Visited a working ranch.... found a bantam egg in a knothole puddle.

[Lisaa]

...and they said I could keep it.

While visiting this ranch, which is home to some heirloom bantams, I happened to look inside the knothole of a tree... and there was an egg. Several bantam hens and a few roos were in a large pen, but one rooster and two hens were running around and it had to have been one of these hens who decided to use that knothole.

The day was cool, around 60 degrees, and the egg was cold and sitting in about a quarter inch of water from recent rains. I am guessing it couldn't have been there for too long or predators would have found it. So, with the blessings of the ranch hands, we took the egg home. It's a bit dirty but I didn't attempt to clean it. Within 24 hours I had it in an incubator rented from our local 4H office.

The only time I ever tried incubating an egg (after my daughter found a Mallard egg on the lawn outside of her school) I did successfully hatch a duckling - the one in my avatar. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...e-question-about-incubating-a-duck-egg-newbie About fell over at the first candling when those little veins were visible. Miracle of miracles! So I'm a teeny bit encouraged that there may be a chance with this egg. Everything I know about hatching eggs I learned from this forum.

Have any of you guys had similar experiences and stories to share? Mainly, finding a wet, cold egg and finding out it was viable? I would love to hear your stories!

I didn't candle it but will in a week to see if anything's going on. Thank you in advance for any info you care to share.

 

[Kadra]

Fun! Good luck. I am currently incubating "a barnyard mix" of 11 eggs that were under our Buff Orpington, Lucinda, who was killed by a raccoon on Saturday.

This is my first time trying to hatch. Ducklings are SOOO cute.

 

[Lisaa]

So sorry for your loss of mama hen. How many days do the eggs have to go? Best wishes for a successful hatch.

Oh, that little duckling stole our hearts. He came out just perfect! My daughters were so attached to him (or her!)... but we knew we couldn't keep him so we turned him over to a wildlife sanctuary after a couple of weeks. We think of him often.

 

[Kadra]

Thank you. I had been letting her build up her "secret nest" in our fuchsia plants in hopes that she would go broody, and after she had a clutch of 22 eggs she started sitting on them! After a few days we swapped them out for a dozen fertile eggs we had purchased (roos aren't allowed in my town). So, the eggs still have 17 more days to go. They are in a DIY incubator I made, I'm trying to locate a "real" incubator- I never thought to rent one- maybe I'll call 4-H tomorrow! How much did they rent it to you for?

 

[Kadra]

Also, I will probably try candling once I have them stable in a real incubator.

 

[Lisaa]

They charged $15. It's a Hova-Bator ciculated air, with automatic turners. Worked quite well the first time with our little duck egg.

I took a wild guess that you may be in Linn County. If so, this information came up. If it's not correct, just try a search for Oregon county extension offices. Good luck!

Linn County Extension Office
4th and Lyons
PO Box 765
Albany, OR 97321
Robin Galloway
541-967-3871

 

[Kadra]

Thanks so much! I still can't believe you hatched a duckling from a found egg. That is so cool. I have 7 eggs left, in a Little Giant Still Air incubator I bought for $60 at Wilco. Tonight while candling I saw two moving embryos! How is your egg doing?

 

[Lisaa]

Good for you! Hope you get many years of use from the incubator, too.

Well, our bantam egg did not fare so well... it was a dud. Not sure if it was even fertile. After 9 days, candling showed nothing inside but what looked like murky egg-drop soup. Win some, lose some! It was worth a try, anyhow.

Good luck with your little guys!

 

[LTygress]

I have PLENTY of stories like that. I've hatched the very first egg my leghorn ever laid, successfully. I've hatched 6 eggs taken from a refrigerator (oldest one had been in the fridge for over two weeks), successfully. I've successfully hatched one that was completely soaked by the rain when I found it (not submerged in water, but not dry at all). And I've hatched all kinds of random eggs that my chickens have laid in odd places around the yard - and not in the nest box.

It's amazing what these little eggs are capable of going through before we incubate them - and still creating a new life!