what does black spots on eggs mean

[sandcat]

My ducklings have been hatched for almost a week and there are still 6 eggs in the nest but they have some black spots on them, is this a bad thing or is it normal?

 

[duckyfromoz]

Without actually seeing them ... I would have to say a bad thing - it would most likely mean they are rotten.. Is the duck still on the nest at all or off looking after the other ducklings? If she is returning to the nest with them each night- you may have to try to get those eggs out of there so they dont eventually explode.

 

[katharinad]

Is it really black or dark blotches under the shell? Dark blotches are usually caused when the duckling is getting ready to hatch and turns inside of the egg. It's their tiny toe nails that cause small bleeds in the membrane which produce those dark blotches. Bad eggs are also causing black looks, I would be cautious of those if they are not it the hatching period. They can explode and will contaminate the nest and other eggs.

 

[sandcat]

Mother duck was off the nest all day yesterday with the ducklings, I havnt seen her sitting on the eggs at all, and as it got dark she didnt take them back to the nest, the spots are definatley on the outside of the eggs and one of the eggs looks"deflated" which i will remove today.

 

[katharinad]

You can ditch the nest and eggs now, because momma duck is done sitting. She abandoned them for a reason and I bet they all are bad. Female ducks sometimes know what they are doing.

 

[sandcat]

Thankyou so much for all the advice

 

[sandcat]

All the eggs were putrid yuck the smell was awful!!! and i lost a duckling, found it next to the nest prob couldnt get back in poor wee one, there have been 10 ducklings for 2 days now so hopefully they just keep getting stronger and stronger.

 

[duckyfromoz]

They can be so horrid... I had a friend come to help my cut down some bamboo once. He struck a rotten egg that had been buried in there for what must have been about 6 months. The smell was sickening...And somehow he just kept working.

I had to move away until the air cleared a bit.

Sorry about the little one you found- but at least you have 10 beautiful little ones wandering around with their mother.

 

[quiltbea]

Sorry about the bad eggs, but congratulations on the ten that made it.
It sounds like Mama is doing just fine with them.

 

[sandcat]

yes she is a wonderful mother, sheltering her babies when they need it, showing them how to get food and staying with them when they in the tray of water.