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- #21
We candled the mallard eggs today (set on the 7th.) We started with 12. After the first candling on day 5 we had 1 blood ring, and one that I couldnt tell. But 10 eggs with very nice looking veins. Today (day 12),
we only had 6 left. I wasnt surprised about 2 of them, but when the other 4 had blood rings with no veins i was a little sad and so were my kids. We had to have this long talk about life and death and that sometimes the baby just stops growing and no one really knows why. You could tell it was hard on my students because after getting 5 eggs in a row with nothing but blood rings, we finally got a good egg and one of my student blurted out THANK GOD! and another one said AMEN! It was kind of humerous and really cute at the same (remember i teach special.) Out of the 6 eggs that were left 5 had movement in the eggs. So that is good. I guess my whole problem of having waay too many ducks is taking care of itself. We are down to 15/24 still alive right now. so if I end up with 10...or even 6 at this rate. I will be very happy. I just hope one of the mallards makes it. 6/12 at 12 days cant be good.
Pekins are still doing really well...we have 9/12 on day 16. I think that must have to do with where the eggs came from. Both sets were shipped, but my pekins came from a bycer and the mallards came from the carolina biological supply company. I think they clean and disinfect their eggs...the eggs from the bycer still had dirt on them. I think when we do this again next year, we will stick to bycers for our eggs. Oh well...heres hoping 12 days to go til pekins arrive, and 16 days for my mallards...heres hoping...
