Fertilization Question...

[graypes]

Hi! So I put my eggs in the incubator under the assumption they were fertile, as I had seen some white spots on the yolks a few times. BUT I just realized that those white spots don't have rings on them so the eggs are infertile (most likely).

I have one drake and one duck, and he *mounts* her several times a day (poor girl) and I've seen his *thing* come out every time, but many times... it looks like he's missing her vent... is this normal? Will he maybe become *better* at doing *IT* once mating season starts?

 

[Enten4life]

Fertilized eggs have a "bullseye" when they have an embryo. When I've incubated, I just check the eggs 4 days later with a flashlight and you can see by then if it's got life.

Ducks have the ability to divert the males penis, so she might just not want to be knocked up by your drake, lol

 

[DukesDucks]

Ok now that you know that one egg is fertile, I want to see you put it back in the shell. Great pics by the way.

 

[DukesDucks]

I was amazed when I read up on duck mating. Yeah his is a cool corkscrew, but she has her own tricks for deciding if he is the lucky one. I have 2 drakes and 8 females. Females share nests so I am glad I never have to produce a family tree for a duckling.

 

[graypes]

Update: they were all fertile! all of the eggs I set in the incubator have developed into little veiny blobs so far! hopefully they'll keep growing! Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

So in my experience it is really hard to see the "bull's-eye" on duck eggs. I tend to look for the size of the white dot. A big dot is fertile and a small dot is not. If you look at the picture below. The top egg is infertile and the bottom is fertile.

How old is your drake? Young drakes take a while before they produce fertile eggs.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Both the boy and girl are about 8 months old! But looking at that picture, the white dot on my duck's eggs is as big as the fertile egg, but I can't tell if there is a bulls-eye or not! I've attached some pics from todays egg! sorry for the low quality, yolks are surprisingly SO HARD to photograph lol

I believe they are fertile!

 

[DukesDucks]

Good luck. Keep us posted. Will need pics of hatchlings for for awww factor.

 

[graypes]

Smart girl hahaha oh man I'm so impatient these next few days are gonna go by so slooooow until I can candle them

 

[graypes]

Both the boy and girl are about 8 months old! But looking at that picture, the white dot on my duck's eggs is as big as the fertile egg, but I can't tell if there is a bulls-eye or not! I've attached some pics from todays egg! sorry for the low quality, yolks are surprisingly SO HARD to photograph lol