trouble candling/determining fertility

[StitchMyStars6]

I'm sorta new at this "duck" stuff lol. I'm having trouble candling my Pekin duck eggs. I'm using a tiny yet powerful flashlight (like one of those mechanics lights) and it's hard to tell if it's fertile or just yolk... I have 6 eggs so far that my Pekin has laid every morning (I'm not sure which out of my two females it is), but she doesn't sit on them, so I have placed them in my little giant still air incubator at a temp of 99.5-100.0. I'm wondering what the chances are of having fertile/infertile eggs? I also have a crested male, which I'd imagine (with all the "fooling around" he does with the ladies in the pool) that the eggs may possibly be fertile. Is there anything else I can do or do differently? I'm hoping that at least one of these babies is fertile!!! ^_^

 

[Amiga]

Have you seen the Sticky on Hatching Waterfowl? That has loads of information. And there is the Thread Formerly Known as Hatch Day Is Today. Very helpful people there.

 

[ChicagoDucks]

You usually have to incubate for a week or so before you can tell if the eggs are fertile. After a week in the incubator, you should start to see blood vessels and possibly the embryo when you candle. Your flashlight may be bright enough if you are candling in a very dark room. Duck eggshells are thicker, and they can be harder to see through than white shelled chicken eggs. I use a flashlight sometimes, but I also have a candling box with a 100 watt light bulb for a better look.

 

[StitchMyStars6]

thank you for the help I'm going to keep a better eye on them. we're up to 8 eggs so far. ^_^

 

[ChicagoDucks]

thank you for the help I'm going to keep a better eye on them. we're up to 8 eggs so far. ^_^

Great! Good luck with the hatch! Let us know how it goes.