Muskovy duck sitting on dead eggs?

[<3MyChix]

Hi all! I've got a Muskovy Duck that's been sitting on a nest of eggs for about 41 days. It's possible I started counting from the wrong day. At the beginning she was leaving the nest a few times a day to eat before eventually never leaving, or rarely leaving once a day. Maybe I should have started counting after she started staying on the nest for longer periods. I also noticed she laid 4 more eggs after we found the nest and she started sitting.

Since we're getting so far past the 35 days, I'm wondering if the ducklings are dead in the eggs. Next time I catch her off the nest I'll candle them again and compare them to pictures of dead ones to try to figure it out. If they are all dead, what do I do? Will she eventually figure it out and leave them, or do we need to take them away?

Also, possibly worth noting is that she's started coming off the nest about once a day, and furiously washing herself. Could that mean anything? I'm wondering if she's trying to keep it humid for them.

 

[WVduckchick]

As long as she was still laying, in my experience, she wasn't committed to "starting" the eggs yet. So although she may have been sitting long periods of time, they learn to regulate the growth so that they all hatch in a close progression to each other. Is it possible that anyone else contributed to the nest?

And yes, she is likely washing herself, getting the eggs ready to hatch. Kinda like increasing humidity in an incubator, a few days before hatching is due. So I would surely give her a few more days.

It wouldn't be bad to candle them, as long as she doesn't object too much. You can pull the clear ones, if any, or mark the eggs with a sharpie

Good luck!!!

Oh, and

 

[<3MyChix]

Thanks for the info! That's really helpful. I will give her some more time.
We do have a second female Muskovy who probably contributed to the nest.

 

[<3MyChix]

Well we're now about 10 days beyond when I thought they would be hatching. The eggs look like they're on their last days, but I feel like they've looked like that for the past week. Any further advice? Just keep waiting?

 

[Farmgirl47]

I would wait a little longer.

Do any of the eggs have a bad smell? Do you feel anything shaking around in the eggs when you hold them?

 

[BaJa]

candle them. if everything is black except for the air cell, they're almost hatching.
good luck and

 

[<3MyChix]

I would wait a little longer.

Do any of the eggs have a bad smell? Do you feel anything shaking around in the eggs when you hold them?

I haven't noticed a bad smell, but I'll give them a more deliberate sniff next time. I have not felt any shaking when I hold them.

 

[<3MyChix]

I just caught mom off the nest again and took another look. Assuming mom didn't crack the egg, it looks like we've got one externally pipped! I think at least one or two more of the ones I looked at were internally pipped. I couldn't really feel the movement, but I could see movement inside while I was holding the light on it. So hopefully we'll have some babies in the next couple of days!!

 

[BaJa]

make sure you tell us as soon as one hatches. I'm sure we're all very anxious...

 

[WVduckchick]