Candeling Day 6 duck egg..help? Has this happened to you?

[casslarrabee225]

I set a (duck) egg last Tuesday. I candled it today and don't see any veins. I set it it in my hova-bator on an automatic turner. This is my second time hatching my own but it's hard to remember what the first week was like. We I slowly move the egg side to side I can see some web looking stuff swaying around that is stuck to the bottom of the egg. There is nothing such as a "blob" At the top of the egg near the air sack..and no veins. The yolk is "big" and vibrant. I feel like I know what I'm looking for as far as veins go and I don't see any sign of life inside the egg. Is it possible that if I give it a few more days that something can appear? Has it happened to you, that you thought one wasn't fertile then gave it time and turned out it was?

 

[duckdad]

yes, its possible. All the books say to give it a few more days as long as the signs of a dead egg are not there yet. It can go either way.

My feeling is that if you see that mist like substance than it probably not going to grow and that is bacteria thats starting to grow instead of viens.
Veins are usually so definate that they are unmistakable. Clear lines that may be tiny but definate. I candled some every day and took note of the growth and change in each egg. It was truely amazing at how much t he veins could grow in 24 hrs.

I'd give it a few more days. I've seen some start late and some that died early but it takes several days past whatever happened to be able to see and notice no change and the change is what we look for. If it just starts to get cloudy or foggy...its gone. Its also easy to mistake a red ring for a vein... A red ring usually does not appear unless there was some growth to begin with, so an egg that never started will just cloud up and do nothing. There is no rule that says that every egg to pass from a hen thats been bred WILL be fertile...might be every 3rd...might be every one. No real way to know or control that. They say that a hen thats bred can lay fertile eggs for as long as 21 days...but no assurances that every egg will be fertile.

How old was the egg when you set it? I've heard that eggs that were as old as a week or more, would take longer to start, but thats something that you;d have to see.

See what happens and I'll hope for the best.