What happened to the blood veins in the eggs?

[Orca5094]

My incubator arrived yesterday! AND my neighbor didn't realize I had one coming and he bought me one too! So now I have a second incubator on the way. I guess I can have 2 sets going at the same time if I want. Anyway I was very impressed with it. I just plugged it in added water to the bottom tray turned it on and within 20 minutes the temp and humidity were already where they were supposed to be. I waited a while to make sure it was stable in there then put the eggs in it. I didn't put the turner in there because of this first baby that should be hatching within the next 24 hours or so. I candled it this morning and though it is AS active as it was a few days ago it is still moving around in there. I guess he doesn't have much room to move in there now. I am keeping a watchful eye on it because I am hoping to video it hatching. There was very little light visible inside the egg when I candled it so it is pretty jam packed in there! Hoping all goes well and we will have a healthy duckling soon!

I am thinking that I may use one incubator for the majority of the incubation process and then when day 25 arrives I can just move them to the incubator without the turning tray...

Wow, what an awesome neighbor!

That's a great idea to use one as an incubator, and one as a "hatcher". That will make conditions better for all the eggs since they have different hatch dates. Like needing more humidity starting day 25 and no turning, etc. It'll be so much easier to have two different machines for each purpose.

Keep us updated on your eggie!

 

[cajuntc74]

Ok Orca,
I could use some advice. My duck egg is on day 28 and there is no sign at all that it is trying to hatch. I candled it quickly this morning and there was SLIGHT movement in there. Hardly any at all but just a flick or two. I looked in the air sac and there is just one tiny part right on the edge where they MAY be some slight internal pipping going on but no obvious beak or anything in the sac. There are no humps on the egg..it is not wobbling around like it was 2 days ago. I did notice that there is a dime size gray spot on the pointed end of the egg.. that is worrisome to me. Is that a blood mark from inside the egg? Is my little duckling in any danger ya think? The new incubator is keeping the temp at 99.5 and the humidity level is about 69%...am I being impatient?

I have all the other eggs in the 2nd incubator ... it came from Ebay and the temp and humidity are about the same in that one. However, we had to use other tools to verify the setting in that one because the digital readings on the incubator are all out of whack. It says on the incubator that the humidity in that one is 92% but there is less water in that one than the other one. I used the humidity thingy from my husbands cigar humidor and it says it is 65% and it reads exactly correct in the other incubator...I also used 2 other digital thermometers in both incubators to make sure the temperature was accurate.
I am a ball of nerves with this egg today. I should have just stayed in bed today! LOL...

Any ideas or advice? I wish I could just crack that thing and take it out of there!! I know I can't do that but it would be nice if I could do that and get him out alive!

 

[Orca5094]

Ok Orca,
I could use some advice. My duck egg is on day 28 and there is no sign at all that it is trying to hatch. I candled it quickly this morning and there was SLIGHT movement in there. Hardly any at all but just a flick or two. I looked in the air sac and there is just one tiny part right on the edge where they MAY be some slight internal pipping going on but no obvious beak or anything in the sac. There are no humps on the egg..it is not wobbling around like it was 2 days ago. I did notice that there is a dime size gray spot on the pointed end of the egg.. that is worrisome to me. Is that a blood mark from inside the egg? Is my little duckling in any danger ya think? The new incubator is keeping the temp at 99.5 and the humidity level is about 69%...am I being impatient?

I have all the other eggs in the 2nd incubator ... it came from Ebay and the temp and humidity are about the same in that one. However, we had to use other tools to verify the setting in that one because the digital readings on the incubator are all out of whack. It says on the incubator that the humidity in that one is 92% but there is less water in that one than the other one. I used the humidity thingy from my husbands cigar humidor and it says it is 65% and it reads exactly correct in the other incubator...I also used 2 other digital thermometers in both incubators to make sure the temperature was accurate.
I am a ball of nerves with this egg today. I should have just stayed in bed today! LOL...

Any ideas or advice? I wish I could just crack that thing and take it out of there!! I know I can't do that but it would be nice if I could do that and get him out alive!

Ok, the dark gray spot that has appeared on the pointy end of the egg is likely the duckling trying to pip in that spot. Can you post a pic? If that's what it is (and I'm pretty sure it is, I had the same thing happen to one of my eggs last year), then that means the duckling is upside down and may need help hatching out. I would recommend reading through this link under "Malpositions", you'll have to scroll down a bit.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

There's alot of information there, so just take it all in and don't panic! Ducklings take a long time to hatch and helping them out too early is usually a death sentence. Your little guy may need a tiny little safety hole at that dark spot to make sure it can get some air in there since it's not hatching out into the air cell like it should be (if I am right about the dark spot). The link above will tell you how to do that, and the signs to look for so you know when/if you need to help further. Sometimes they can still hatch out on their own in these cases, but sometimes they can't.

My malpositioned duckling last year ended up getting very stuck and I did have to help her out very very slowly over a 36 hour period. I'm happy to say she made it and just turned a year old a couple months ago. My friendliest and most favorite duck ever (she's the duckling in my avatar, actually). She does have a little leg issue she's had since hatching though, likely caused by the odd position she was in inside her egg, but she gets along just fine.

 

[cajuntc74]

OK so guess what!!!!!!!!!!!! I was telling my hubby about it and he came in with the candler and helped me take a better look at it! ITS BEAK IS IN THE AIR SAC!!!!!!!!!! It was pecking at the air quite vigorously! I put him back in the incubator and now we start the waiting game.. I am going to do my best to keep my hands and mind busy with something else! I am so excited. This is the only survivor out of my first 6 eggs. I have another one that is due to hatch on the 14th.... I hope they both survive...I will post pictures as soon as I get some...Thank you so much for your reply!!!

 

[Orca5094]

OK so guess what!!!!!!!!!!!! I was telling my hubby about it and he came in with the candler and helped me take a better look at it! ITS BEAK IS IN THE AIR SAC!!!!!!!!!! It was pecking at the air quite vigorously! I put him back in the incubator and now we start the waiting game.. I am going to do my best to keep my hands and mind busy with something else! I am so excited. This is the only survivor out of my first 6 eggs. I have another one that is due to hatch on the 14th.... I hope they both survive...I will post pictures as soon as I get some...Thank you so much for your reply!!!

Ok, that's great! So glad it isn't malpositioned in there, that makes things much easier and less stressful. Not sure what caused the dark spot then, but sounds like all is well. Give the little one more time to hatch out. 28 days is just a ballpark, some take less time and some take more, especially if incubation conditions weren't spot on for the whole incubation. Can't wait for this little one to hatch! You'll have to post pics!

 

[cajuntc74]

I will try to get a picture of that spot..it is about the size of a dime..it is a gray spot..

 

[cajuntc74]

What a FREAKING roller coaster! Last night I could see it's little beak in the air sac.. today NOTHING! UGH.. Orca..is it dead? I see NO movement... and now I can see way more stuff in the egg than yesterday. When I candled it you can see way more yellow in pockets all around the egg. Yesterday you could only see the yolk sac and just a tiny bit of light just by the air cell...oh gosh...

 

[cajuntc74]

Orca,
Here are some current pictures of the egg... you can see the dark spot at the small end. I am wondering if it is trying to come out from that end...you can see the lines where I marked off the air sac growth...
I am at a loss. My hubby came home this evening and candled it and we thought we may have seen slight movement but just not sure...

 

[cajuntc74]

So that egg died. It smells bad already. I have another egg that is due to hatch on Friday. This one is seriously going into lock down starting tomorrow. No opening the lid! Maybe my curiosity it what killed the duck. AND it was a very small egg. I do think that it must have been backwards in there. SMH..I am learning and hopefully I will have at least a couple of success stories before all these eggs end up in my garden. I have about 12 eggs left and Hussy is still laying one every day. I am leaving them in her little makeshift nest she has built until I decide what I am going to do with them. I have a neighbor that likes to bake with them so I may donate the rest of them to her until like February. But I am crossing my fingers for the last dozen.

 

[cajuntc74]

So I went out and broke that egg open to see what happened and the ducklings beak was right underneath that dark spot. It's rear was backed up to the air pocket. So you were right about the dark spot. Question is, does the duckling being in there backwards mean certain death? If I see another dark spot forming on another egg can I try to put a hole there so it can breathe? There was a good bit of blackish green stuff in the egg too. Like the fluids were rotten already. The yolk was completely intact. Sad burial this morning. But I wonder if that happens again if there is some way to try to save it. I am guessing it would drown if you put a hole in the egg.