Eggs in incubator

[stillmecle]

I have had 10 buff eggs in the incubator 4 days now. I candled them yesterday but I'm new at this and I'm not sure what I should be seeing in this short time. I can see a big blob on 1 side of each egg. it looks like a few of them have a smaller blob inside the big blob. Does that make sense? My temperature is always constant at 99.9 And I turned them at least 4 or 5 times a day. I just don't know what I should be seeing at this point. Any comments or help will be appreciated. I just don't want to spend my time incubating eggs that are not fertile

 

[learycow]

If they have only been in there for a few days, look for veins when you candle them. That will determine if they are fertile or not.
When you candle them the veins are all along the inside of the shell. It's pretty easy to see.

 

[stillmecle]

Already? I did not see any veins hat all. So they are no good.

....

 

[learycow]

I would wait a little longer. By day 7 or 8 you should be able to see them for sure.
Keep them in there and candle them again in a few days.

 

[stillmecle]

I hope they are fertile. I want some little ducks soon

 

[70%cocoa]

Yes, just wait a bit. If you have a very bright LED torch and a very dark room you can see something at 4 days. But even if I thought I saw nothing under those conditions I'd still wait and try again at 7 days. At that piont you should be able to see a tiny dark spot which is the eye, and veins developing.

 

[weimarmama]

I wouldn't give up on them, yet. Give them a few more days and try candling again. Usually I don't candle the first time until day 7, and then if there are any I'm unsure about, and as long as they don't have an an odor and aren't weeping, I leave them. Here's a link to candling pictures on Metzer's website that might help you know what to look for: http://www.metzerfarms.com/Candling.cfm?CustID=465287

 

[70%cocoa]

Yes, don;t be too quick to remove eggs. I had one that I thought was going nowhere but it was just a late starter.

 

[stillmecle]

Woo Hoo I have 6 out of 9 eggs with heartbeats!!! There isn't a lot of veins yet but I can see themm. Now I hope they make it through the process. It was so cool to see those little heartbeats just pumping away.

 

[learycow]

Awesome! Hopefully you will have some baby duckies in a few weeks!
Be sure to keep updates, we all want to know how they do and see pictures when they hatch!