Hands on hatching and help

[AmyLynn2374]

Hey Amy, I was just checking on the air sacks on my 6 eggs that are goin into lockdown Monday and decided one of my ancona eggs on day 16 looked dead. There were no veins on the egg's shell and the inside was dark and cloudy. I could see black blotches that were probably parts of the embryo. The shell itself had 2 dark blemishes that started up on it as well. After candling it for a couple minutes, searching for signs of movement or veins and finding only a dark cloud sloshing around inside half of the egg I decided to call it and removed it. I cracked it only to find a fairly well developed embryo and a bunch of veins inside the yolk that I was unable to see when candling. It didn't move but I thought I could see its chest move up n down ever so slightly a couple times even though my wife said I was crazy. Could that chick still have hatched or once the veins recede from the shell linings is it a goner? I hate to think I killed a chick but I don't wanna do it again if I did screw up and pull it too soon. I've been watching this particular egg for bout a week now and finally decided to call it before it built up a bunch of bacteria.

I don't remove eggs after a week and a half (talking chicken) unless they smell or leak. (Unless it's no brainer, obvious.) That late in the game, it's too hard to tell. I'd leve them in until the end. Now, I will say, I am not a duck hatcher, but I have seen many posts on here where new hatchers have asked about dark spots in the egg, or black spots in the egg so I will refer to the duck hatchers to answer what goes on when this happen cause even though I don't get into those posts, I see it frequently.

 

[caesargirl]

That sounds like a quitter. The veins disappear from the membrane first, yolk last. I leave my eggs for quite a long time, to be sure of death. To say wether you saw movement is hard to tell. I would in the future, leave them for several days after you believe they quit, barring smell or seeping. Did you happen to take any pics?

 

[casportpony]

Dark spots before day 24 usually don't end well with my eggs. Usually means bacteria or a broken vein. Next time I see one I'll take some pictures. That said, I don't toss them, I'm like Amy, I leave them unless they smell or ooze.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

That sounds like a quitter. The veins disappear from the membrane first, yolk last. I leave my eggs for quite a long time, to be sure of death. To say wether you saw movement is hard to tell. I would in the future, leave them for several days after you believe they quit, barring smell or seeping. Did you happen to take any pics?

X2

-Kathy

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Yea it was definitely looking completely different from the rest of the eggs. It didn't stink until I broke it open and then the yolk was pretty stinky. Of course that could be the way all embryos smell since I've never hatched them and smelled them before. It smelled somewhat like a rotten egg but I have definitely smelled eggs way more rotten than this one smelled. Do eggs have that sour smell to them when they incubate???

 

[casportpony]

Yea it was definitely looking completely different from the rest of the eggs.  It didn't stink until I broke it open and then the yolk was pretty stinky.  Of course that could be the way all embryos smell since I've never hatched them and smelled them before.  It smelled somewhat like a rotten egg but I have definitely smelled eggs way more rotten than this one smelled.  Do eggs have that sour smell to them when they incubate???

They yolk shouldn't smell.

-Kathy

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yea it was definitely looking completely different from the rest of the eggs. It didn't stink until I broke it open and then the yolk was pretty stinky. Of course that could be the way all embryos smell since I've never hatched them and smelled them before. It smelled somewhat like a rotten egg but I have definitely smelled eggs way more rotten than this one smelled. Do eggs have that sour smell to them when they incubate???

That sounds like it was already gone or had the start of something like "mushy chick". I am assuming that ducks too can get Omphalitis. I'd say if it smelled, it was out or on it's way there from bacterial infection.

 

[casportpony]

 
Yea it was definitely looking completely different from the rest of the eggs.  It didn't stink until I broke it open and then the yolk was pretty stinky.  Of course that could be the way all embryos smell since I've never hatched them and smelled them before.  It smelled somewhat like a rotten egg but I have definitely smelled eggs way more rotten than this one smelled.  Do eggs have that sour smell to them when they incubate???

That sounds like it was already gone or had the start of something like "mushy chick". I am assuming that ducks too can get Omphalitis. I'd say if it smelled, it was out or on it's way there from bacterial infection.

Ducks sure do get "mushy duckling", got some pictures if anyone wants to see.

-Kathy

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Ducks sure do get "mushy duckling", got some pictures if anyone wants to see.

-Kathy

Pics are always educational in my opinion!!!

 

[caesargirl]

I don't like the way eggs with embryos smell even when the quit is just hours dead. It smells just earthy to me, not rotten. It generally takes bacteria or several day dead to smell foul. And, if you did open an egg that was in the process of quitting (sounds like so) there would have been nothing to do to save the fetus.