying on 16 eggs 26 days ago. Yesterday I found 1 rotten egg in the corner of her nest and today I found another! Are 2 rotten eggs a lot? I'm worried now that the whole nest might be rotten! Is that possible? I got a look at the eggs today and they all seemed normal color unlike the black rotten eggs but does normal color mean anything? Thank you for your help!

your 2 ducks can have ducklings it's their off spring that will be mules. if Muscovy is the layer the eggs will take 35-37 days to hatch. and if I was you I'd candle some of the eggs to check on where they are in incubation and to smell to make sure there are not more that are rotten. Did it look like she had moved the 2 rotten eggs out from under her? You could actually candle them all and do sniff test. just to half at a time, toss the ones that aren't developing so the ones that are have a good chance of hatching. wait till she is off the nest if you don't feel comfortable removing the eggs while she is sitting.

 

[Roscoe Mandella]

Thanks! My Muscovy only gets off once a day and its during mid-day, is it possible to candle during the day! Sorry, I'm new to ducks. She is normally only off for 5 minutes max, would that be long enough to candle? Thanks again!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks! My Muscovy only gets off once a day and its during mid-day, is it possible to candle during the day! Sorry, I'm new to ducks. She is normally only off for 5 minutes max, would that be long enough to candle? Thanks again!

lol you'd have to be fast but what I do is when they come off the nest I go in close the door load the eggs in a basket with a towel under them and them wrap in the towel to keep them warm I go into my feed room because if I close the door it's dark in there. use a good flash light hold it under fat end of egg you should be able to see duckling moving if eggs are viable. Have you candled before? as long as the door is closed you can go back in put the eggs back in the nest then let her back in she'll rearrange the eggs the way she wants them and will just go back to brooding like nothing happened.

 

[Roscoe Mandella]

My Muscovy actually just came off! But I did not have time to candle, I'll try tomorrow! I was able to sniff each egg and they all seemed to smell slightly of rotten egg but they did smell close to the horrid odor the rotten eggs have off. Could the smell just have been carried from the rotten eggs? Also yes I have never candle an egg before. So hopefully tomorrow I'll have a chance! Thanks for your help!

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy actually just came off! But I did not have time to candle, I'll try tomorrow! I was able to sniff each egg and they all seemed to smell slightly of rotten egg but they did smell close to the horrid odor the rotten eggs have off. Could the smell just have been carried from the rotten eggs? Also yes I have never candle an egg before. So hopefully tomorrow I'll have a chance! Thanks for your help!

if the eggs were in the same nest then yes you may be smelling the rotten ones you took out. here is a link about what to look for when candling, there are others too I'll see if I can find one for you. http://www.metzerfarms.com/Candling.cfm
another great chart. http://wildliferehabber.com/sites/default/files/wr_duckeggchart.jpg

 

[Roscoe Mandella]

Thanks that was really helpful! I think I can get at least some done by the time she's ready to get back on!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks that was really helpful! I think I can get at least some done by the time she's ready to get back on!

let us know what you find out and

do half one day the rest the next use a washable marker to mark with dot or x the ones you have already candled.

 

[Roscoe Mandella]

My duck finally got off her nest! I ran outside with the flashlight and I was going to get some eggs when I was chased away! She was hissing and making a huge commotion so I just ran off with the 2 eggs I had in my hand. I went in my garage where it was dark and realized that both eggs smelled horrible and were black. I candled them both and it was only black with an airsac at one end. I was very doubtful because of the smell so I cracked both open and they were in fact rotten. I was very disappointed so I went to get more eggs and as I was looking they all looked normal color but the 2 that were rotten today were also normal color yesterday. So anyway as I was trying to get more she actually started hissing and everything again so I gave up for today and I'll try again tomorrow.

 

[Roscoe Mandella]

For the first time ever she just came down again! Which is so weird because she was just down. But I got 2 more eggs and candled them, one was just clear but it was the first one I had ever candled that wasn't rotten so I put it back just incase but the second had veins and a baby duck and I was able to see it move and I now have some hope that at least a few will hatch!