Help! Egg looking weird at Day 26 - embryo still moving!

[Luckystrike1971]

Hello! Could anyone tell me please if this Mallard egg looks viable? It looks very odd to me with strange black spots inside, and everything separated out, with what looks like a whole side of albumen. But the embryo still seems to be moving! It's supposed to be Day 26, but I can't be sure as I was storing in quite a warm room while I was waiting for the incubator I ordered online to arrive, and I think it might have kick started it earlier than I intended. I've never done this before and have had to learn as I go after a Mallard laid a couple of eggs on my lawn (a week apart). Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Everose]

@CluckNDoodle

 

[Luckystrike1971]

@CluckNDoodle Thanks for your reply - are you saying you think the egg looks okay?

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Hello! Could anyone tell me please if this Mallard egg looks viable? It looks very odd to me with strange black spots inside, and everything separated out, with what looks like a whole side of albumen. But the embryo still seems to be moving! It's supposed to be Day 26, but I can't be sure as I was storing in quite a warm room while I was waiting for the incubator I ordered online to arrive, and I think it might have kick started it earlier than I intended. I've never done this before and have had to learn as I go after a Mallard laid a couple of eggs on my lawn (a week apart). Any advice gratefully received.View attachment 2667190

If you haven't already, I would go ahead and stop turning the eggs to get ready for hatch. Even if they aren't hatching early, it looks suspicious enough to play it safe and they're far enough in development to stop turning.

It does look a little odd to me, it takes pretty high temps for an egg to start developing even in a warm room but that's not to say it isn't possible. I had a egg that had a few days of development before I put it in the Incubator because it rolled into a hot corner of the coop and went unnoticed in the middle of the summer in Georgia heat for a few days.

Was the air cell saddled to begin with or did it just start to draw down like in your image? The air cell drawing down is a sign that the duckling is getting ready to hatch if it wasn't already an oddly shaped air cell. The temps may have been high in your Incubator if you didn't have a secondary calibrated thermometer to monitor temperature and that can cause early hatches as well.

Overall, it's hard to say from this image. The little shadow at the midsection of the air cell almost looks like an internal pip or possibly just shadowing as the duckling moves around. This is much easier to see in person of course.

 

[Luckystrike1971]

@CluckNDoodle Thanks very much for your helpful reply. *EDIT* I think you're right - I thought it was egg white, but maybe it is saddled...although there is a separate air cell at the top of the egg (I'm candling from the pointy end as I didn't want to turn the egg upside down at this stage). From what I've just read, detached air sacks don't hatch

 

[CluckNDoodle]

@CluckNDoodle Thanks very much for your helpful reply. I know it's hard to see in the photo (I'll try and post a video if that's possible) - that's actually not the air sac (which is smaller than it should be for Day 26). All that clear area is the white of the egg . Maybe it's just behind schedule...I'll crank up the humidity and hope for the best! Do you think those black bits look okay? They kind of look like busted vessels, but I'm no expert...

If the image is from the pointed end of the egg rather than the air cell then it's probably a quitter and what you're seeing is the blood vessels receding. It takes longer for them to recede when they are developed further but even when an egg looks like this if you see movement, and the egg doesn't stink, then just continue to wait.

Also, if you're trying to upload a video you have to upload it through YouTube and share the link.

 

[Luckystrike1971]

If the image is from the pointed end of the egg rather than the air cell then it's probably a quitter and what you're seeing is the blood vessels receding. It takes longer for them to recede when they are developed further but even when an egg looks like this if you see movement, and the egg doesn't stink, then just continue to wait.

Also, if you're trying to upload a video you have to upload it through YouTube and share the link.

Ah...that was my fear... I think I candled it too often... what a shame. I'm pretty sure I saw movement when I looked yesterday, and it doesn't smell, so I'll keep it in there and try and manage my expectations! I really appreciate your insight and advice, thank you @CluckNDoodle

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Ah...that was my fear... I think I candled it too often... what a shame. I'm pretty sure I saw movement when I looked yesterday, and it doesn't smell, so I'll keep it in there and try and manage my expectations! I really appreciate your insight and advice, thank you @CluckNDoodle

I doubt it's from candling too often as long as you wash your hands thoroughly before handling the eggs to prevent oils on your hands from clogging the pores of the porous shell and washing away any bacteria you may have come into contact with.

Sometimes they will surprise you too, so unless you're positive it's a quitter, it's always better to wait.

 

[Luckystrike1971]

I was pretty vigilant about washing my hands... I can't work out what's caused it to separate out like that at such an advanced stage, but agree with you that the blood vessels do look as if they're receding... poor duckling probably won't be moving around for much longer but I'll certainly keep it in the incubator until I'm certain. I just need to make sure I don't mess up the other egg (the second egg which was left there a week later on my lawn) with the high humidity, as I only have one incubator. Thanks again for the advice and moral support

 

[Everose]

Don't feel too bad, I've got an SA egg that looks very similar. I've candled like maybe three times and the eggs are going into lock down today. I'm hoping that the little one makes it and surprises me.