Is my duck egg dead?

[cameron21]

Hello,

So I am currently on day 28 with my lone Aylesbury Duck egg. They are Mallard derived so by this point there should at least be some internal pipping happening. I candled the egg this afternoon and there is still no internal pip. Is this normal? The temperature has been set to 37.2 since day 25 and the humidity at 65%. My last hatchlings were external pipping by now so it's got me a little bit worried. The egg still has veins in and I have done a float test and the egg floats with the big end at the top.

A further bit of information, this egg tricked me on day 21 and looked as if it had aborted, however, a few days later it looked absolutely fine again with lots of movement.

I've attached a picture of day 21 and todays candling and float test for reference but any help and advice would be greatly appreciated at this time.

Thank you!

 

[nchls school]

Are you sure of the date? By this time light should NOT pass through the egg accept through the air cell. Are you positive of the breed? The second picture looks alive. Is it possible the egg is a muscovy egg which takes 33-35 days to hatch?

If you are sure of the breed and date of hatch, with light passing through, the egg has died.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Your temperature was too low.
It's going to be several more days to hatch if it will.
You shouldn't dunk hatching eggs into water.

 

[cameron21]

Are you sure of the date? By this time light should NOT pass through the egg accept through the air cell. Are you positive of the breed? The second picture looks alive. Is it possible the egg is a muscovy egg which takes 33-35 days to hatch?

If you are sure of the breed and date of hatch, with light passing through, the egg has died.

Absolutely positive that today is day 28. The first pic you see is from day 21. It's definitely an Aylesbury duck too

 

[cameron21]

Your temperature was too low.
It's going to be several more days to hatch if it will.
You shouldn't dunk hatching eggs into water.

The temp was 37.5 until lockdown. That's when it got reduced to 37.2 I've done this before and the duckling weren't delayed.

Also I did the float test as I couldn't quite tell from the candling whether the duckling was still alive or not.

 

[nchls school]

Absolutely positive that today is day 28. The first pic you see is from day 21. It's definitely an Aylesbury duck too

Then I'd think the embryo had died especially if light passes through in other places other than the air cell. If the egg were solid dark I'd suggest giving it a few more days as I have heard of other people having their duck eggs hatching days late. This I do not understand as my duck eggs have always hatched on time or not at all.

 

[cameron21]

Then I'd think the embryo had died especially if light passes through in other places other than the air cell. If the egg were solid dark I'd suggest giving it a few more days as I have heard of other people having their duck eggs hatching days late. This I do not understand as my duck eggs have always hatched on time or not at all.

It's such a shame that this happens. Everything was running so well. The only worry I have is that I can still see veins just under the air sac which look healthy. If I was to terminate the egg now what would happen? I just don't want to cause any pain if there's still a chance it is still alive.

 

[nchls school]

Veins break down fast once the embryo dies. Give it a few days and candle again. Look for the presence of veins again and other positive changes. Look carefully at the border between the embryo and air cell. When the embryo is alive that border forms a crisp line. A faded, blurry line indicates that the embryo has died. But be aware that there is one other cause of a blurry line and that is internal pipping.

 

[cameron21]

Veins break down fast once the embryo dies. Give it a few days and candle again. Look for the presence of veins again and other positive changes. Look carefully at the border between the embryo and air cell. When the embryo is alive that border forms a crisp line. A faded, blurry line indicates that the embryo has died. But be aware that there is one other cause of a blurry line and that is internal pipping.

I’ve had another look at the egg this evening and there is absolutely no movement inside. It’s hard to see into the egg properly but it does seem that the duckling hasn’t formed properly. It’s not looking great at all unfortunately.

 

[nchls school]

Sorry. At times like that I tell myself, "Maybe next time".