Egg Emergency! *update* all died :(

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The color looks bad but it may not be 100% indicative of bad eggs...I have had ugly eggs still yield live ducklings. Sometimes ducklings scrabble around in the egg when trying to pip and tear their own membranes, causing bleeding and leaving ugly bruises that show through the shell. Take a chance and poke the holes and see what happens. I'd make it about as big as a pinky nail...you want that air in there to oxygenate them for the big deal that will need to happen next. Make sure the humidity is also high...I am running at about 73% on my hatcher right now.

Be sure to toss any eggs that are for sure bad/dead; going to dinner now but I will check back later to find out what happened and see what needs doing next. Sounds like any live ducklings from this lot will need the full midwifing deal.

ETA: Egg 2 looks the most promising but I know pictures can lie...especially since #1 is tapping at you. I'd sure put that hole in #1 first, because of that!
 
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Well, we poked holes in all of them and watched them for a long time waiting to see if they move or breath and none of them did. The membranes weren't dry, but some of the ducklings were obviously dead for a long time. The one I thought tapped at me was the worst, we couldn't even find his bill through the hole. I don't know what happened but it's so sad.

We threw them out and took down the incubator.
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It's so sad and i think our error was in not realizing that they needed help. I think that when Clyde broke one and we brought them in they were already in distress and needing help and we waiting 5 days before we realized it. If we'd poked holes and considered helping at least some of them right then, I think they would have lived. regrets, regrets. We did do waht we though was best at the time, though. We know more for next time.

I think we're going around to some breeders we know of to try and get some newly hatched ducklings. I'd like to order some from online but we have to get like 30 at a time and we have no one to split an order with. Do any of you know BYCers (or other duck owners that want calls) in Utah or with 5 hours drive from Salt Lake (or willing to set up a train)? We haven't looked at the breeder's yet though.

Thank you so much for all of your support and ideas everyone. I'm so grateful.
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aww i hope you get some ducks
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i was incubating eggs 4 pipped but didnt do anything else so i helped them out and all ended up dieing
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i was upset
 
I do have some fully feathered Butterscotch 2010 drakes and also a few blacks that I could do shipping on. Can't ship newly hatched ones though, way too delicate. Email me if interested in the young males. Sorry to hear I couldn't help you with hatching the little duckies!
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Discoloration like that is usually from bacteria inside the egg. Sometimes the ducklings can survive and still hatch but it is usually a sign the duck has died. Take this as a learning experience and know that next time you will be better prepared and have more knowledge. The future will only be better now that you learned a lot from this experience.
 
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And believe me, every experience you have is the best teacher...I started out doing this thinking that I would be writing stuff down as I went, but the experience usually makes a big enough impression that you don't have to. Every hatch and even every egg can teach you something, because they can vary so much. Good luck!
 

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