my son scared a duck away from an egg when passing the duck on his bike. he returned the same route today and the egg was still in situ and not a duck in sight. he has now brought the egg home and stuck it under a lamp. any chance that the 'egg' may have survived ?
2007-05-16 08:55:10 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Birds
Put it back. If it were only one, she's not done laying. Ducks don't lay all the eggs at the same time. When they're laid they start sitiing on them.
You won't hatch the egg under a lamp.
2007-05-16 13:18:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there was only one egg in the nest, she probably wasn't sitting on them yet, and they could last quite a while that way.
Incubating a bird's egg at home is a delicate process, though ducks are easier than some. You have to keep it at the correct temperature and humidity, and turn it twice a day.
If the egg had started developing already and was then abandoned overnight, it probably would not survive. But in fact you have no idea how long the duck had been absent from the nest.
There are too many unknowns for me to predict the outcome now.
But if it were me, if the egg hadn't been under the lamp more than a few hours, I would put it back in the nest, unless you think the nest was in to exposed a spot to be safe. Even if this egg doesn't hatch now, it will be there for the duck, so she can lay the rest of the eggs next to it.
2007-05-16 10:55:32 · answer #2 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ducks lay eggs just as chickens do so it is possible that the hen merely laid an egg and that it is not fertile.
Keep the egg under the lamp attaining the temp of approx 98.0 to 100.0 degrees for about 5 days at which time he can "candle" the egg.
Candling the egg means take the egg into a DARK room and hold a flashlight to it. . . if this is a fertile egg he should notice some red veins and or possibly a partial/whole embryo depending on whether the egg had been under incubation at the time he collected the egg.
When trying to incubate an egg,it needs to maintain a heat of 98.0-100.0 degrees,needs to be turned a minimum of 2 times a day and needs some humidity. . . .for 28 days IF infact he just found a freshly laid fertile egg.
I truly wish that all people would realize that there is a reason for everything and that he probably should have just left the egg where it was. . . . the hen might have returned to the nest to lay more eggs but may have now moved to another location since this egg came up missing . . .in the end,this egg is probably not going to produce anything.
2007-05-19 04:42:31 · answer #3 · answered by Just Q 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most ducks don't start setting their eggs till there are ten or more eggs in the nest. She didn't leave. She just wasn't setting yet.
The fact is, ducks don't sit on the nest long term until ALL the eggs are layed, that way all the babies hatch at once instead of hatching one a day (can you imagine trying to sit on five eggs while watching over five active young ducks??).
Problem is, if there was only one egg and it was taken, she'll move the nest. So, putting it back won't do any good. (don't buy that whole "She'll smell you and reject it" thing.. ducks have a worse sense of smell than people do).
The egg is viable (which means it can be hatched), but chances of hatching it are small. First step.. Don't touch the egg more than you have to. Hand oils can clog the pores on the egg which the embryo needs to get oxygen. Also, many bacteria from your hands can invade the egg and kill the embryo.
Ducks need humidity and heat to hatch. They also need to be turned three times a day to keep the egg good (it keeps the yolk from sticking and it also excercises the developing chick so that it has the strength it needs at hatching time).
Look up incubating duck eggs online to find lots of information on how to keep your egg alive. It can take between twenty eight and thirty two days for it to hatch.
Best of luck.
(I own a farm and raise muscovy ducks)
2007-05-19 03:09:53 · answer #4 · answered by Theresa A 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probly not. If the duck stayed away long enouph for the egg to get cold the duck probly didn't live. Once you have it home and heated you need to know exactly how hot and when to tunr it and how much humidity. If it hatches the first day or two you lucked out. but any longer and probly not.
Always best to leave a wild egg where it is. Nothing more specialized than mom to watch and hatch it. Even if she seems gone she may be returning. Just left because she saw him coming.
She will forget that egg and lay others to replace it. so do not mourn too much. give the egg a burieal and move on.
Or buy an incubator and see if you can hatch out a few for your son to enjoy.
2007-05-16 09:03:26 · answer #5 · answered by valkyrservicedog 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't overheat the egg. It needs to be warm - try the airing cupboard. Was the egg on a nest? If it wasn't, it probably isn't fertilised. You'll know in about 3 weeks.
Ducklings "imprint" or fixate onto the first thing they see moving after they hatch. If it does hatch, are you prepared to be its "mother" and teach it to feed for up to six weeks?
Good luck - I tried once and failed!
2007-05-16 09:28:46 · answer #6 · answered by Michael B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The egg can only survive for about 30 minutes without heat, so I would suspect that the egg is already dead.
2007-05-19 03:38:15 · answer #7 · answered by Helena 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not... its probably too cold for it anyway..just being under a lamp.
Plus i doubt it could of survived out there in the cold for how ever long...
But how do you know the duck wasnt just getting food =S
2007-05-16 09:02:42 · answer #8 · answered by ?Gems? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋