- Apr 12, 2010
- 283
- 4
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Someone mentioned i should post the question here since it is not a typical domesticated duck.
Here is where my original thread was in the Duck forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/859913/bad-time-for-my-first-egg
Here is what happened:
On this past Sunday i was cleaning my 2 Hottentot Teals' aviary out and noticed an egg (first one ever in 4 or 5 years) was laid behind a grass bush in there. At that point, i think it was no less than a few hours to a day old. She didn't seem interested in the egg, so i figured she was going to lay some more or just indifferent to it, but the weather and myself may have disrupted this.
On Sunday night, a cold front came in and it dropped down to 28 degrees. I woke up and brought the egg inside the house into a room where it has been in the past few days that is 68 degrees.
The egg was in a temperature of 30-28 degrees for about 4-6 hours before i brought it in. If the egg was fertilized (which i doubt), is that weather cold enough to prevent it from hatching?
Also, I brought my ducks inside on Monday afternoon when the temps were going to stay around freezing (low 30s), so i brought them in for 2 days and let them back out this morning where the temps are bit more manageable for them at 45+ degrees as a low to mid 60s for the rest of the week.
She hasn't laid anymore eggs yet and i have never seen them mate, so i am really doubting that the egg is fertilized. I don't have an incubator and if they laid any eggs, i'd prefer that they try to hatch them naturally.
I was curious as to how they normally lay eggs, like do they lay one every day or does it take a while in between each egg and does the temperature play a factor and of course my moving them in and out of the house, and whether the freezing temp may have killed the first egg if it was viable?
i put out a tiny bowl of oyster shell available to her after i noticed the first egg and have kept a tiny bit in there aviary (and inside the dog kennel when they were inside) ever since.
Here is where my original thread was in the Duck forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/859913/bad-time-for-my-first-egg
Here is what happened:
On this past Sunday i was cleaning my 2 Hottentot Teals' aviary out and noticed an egg (first one ever in 4 or 5 years) was laid behind a grass bush in there. At that point, i think it was no less than a few hours to a day old. She didn't seem interested in the egg, so i figured she was going to lay some more or just indifferent to it, but the weather and myself may have disrupted this.
On Sunday night, a cold front came in and it dropped down to 28 degrees. I woke up and brought the egg inside the house into a room where it has been in the past few days that is 68 degrees.
The egg was in a temperature of 30-28 degrees for about 4-6 hours before i brought it in. If the egg was fertilized (which i doubt), is that weather cold enough to prevent it from hatching?
Also, I brought my ducks inside on Monday afternoon when the temps were going to stay around freezing (low 30s), so i brought them in for 2 days and let them back out this morning where the temps are bit more manageable for them at 45+ degrees as a low to mid 60s for the rest of the week.
She hasn't laid anymore eggs yet and i have never seen them mate, so i am really doubting that the egg is fertilized. I don't have an incubator and if they laid any eggs, i'd prefer that they try to hatch them naturally.
I was curious as to how they normally lay eggs, like do they lay one every day or does it take a while in between each egg and does the temperature play a factor and of course my moving them in and out of the house, and whether the freezing temp may have killed the first egg if it was viable?
i put out a tiny bowl of oyster shell available to her after i noticed the first egg and have kept a tiny bit in there aviary (and inside the dog kennel when they were inside) ever since.
