diamondsilkies
Songster
So I know this might be a little early, since it's only day 23, and chicks hatch late, but I thought it would be interesting for everyone to guess and then we'll see later on day 28.
A few weeks back, I ordered a dozen or so silkie eggs from a breeder. Six made it to lockdown, and five of them hatched. The one that hadn't hatched was a little larger than the others. I know sometimes chicks don't make it, and you're not going to have everyone make it past lockdown. I candled it on day 22 after there was no movement or chirping for the entire lockdown from this egg, and I couldn't see much movement, but the veins still looked healthy, and there looked to be a little more space than usual. I did the water float test, and it moved around, so the embryo was definitely still alive. I quickly dried it and stuck it back in the incubator. It's now late in day 23, and there's still nothing. I looked up day 22 duck egg candling, and it looked pretty close to what my egg looked like when I candled.
Now, the breeder who I bought the silkies from also raises bantam ducks. It might be possible that she accidentally gave me a duck egg with all the silkie eggs, which would explain why it's still alive but hasn't hatched yet, since ducks don't hatch until day 28. I've never kept ducks before, only chickens, so I suppose if it did turn out to be a duck, it would be quite an adventure! Of course, it's always possible that this guy is just a little late or isn't going to hatch. But I thought it would be fun to speculate for a little while until day 28 comes.
A few weeks back, I ordered a dozen or so silkie eggs from a breeder. Six made it to lockdown, and five of them hatched. The one that hadn't hatched was a little larger than the others. I know sometimes chicks don't make it, and you're not going to have everyone make it past lockdown. I candled it on day 22 after there was no movement or chirping for the entire lockdown from this egg, and I couldn't see much movement, but the veins still looked healthy, and there looked to be a little more space than usual. I did the water float test, and it moved around, so the embryo was definitely still alive. I quickly dried it and stuck it back in the incubator. It's now late in day 23, and there's still nothing. I looked up day 22 duck egg candling, and it looked pretty close to what my egg looked like when I candled.
Now, the breeder who I bought the silkies from also raises bantam ducks. It might be possible that she accidentally gave me a duck egg with all the silkie eggs, which would explain why it's still alive but hasn't hatched yet, since ducks don't hatch until day 28. I've never kept ducks before, only chickens, so I suppose if it did turn out to be a duck, it would be quite an adventure! Of course, it's always possible that this guy is just a little late or isn't going to hatch. But I thought it would be fun to speculate for a little while until day 28 comes.
Ducks need friends of their own kind. You might want to start hunting down another duckling.
