~From egg to adult~♡

[Jellybean05]

Maybe it’s because some of the eggs were layed on the ground and some dirt/poo got on them... If one isn’t rotten, then I don’t know what the smell could be.

Yeah I was a little worried I think it's the incubator and it doesn't smell like a rotten egg

 

[ANightPerson]

Question: is your incubator suppose to stink? Or does that mean somethings wrong?

The stink is caused by bacteria growing the incubator. It's very normal, as duck eggs are usually dirty. They have a special layer on them that keeps out bacteria so as long as you don't wash them they should be ok. Just try to keep as much bacteria as possible away from them whenever you open the incubator, because they don't have immune systems as fetuses and are very vulnerable to infection.

 

[ANightPerson]

It's nothing to stress about! That just means keep the incubator shut as much as possible and wash you hands before you candle them. If one egg ever dies, make sure that you limit contact between anything that it touched and the other eggs--if it died due to bacteria you don't want it spreading to the others. This sounds very scary, but again, don't worry about it too much! Sorry if I freaked you out at any point.

 

[ANightPerson]

They have pours on their shells which can absorb things that they contact, so make sure that nothing harmful (like chemicals, soap, cleaning products, thick oils, or alcohol) ever touches the egg.

 

[ANightPerson]

Also you probably already know this, but keep the air sac facing up (the round, fuller end of the egg.) I didn't know that my first incubation which led to several difficult hatches and two deaths while hatching. My ducks refuse to hatch their own eggs, so I have a lot of experience using incubators. You can ask me any questions if you have them! If I don't know the answer I will try my best to find it and get back to you.

 

[Jellybean05]

[QUOTE="ANightPerson, post: 20128825, thank you guys for the information. I am worried cuz I'm familiar with duck eggs and I don't know what to expect but I just hope there no rotten egg

 

[Duckhatcher123]

I have done duck egg incubating 4 times and it always stinks so they will stink even if they are not rotten

 

[ANightPerson]

Sorry, this is long. I just kind of pooled some information I've picked up over the hatches.
If an egg dies early on, there will be a blood ring around the fetus (I'll attach a picture.) If it dies later in the incubation, it will develop strange brown spots and pooled blood which you will be able to see when candling. In some cases, the ducklings can slice open their own arteries when they move around, which they usually die from. Pooled blood will usually show as a dark spot on the outside of the egg, but this doesn't mean that the chick has died or will die. If eggs ever darken or develop dark spots, make sure to candle them and check if the baby is alive.
On an unrelated note, talk to your eggs in the later weeks of incubation. They can hear as soon as their ears are formed and will respond to familiar noises. It's not drastically important, but I think it's very sweet that they can hatch already attached to your voice. I had one egg where every time I spoke in the last few days of incubation, he would move around in his egg. I could see him move when I candled the egg. As soon as he pipped internally, he would chirp in response to my voice.
When candling the eggs, do it above a soft surface like a thick blanket or a squishy pillow (your bed would also be good, anything that'll break the fall without hurting the embryo and that the egg won't roll off of.) Dropping the eggs is a serious possibility and can be very devastating.

 

[redranger209]

Question: is your incubator suppose to stink? Or does that mean somethings wrong?

Mine does, I don’t think it has enough circulation. It’s usually not a problem.

 

[Jellybean05]

*Day 8*
Day 7 of incubation
I added water
And I also got photos!
Candling photo's:

Enjoy!
If you have any thoughts or questions
Do be afraid to share them ​