Please Help!!!!! sudden dark spot and no movement in egg

[Kiki]

Really good, thank you for the information and great suggestion
...I definitely need to do that. I've just been trusting my lame ol' incubator's readings...
I was told that this incubator is "cursed" -lol. I'm borrowing it from a friend, who had tried to hatch a dozen ...with only one survivor. I've done two hatches now, with more eggs...both resulted with only ONE survivor! That seems too bizarre, even if it's temp/humidity...I'm flabbergasted at how in the world just one lived each time.

I have a thermometer/hydrometer on the way (Amazon) -and I'll be getting my own incubator soon, too.

You could use a styrofoam ice chest and it will work (you can get it to work) IF you have calibrated instruments.

It was so hard for me to understand how the built in or the brand news ones that come wit a bator could be so off...but they are.
I'm willing to bet that is what your problem is.

 

[HappyDancin']

You could use a styrofoam ice chest and it will work (you can get it to work) IF you have calibrated instruments.

It was so hard for me to understand how the built in or the brand news ones that come wit a bator could be so off...but they are.
I'm willing to bet that is what your problem is.

Yeah! It must be...
I've got four eggs on lockdown in there (out of 22, 18 which already died early darn it!), they are due to hatch Sunday (IF any hatch). Afterward, its time to calibrate! I'll never set another clutch in the incubator without calibration first! Thank you, again!

Good luck with your remaining eggs, OP. I hope this info helped you, too. And hopefully you can get more mallards set after this batch!

 

[WVduckchick]

I think rough handling of inventory messes with all the meters in these incubators, they are pretty sensitive, even the digital ones have sensors that get messed up.

Good info on the salt test Kiki. I’d just like to add for future readers that the salt test is a scientific thing... salt slurry scientifically should be 75% relative humidity. But too wet or too dry mixture of slurry, room temperatures, the size of container vs the amount of slurry, etc do affect the test. But usually not enough to worry about for incubation purposes.
Oh and don’t let your hygrometer touch the slurry. It will ruin it.

Good luck with the hatches everyone!

 

[WeTheWeys]

@KikisGirls @RubyNala97 @WVduckchick @ChickNanny13 @HappyDancin'

Thank you all for the info and replies. This is going to be long so feel free to skip it all, but... you should all read the last part, just to give you a little smile!!!

~I gave headings to different sections so you don't have to read the whole reply!!~

Egg with dark spots:
Egg was 100% dead it started to smell. It shocks me how quickly it can go from perfect to gone in just a few hours

Mallard question from @WVduckchick :
I got an assorted shipment from Metzer Farms, and of the assortment, two were mallard eggs. One was never fertile, the other one is the egg that died last night. [SIDE NOTE: after watching some videos of their set-up, I would never purchase from them again... I would not support their business, the ducklings are crammed together so tight they hardly have room to move! Do any of you have experience with Metzer and can reassure me that they are actually good and humane to their ducks? Their site does give decent information but I have done hours upon hours of outside reading before purchasing my eggs.]ß


In terms of the humidity @KikisGirls :
I actually have two humidity/temp readers that I bought before even getting the eggs, because I knew that the incubator reading would likely be inaccurate.
I calibrated the incubator thermometer as well as the two others, and the two others are vastly better at detecting correct humidity levels.

Picture @RubyNala97 :
The pictures of the dead egg are on my phone (not my laptop from which I am writing) so I will try to post those later (if I don't post them by Monday, someone remind me!)

If you want to know about my current losses:
I am just so anxious that the others will die too! Started with 12, down to 7. One was infertile from the start, one had a crack which I covered with wax but the egg soon developed a blood ring, and the other two never developed. Last night was death of the fifth egg. I waited until day 10 to remove the first egg which I was certain was infertile from the start. I separated the other three "bad" eggs into the separate incubator and left them until day 14 (yesterday) just in case they were slow to develop. I am assuming by now I would have seen even the slightest hint of life? Once I removed those three eggs, a few hours later I noticed the mallard egg had no movement and its veins were turning black, so I moved him into the separate incubator.

About my hatching process:
I have been sooooooooo so so so so overly cautious with these guys it's insane. (if you can't already tell........ this is my first time ever hatching / owning ducks [and any sort of bird for that matter] so I still have a lot to learn), but hopefully all goes well and the seven remaining will hatch


Here is something to give you a smile....

I have always been obsessed with ducks since I was little, not sure how this started. I obviously don't remember this but my parents always used to tell me the story of my first word.....

My first word was QUACK! My mom said they were all standing around me because I was silently looking up at them all and apparently it looked like I had something really important to say and that I was frustrated because I couldn't communicate it..... She told me that they kept saying "come on, what is it? use your voice and tell us!" (again, I had yet to ever talk) and apparently I just stared at them all with a very serious and concerned face and yelled out, "QUACK!!!" and they all thought it was the funniest thing...


(i have a wildly huge rubber duck collection and a miracle story about one of my rubber duckies, so let me know if you want to hear that story! My profile icon is actually a picture from my rubber duck collection! i currently have over 500 rubber ducks)

 

[HappyDancin']

Aww - adorable! I'm sure your real ducks will become quite a collection, too!
Oh, and of course you should tell the miracle duck story!

 

[RubyNala97]

Very funny story! I started with ducks a few years back and I absolutely love them. They are a ton of work since they are so messy but their personalities are great! Also, if you hatch them and handle them a lot as babies they imprint on you. (I even have a house duck but that’s a different story). They will follow you around the yard and since mine are call ducks they always are crying for me when I go inside. I have never dealt with hatcheries, only private breeders so I can’t give any advice on them. You think your nervous now, watch till hatch time!

 

[WVduckchick]

@WeTheWeys that did make me smile!
So many folks join BYC in panic mode when something horrible happens (myself included lol) but you have done good homework and research! Always a nice thing to see here.

Would love to see more of your rubber duckie collection in between hatching updates, if you would like to share!

 

[WeTheWeys]

Okay here we go! info to spare you another long read in this long (LONGGG) post: I will talk about...
1. miracle duck story!
2. rubber duck collection!
3. hatching nerves

(i also have an instagram dedicated to my ducks (well.... my eggs) called we.the.weys if you wanna give it a follow, i posted a three part video of my little Bluwey who is the little egg who passed away on Thursday)

Miracle Duck Story! @HappyDancin'

I was very young, probably around 2 years old, when I got my first rubber duck. (I actually have a VERY vague memory of exactly the place and smell and moment of seeing it in the store and I think it is because it was so significant for me lol) Loved this rubber duck, he was my very best friend and came everywhere with me. (I would hold him while sucking my thumb too haha i will try and find a picture) One day in the back of my mom's car on the way to her work I was playing with my ducky and it fell out the window on the highway...... I was so upset. I wouldn't speak to anyone nothing would make me feel better, that's how my rubber ducky collection started... because they kept getting me rubber ducks to try and replace it but nothing was the same. A new bright yellow rubber duck was completely different from my dark yellow worn down, teeth marks in the beak rubber ducky. They gave me this tiny tiny one that I decided was his little brother, and I started sleeping with him every night instead. Then an entire year later my mom came home from work freaking out....

....MIRACLE !!!!! She had found the ducky in her parking lot at work up on a rock ledge kind of thing...! I knew it was the same one because you can't buy one like that, with my baby teeth marks and all worn down and greyed... She thinks the plows must've caught it in the snow and it pushed up, and when the snow melted there he was!

MIRACLE!!! Now I still sleep with both of them every night lol (I know, I know.... way too old for that...) PICTURE AT BOTTOM!


Rubber Ducky Collection @WVduckchick
I'm still getting used to this website so I will try and add pictures, last time I did that... the picture added literally 25 times so... bare with me... this is not my entire collection, I have them EVERYWHERE so it would be impossible to get them all in one picture.... seriously everywhere all over the house in random spots just for decoration... even in my parents' and fiancé's and friends' cars....

Hatching Nerves! @RubyNala97
I am so nervous! Excitedly nervous!! I am making my own incubator for hatch time so that I can watch through the little window, since my current bator is actually very translucent, nearly opaque. I just can't wait, I have to see it happen! I think this is the coolest thing ever! I had originally planned on merely purchasing ducklings, however I decided to take on the challenge of hatching them so that I could really have the full experience!

^from the miracle story!

 

[WVduckchick]

Okay here we go! info to spare you another long read in this long (LONGGG) post: I will talk about...
1. miracle duck story!
2. rubber duck collection!
3. hatching nerves

(i also have an instagram dedicated to my ducks (well.... my eggs) called we.the.weys if you wanna give it a follow, i posted a three part video of my little Bluwey who is the little egg who passed away on Thursday)

Miracle Duck Story! @HappyDancin'

I was very young, probably around 2 years old, when I got my first rubber duck. (I actually have a VERY vague memory of exactly the place and smell and moment of seeing it in the store and I think it is because it was so significant for me lol) Loved this rubber duck, he was my very best friend and came everywhere with me. (I would hold him while sucking my thumb too haha i will try and find a picture) One day in the back of my mom's car on the way to her work I was playing with my ducky and it fell out the window on the highway...... I was so upset. I wouldn't speak to anyone nothing would make me feel better, that's how my rubber ducky collection started... because they kept getting me rubber ducks to try and replace it but nothing was the same. A new bright yellow rubber duck was completely different from my dark yellow worn down, teeth marks in the beak rubber ducky. They gave me this tiny tiny one that I decided was his little brother, and I started sleeping with him every night instead. Then an entire year later my mom came home from work freaking out....

....MIRACLE !!!!! She had found the ducky in her parking lot at work up on a rock ledge kind of thing...! I knew it was the same one because you can't buy one like that, with my baby teeth marks and all worn down and greyed... She thinks the plows must've caught it in the snow and it pushed up, and when the snow melted there he was!

MIRACLE!!! Now I still sleep with both of them every night lol (I know, I know.... way too old for that...) PICTURE AT BOTTOM!


Rubber Ducky Collection @WVduckchick
I'm still getting used to this website so I will try and add pictures, last time I did that... the picture added literally 25 times so... bare with me... this is not my entire collection, I have them EVERYWHERE so it would be impossible to get them all in one picture.... seriously everywhere all over the house in random spots just for decoration... even in my parents' and fiancé's and friends' cars....

Hatching Nerves! @RubyNala97
I am so nervous! Excitedly nervous!! I am making my own incubator for hatch time so that I can watch through the little window, since my current bator is actually very translucent, nearly opaque. I just can't wait, I have to see it happen! I think this is the coolest thing ever! I had originally planned on merely purchasing ducklings, however I decided to take on the challenge of hatching them so that I could really have the full experience!View attachment 1484507 View attachment 1484508 View attachment 1484509 View attachment 1484510
^from the miracle story!

I love it!! The rubber duckies are awesome. The story of finding the original is so cool too! Thank you for sharing.
I actually have 4 rubber duckies. A momma and 3 babies. I used to have more, but apparently they got lost in a move at some time or another.

Speaking of making yourself a hatcher, if you would want to spend maybe $100-$125ish, look up the Nurture Right 360 incubator. I bought one as an extra, but love hatching in it for the view! And it’s a decent stable incubator for the money.

 

[WeTheWeys]

I love it!! The rubber duckies are awesome. The story of finding the original is so cool too! Thank you for sharing.
I actually have 4 rubber duckies. A momma and 3 babies. I used to have more, but apparently they got lost in a move at some time or another.

Speaking of making yourself a hatcher, if you would want to spend maybe $100-$125ish, look up the Nurture Right 360 incubator. I bought one as an extra, but love hatching in it for the view! And it’s a decent stable incubator for the money.

View attachment 1484517

I have looked into it actually! But I think for now these will be my only little ones, until I have more of my life figured out!!! Moving in a few years, not sure to where (yes I plan to take my current (hopefully current if they hatch!) group with me wherever I go, but at most that wouldn't be more than 7 (if they all hatch, I can't start a whole duck farm just yet! (want to one day though!))