Would you say these are 4-5 days old embryos?

[Deltabwa]

One of my campines decided to disappear. I thought it was only about 4 days but maybe it was longer. Do these look 4 to 5 days old or was she gone longer, do you think? There are 10 eggs but only these 4 show veining so before I throw them away I wanted a 2nd (or more) opinion. I thought they were 4 days but one of them seems like maybe older? She already reeked and shook out pieces of egg shell when i moved her so am trying to avoid another explosion/break

 

[pineapple416]

I would not throw them away they look healthy and well developed. They are probably about 4-7 days old.

 

[Deltabwa]

No, wasn't going to throw these away, sorry I was unclear, I was talking about the other 6 that are just yolk outlines and no veining. If these eggs looked 7 or 8 days, I was going to throw the others away but if these are just 4 days, I was going to wait on the others to see if they develop. Thanks

 

[aart]

I'd toss the others, even if they are viable, as they would be 4 days behind and likely mama would abandon them after chicks come off nest.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd toss the others, even if they are viable, as they would be 4 days behind and likely mama would abandon them after chicks come off nest.

Agreed with Aart for the most part. UNLESS, you really want a lot of ducks. In that case, you could leave them all, as long as she is able to cover them well. Mark them all, perhaps marking the 4 you showed, and giving the rest of them a separate marking. Then, you could candle again 10 days later, and know for sure if the others are viable or not. The late comers, if that is what they are, could be finished off in an incubator.

 

[aart]

Agreed with Aart for the most part. UNLESS, you really want a lot of ducks. In that case, you could leave them all, as long as she is able to cover them well. Mark them all, perhaps marking the 4 you showed, and giving the rest of them a separate marking. Then, you could candle again 10 days later, and know for sure if the others are viable or not. The late comers, if that is what they are, could be finished off in an incubator.

Ducks? Think these are all chicken eggs...or I missed something.

Does @Deltabwa have an incubator?...and do they want to risk maybe having to brood chicks separately then integrating in the middle of winter?

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, you are right. I'm the one that missed the boat on that!!!! Yep, all of your questions enter the decision making process.

 

[Deltabwa]

Yes, I do have an incubator, nope don't want to do 2 batches. My only question is.. Could those others be just 2 or 3 days and show veining tonight? Or do you think these are far enough along that even at 3 days, those others are too far apart?

 

[lazy gardener]

View the candling and embryo development articles in "hatching eggs 101". If you can get a good candling view, that should help you to discern embryo age. A hen will generally stick to the nest for 48 hours after the first chicks hatch. (in this case, the first 4) So, if there are any others that are close, they will have a fighting chance. If eggs are close, some flock keepers will remove the first chicks and brood them for a day or two to give the late eggs time to hatch, then tuck the older chicks back in. Such meddling could back fire and cause the hen to abandon nest and chicks, or it could work brilliantly. I've never done this.

 

[Deltabwa]

Yes, I kinda did that with my last batch this spring... I had to take a couple of eggs the last two days and hatch them in the incubator while the hen sat on fake ones, because she accidentally smashed two of them, so I brought them in them put them out, and then in the meantime the chicks I had ordered came two days later and I was able to sneak those back in there because she still had a couple of eggs. Did that make sense? I have looked at all of the threads as well as articles as well as pictures, but because it's so early and I don't know what day she's on, is what was giving me the problem. I just wasn't sure if these were just fading out and then the other ones may still have a chance or if these have been vain. For a couple of days in which case I would throw those out. That's why I was asking if you thought it was 4 days, then I would keep it and give it a couple of days but if you thought it was 7 days I would trash them because I know they wouldn't be able to catch up at 7 days. Does that make any better sense? Or am I not understanding you