What is This?

[Soos-Quacken]

Greetings,

Hatching our duck eggs has been quite a headache! There have been numerous hiccups along the way. The most recent one being an anomaly in one of our eggs. It is right before lockdown, and we went in and candled them. They all looked normal, but then we saw this

What is the dark fin standing out in the blood vessels of the egg? It doesn't look like a pip to me. Also, is the embryo supposed to curve in that wavy way in the egg? This is all new to me. Thanks!

 

[Ratchnick]

I have not hatched ducks but that looks like a quitter.

 

[Soos-Quacken]

That's what I was thinking, but it was moving in the shell

 

[DuckyDonna]

I wouldn't trash it. You never know and there are some good veins in there. Leave it be unless it starts to stink.

 

[Trisseh]

It might just be a bit behind. It seems like a lot of open space in there still. You said it was just before lockdown, what day is it on? What has your temp and humidity been? I haven’t trashed any eggs that have good veining without any super obvious signs of quitting. Blood rings, stickiness, obvious dead floating embryo with no veins left...

(ETA: I am by no means an expert, still new to hatching, but these are things I’ve come to identify as I go.)

 

[Soos-Quacken]

Well, it piped externally and proceeded to drown so that was a bit of a letdown...