Temp spike. HELP!

[tam2]

My daughter was given a pekin duck egg by a farmer at the fair. She decided she was going to hatch it and set out to 'incubate' it with a heating pad. I never thought it would start to develop but it did. So I assembled a crude incubator with a Styrofoam cooler bowl of water and a thermometer/humidity gauge. All had been going well until last night when the temp spiked to 109 for up to 6 hours max (I checked it at 11:30p and it was 100, but at 6a it was 109. We candled it the night before the spike and we had good movement, lots of veins, etc... But now after the spike I barely see any movement and there is a spot that looks like maybe pooled blood. We still have veins but I don't know how long those would stay intact after death. Do you think it died? How long would the veins stay? Or is it possible it is at a developmental stage with less movement? We are at day 17. It is still in the incubator back at 100. Thanks for any input.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you joined the flock. I'm afraid temps that go too high are quite dangerous for eggs. It can kill the embryo. The blood ring you have mentioned is also not a good sign this usually means the embryo has died. I would leave it a few more days and candle again to see if the veins have gone. If they do go I'm afraid it has died.
If it's not good news for your egg I do hope you have another go at incubation it's such a rewarding experience when you have chicks hatch

 

[tam2]

A check again today and I'm still not sure. It looks like the embryo is bigger and maybe a little movement around the edge of the dark area. Still see veins but not like before the spike. From what I was reading that's normal at this stage? so for now I'm going to keep incubating until it is obvious one way our the other. Also no sign of the blood spot I saw yesterday...

 

[Bryam]

Temps that high often kill the embryo! Sorry! Temp at 105 kill the embryo.

 

[HugHess]

A check again today and I'm still not sure. It looks like the embryo is bigger and maybe a little movement around the edge of the dark area. Still see veins but not like before the spike. From what I was reading that's normal at this stage? so for now I'm going to keep incubating until it is obvious one way our the other. Also no sign of the blood spot I saw yesterday...

I wouldn't give up on it yet. I have heard of people spiking high and still getting a hatched duck.
You just never know...Brinsea.com has a great link about incubating that may help you figure your parameters with temp. Brinsea states short period up to 110* can still get you a fuzz butt! You may also want to look into water candling to look for 'proof' of life...? There are good videos on Youtube for that.
Some people don't like it, me personally, it stopped me in my tracks regarding an egg that I just swore was a quitter! Hatched out day 21!
Best wishes for you and your daughter for a healthy happy hatch....
http://www.brinsea.com/Articles/Advice/PowerOff.aspx